Journey of Blessings Cont'd

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Job Week  46 “God Isnt Going to Fix This” -or- "God will Fix This, Through The Power of a Transformed Heart?"

I love The Message version of Chapter 35:
“When times get bad, people cry out for help.
    They cry for relief from being kicked around
,
Don’t you think that is true – as life becomes overwhelming, we tend to find our need for God.  The most stoic non-believers ask for prayer when we look at our mortality or our failing finances, or impending tragedy.  Cancer, chemo, bankruptcy, addictions, all have the potential to harbor despair.  Our God is not a God of despair- but of eternal HOPE- the expectation of goodness. 
In light of the San Bernadino shootings, the Daily News posted a cover that said, “God’s Not Fixing this”. This saddens my heart, as – like the men in Job – we are putting God on trial for the evil that lurks in Man’s heart. 
I understand the implication that we need to do something about our nation’s state of affairs.  I also understand the implication that our prayers are not the answer to the nations state of affairs.  As a nation we continue to remove God from all of our systems, affairs and agencies.  We strike God out of business and we remove Him from our courts and schools.
Let’s look at Christianity and relationship- let’s take God off of the trial seat and put ourselves on that seat. When we point fingers and judge, condemn and criticize…ostracize and treat church as a Country Club, hate and hurt in the name of God – we are not representing relationship- but RELIGION.
Religion is what got the Pharisees in trouble – they missed Jesus- God made flesh- standing in their midst.  They found the legalistic adherence to rules as a focus, rather than God made flesh standing before them.
Christianity, when operating as a church – as the Bride of Christ- is one that accepts and loves,   it is a relationship with God, and with the world- where the truth is held as non-negotiable and the love is reckless.
The state of affairs of our world is held in our hands, as we press into God, and press into the world with acts of compassion paired with truth and reckless love.
When Christianity is brought into parts of the world where it has never been before, love prevails.  Swords and hatred are put aside.  Revenge and murder are cast aside for forgiveness and repentance.
Children are valued.
Women are valued.
Living conditions are improved.
I know the world would say that we go into the world uninvited and share our faith.  I would offer that we go into places in the world that need compassion and love, a heart and a hug. I have been to Romania and I have looked despair in the eyes and I have reacted with love and touch- and I have seen hope restored by this simple practice.  Yes, I did share my love of Jesus with these people, because His presence in my life has made all the difference.
I have gone into jails and worked with addicts, sharing their value with them and that they were made to be loved – truths that are new to their hurting hearts and ears. I have seen value bloom in parched hearts.
His presence in my heart allows me to have peace, while my husband is unemployed and my daughter has a severe concussion.  I don’t pretend that I am ok – I am ok, in this day, in this moment I know that He holds me- and, more importantly, He holds our tomorrows.   I am not acting or putting on airs – I feel peace and a joy in my day- against all odds and all reason.
I get to share this faith with others – through simple acts of love.
I am Christian. I love God and that is not negotiable. If I am asked, I will share my faith – through love and excitement- not judgment, hate, offense and criticism.

My answer to the Daily News would be that God is my answer.  When I line up with the principles and the doctrines of Christianity, I leave a gentler footstep.  In the practice of loving God before all else – it puts things in perspective for me.  Money, success, possessions do not take the center stage of my heart, and I think I am happier. I remember the “me” before Christianity – the pursuit of STUFF is relentless and never satisfying, always growing. The Corporate Ladder was a tough God to bend my knee to,
Me before Christianity was more aggressive and argumentative. I had to argue and win the arguments.
I was selfish before relationship overtook religion.
I know I have not arrived, nor ever will.  I am a sick soul in need of an ever -present God in my day to day.  This is a God who forever forgives and always presents opportunities for me to grow into Him more and more.  He presents me with places and spaces to give over more of my fleshy practices – AND I AM HAPPIER FOR IT.
I share Jesus because He has made all the difference in my life.
Others share things that make them happy .  Why has Christianity become a bad word?  Why has God been put on the trial seat by an angry world that forsakes His presence?
We can blame Him, but we cant profess a belief in Him,
How frightening it is to me that the power if prayer is being put on trial by the Daily News. We denounce God and now we are denouncing communication and the power in prayer.
I think this state of affairs is more frightening that calling out to God when we are in terror.  The flippancy and arrogance in thumbing our noses at the words, “Our thoughts and prayers are with you….”, saddens my heart.  From the Daily News:
"As latest batch of innocent Americans are left lying in pools of blood, cowards who could truly end gun scourge continue to hide behind meaningless platitudes," the cover reads. House Speaker Paul Ryan and GOP presidential hopefuls Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush and Lindsey Graham all responded with "prayers" for the victims of San Bernardino, Calif.”
I won’t get into a debate on gun control.  I will defend my God and say that there is nothing better than praying for the victims and their families. Prayer moves the heart of God. Prayer, and the presence of God, makes the darkness flee. I pray now, that all would feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in their midst.  I don’t have answers to the big “Whys” of the world- but, I know that God is a personal God- a God that draws near to the broken hearted.  This is not a simple platitude – I have lived this and I have experienced miracles.  Prayer is not a platitude but a means of warfare.   Prayer alters atmospheres- I speak from experience not generalized platitudes. Cut off prayer, ridicule prayer and you render us powerless in the face of adversary.   A clever tactic by the enemy of our soul.
Will you join me in prayer for our world?  Will you alter atmospheres by engaging the heart of the Father? Jesus intercedes for us---will you intercede for the world and our Nation?
In looking at Job, the text goes on:
But never give God a thought when things go well,
    when God puts spontaneous songs in their hearts,
When God sets out the entire creation as a science classroom,
    using birds and beasts to teach wisdom.

That is the God that I must sing from the rooftops and speak of unashamedly – the God that puts spontaneous songs deep in our hearts.  His Joy is not dependent on circumstances or luck- JOY is found in salvation and the indwelling of Christ within us.  Joy is present in the trials and a close companion when you walk with the Lord.
Job continues:
People are arrogantly indifferent to God—
    until, of course, they’re in trouble,
    and then God is indifferent to them.
There’s nothing behind such prayers except panic;
    the Almighty pays them no mind.
So why would he notice you
    just because you say you’re tired of waiting to be heard,
Or waiting for him to get good and angry
    and do something about the world’s problems?

And there I must pause in light of today and where we find ourselves.  Why do we think God has to “do something” about the worlds problems when we approach His throne of grace, dirty and sinful…James says that the prayers of the righteous man avail much. We approach a Holy God and we demand and we whine at the situations that we find ourselves in – and we demand answers.
The answers can be found in a transformed heart.
A transformed heart loves where there was once hatred.
A transformed heart  offers grace and forgiveness rather than hatred and revenge.
A transformed heart bows its knees to Jesus, allowing something other than ourselves to occupy the throne of our hearts.
A transformed heart offers prayers and compassion, not argument and defense.
I know there are Christians that have made us look harsh and judgmental. I would say they have missed some of the basic precepts of Christianity, just as the Pharisees did.  We are all broken and sinful---Christians as well as muslims, atheists and Jews, black and white – we all united in our sinful nature and the need of God. None of us have arrived or are perfect – we all make mistakes and we all find ourselves angry, upset, judgemental and arrogant.  The Christian walk is a day to day, moment by moment walk- where we all slip and fall – but keep going on.  Not a one of us is perfect- Christian or non- but, the worlds problems lay in the transformation of our hearts.  It all starts with ME. I transform my vessel to become a presence carrier- and I get to love on someone else.  That touch of the Holy begins a transformation within them- and so on and so on.  James says that we must decrease so that He may increase. I would strongly disagree with the Daily News – that God isn’t going to fix this – because God is actively involved in “fixing” me, and through that – we can change the world.

 

 Job Week 45, Chapter 34


Job Week 34

“Job you deserve the maximum penalty for the wicked way you have talked.  For you have added rebellion to your sin; you show no respect, and you speak many angry words against God. “ Job 34: 36-37
It would seem that Elihu has taken God off of the trial seat and has put Job on trial. In thinking about this lesson, I found myself thinking about God and how He is the same today, yesterday and tomorrow. God does not change – but we do.  We change how we look at Him and how we approach His throne of grace.
I have been blessed beyond compare as of late. I try to piece my pieces together and see where His path of blessings began and I find that it began with heartbreak.
I had been attending a little church for 4 years or so, and as so often happens – the church family becomes an extended family as you do life together. For reasons I couldn’t quite get my head around- I fell out of favor with the Pastor and his wife, two of my dearest friends.  I heard again and again, “Maybe its time you found a new church” , finally I heeded their advice.
The thing was, it WAS time for me to find a new church. I learned from my little church family how to study the Word and how to search through the scriptures. I learned what it meant to be in the Word daily and how to mentor and disciple women.   I took with me a deeper love of the scriptures and a greater understanding of researching scriptures and lessons before presenting them to others. I pressed in for a calling on my life, and a fulfillment of the dreams He planted.  I learned that people pleasing is a waste of His resources.
In the season, they broke me…in the Kingdom they strengthened me. It took me a long time to climb out of the brokenness, but God was always with me.  I could not have learned what I needed to learn without that brokenness. How can you learn of rejection, without experiencing rejection?  How do you live out forgiveness, without offering forgiveness? How do you rely on God in your wilderness, without finding “El Roi” the God who sees you – in the trials?
As I walked out the brokenness, my outlook and need for God changed….but, He didn’t. He sang over me and He planted dreams in my heart, just as HE had always done.   He wiped away the tears and He brought new friendships before me. The story is told of a mother from long ago, with many children.  When asked which one she loved the most, her reply was “The one that is sick at that moment, the one that is hurting, the one who is struggling…in that moment, I love them the most.”  I think God is that way,  the Word promises us that He draws close to the broken-hearted.  Do we draw close to Him, in those times or do we demand a reason for our suffering?
Job made a mistake in the moment of suffering.  He felt that his righteousness should spare him the terrors of the world.  By pleading his case before God, he asked to be shown why he was suffering so. In my moment of sadness, I could have approached the throne and asked “Why??” – putting God on trial, for allowing my heart to hurt.  I could have wrestled with Him and the unfairness of it all.  And, truth be told, I did.
But, he was drawing closer to me, He was busy loving me and nurturing the next steps out of me.  Holy, not happy.  Sometimes to gain more of our hearts, He has to do some work within us. Goodness, in that season, He did a major heart overhaul- and I am thankful for the season of pain…because it gave birth to this season of intimacy.
Had I not, finally, taken the advice of finding a new church- my life would look so different today.  In expanding my boundaries the Lord has gifted me with so many blessings- and it all started with heartbreak.    
Salty Sidewalks was born out of this season of despair – a need to spread the Gospel through color and light and creative expression.  My heart needed color, so I set out to splash the world in it. Salty Sidewalks led me to new friends that I hold so dear and cherish with all of my being.  The Lord restored the land that was taken when I was asked to leave, with countless new friends.  He provided a double portion.   
In the season of rejection, I began gratitude journaling, finding God in my everyday- and writing all of the blessings He showered over me.  This group, our Journey of Blessings,  is an offshoot from the process that started years ago, which transformed my heart and my faith.  I have now taught gratitude journaling to hundreds of women’s groups throughout the country, on retreats and during weekly classes.
Salty Sidewalks led me to a new artist friend, who introduced me to another artist- these two connections led me to Encouragement Café, where I am now a speaker and an artist.   These two “connections” are now held so dear as true pearls in my life. This little oasis of non-competitive friendship has blossomed so much fruit of heart, mind and hand- I could hardly list it all.
The new church that my family began attending allowed me to teach in their rooms throughout the week.  In doing this, I met delightful students that have enriched my life.  They splash ME with their color!  This teaching led to teaching preschool and to teaching the elderly in a local retirement home, so that I now, get to, teach from 2 – 92!
Blessing after blessing after blessing has been showered on me and my family, and it all began with heartbreak.   I found myself praying last week.  I had just come home from spending the weekend with the two artist friends from Encouragement Café.  I felt myself slipping into an old mindset.  I was thinking if I had been a “good girl” if I was doing all that was asked on me so that His favor wouldn't turn to scorn…I was going through a checklist of the things I had done to please the Father.  He stopped me in my tracks and asked, in that quiet, heavy way He does, “Is that who you think I am?”
Every part of me repented as I cried, “Oh Lord, teach me…teach me of Your ways.”
He is not a Father who gives out lollipops based on our good behavior- we are a sinful mess- and don’t deserve His lollipops.  Jesus Christ came so that I might approach His throne and enter into relationship.  That relationship is not so trite that it is based on a reward system because of our good behavior, OR a punitive system because of my bad behavior. This relationship is based on intimacy and giving over more of myself so that He can occupy more of my heart. Every trial is a place for God to show off His provision.  Every difficult relationship holds the tools to carve me into a new likeness of Him, offering me opportunities for growth – not blame.
He does not bless us, so that He can pull the rug out from under us. In that moment – I was feeling like everything was going so good, when would the shoe drop? 
“Is that who you think I am?”
No Lord, you bring us into circumstances, situations and relationships to grow us, to inhabit more of our hearts, and to compel us forward in Kingdom work.
I am, once again, drawn to the promised found in Proverbs.  True wisdom is found in the fear of God….that is, in the reverence of His name.   This reverence for God is set forth as the path to life and security. Through actively seeking Him and starting all things in God we invite wisdom, blessings, honor and favor into our hearts----because we start with God, we allow more room for the Holy Spirit to work and He prompts us to magnify Jesus Christ.  We need to be filled with the spirit to get the full revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As I was going through my mental checklist with the Lord of what a “Good girl I had been”, worthy of His blessings,  He brought me back to Proverbs – to start all things with a fear of the Lord. In my reverence for the Lord, I don’t put Him on a trial seat for what is going “wrong” in my life – I look for His workings and His desires for my new day and my new season.  I begin and end each day seeking Him and speaking to Him through the scriptures.  I listen and act as He directs, and the blessings flow- because I am in His will- not because of anything I have done, did, will do or bring to the table. He is a good, good Father and I find myself grateful for the lessons he taught my heart in the good times and in the harder times.  His nature is always good, His nature is always loving, His nature is always allowing me room to grow into more of Him.

Job 44: Chapter 33



This week Elihu is continuing to speak. I am struck by Elihu’s words in verses 14-18
For God speaks again and again,
    though people do not recognize it.
15 He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night,
    when deep sleep falls on people
    as they lie in their beds.
16 He whispers in their ears
    and terrifies them with warnings.
17 He makes them turn from doing wrong;
    he keeps them from pride.
18 He protects them from the grave,
    from crossing over the river of death.

It occurs to me that God is always speaking, and we may not always be in a place of listening and receiving.   How often am I guilty of using God as my “Genie-in-a-bottle”….figure out what I WANT, how it SHOULD LOOK,  and ask God to grant my wishes and sign my business plan.
WE know it doesn’t work that way – but, why do we keep slipping into that behavior, thinking that God is out to make us happy, not holy.
We are trees, bare and naked, stretching and parched – with living water flowing in and around us, while we are dying of thirst.  In our own power there is no fruit.  There may be wealth and provision- but the elusive “satisfaction” is never found.  In our own powers we seek, and replace and look and change and live the life of a vagabond, with a forgotten royal seal on our hearts.
Holy, not happy. Has the western church replaced happy with holy? Feel good Christianity, churches that are country clubs rather than hospitals for the weary? Is God a collector of wishes and a butler in the sky that makes all of our dreams come true?  We figure everything out and wait for Him to grant it all – and when it doesn’t work out our way, like petulant children, we pout and wonder where God is in our circumstances. 
Because He loves His children and because He wants more for us- for His Glory and for His Kingdom,  (v19-22)
Or God disciplines people with pain on their sickbeds,
    with ceaseless aching in their bones.
20 They lose their appetite
    for even the most delicious food.
21 Their flesh wastes away,
    and their bones stick out.
22 They are at death’s door;
    the angels of death wait for them.

God disciplines us to claim more of our hearts, to allow a larger inhabitation of His Spirit.  There is a refining process to the Christian life. There are trials, trials that are allowed- so that we can grow in our relationship and house more of Him.

God speaks, the rocks cry out – and we are parched beside the waters wondering where He is and why we are in circumstances not of our liking.   I would like to suggest that the “problem” we are facing is not in our circumstances, but in our perspective.   To change perspective to higher ground and what God is doing. to shift the lens from victim to loved child.  There is power in the love of God, when we embrace Him and His heartbeat for our lives.
God is always speaking.  How do we silence ourselves so that we can hear Him?  Do our prayers pause- for Him to speak to our hearts?
Do we wait on the Lord?  That is a hard one – in a world of instant access and instant communication- to wait, for anything, in todays economy is frustrating.  It takes time for fruit to grow, and it takes seasons for roots to grow deeper.  Why do we think our circumstances are any different?  To wait on the Lord – and to know that His timing is always perfect.

There is something in Luke that I draw great comfort from  Luke 22:31-32
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. 32 But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.”
While we are being sifted and in the trials, Jesus intercedes for us!  Well, if that doesn’t just make my hurt burst wide open, I don’t know what does!  My Savior is such a personal, loving, intimate God- He prays during my trials. And lets not miss His prayer –
*That Faith stays strong:  We are still looking at perspective changes – not at our circumstances,  but focus on our God, and His goodness.  1Thessalonians 5:16 says: “16Rejoice always; 17pray without ceasing; 18in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Our prayers should be sandwiched between rejoicing and giving thanks- in EVERYTHING. In EVERYTHING give thanks , rejoice and pray without ceasing.   As Keith Green sung,

I make my life a prayer to You
I wanna do what You want me to
No empty words and no white lies
No token prayers no compromise
I wanna shine the light You gave
Through Your Son You sent to save us
From ourselves and our despair
It comforts me to know You're really there

Well I wanna thank You now for being patient with me
Oh it's so hard to see, when my eyes are on me
I guess I'll have the trust and just believe what You say
Oh You're coming again, You're coming to take me away

I wanna die and let You give Your life to me, so I might live
And share the hope You gave to me, the love that set me free
I wanna tell the world out there, You're not some fable or fairy tale
That I've made up inside my head, You're God the Son
You've risen from the dead
To make our lives a prayer to Him- in everything we do to be in a prayer state, listening, fine tuning – only doing and saying what the Father says.  Most days my focus is on me and my schedule – if I am being honest.  How much I have to do and how little the hours are in a day. To shift to a heavenly perspective would be my goal.  To be so centered in Him that I am splashing in the Living Water of His abundance – not dry and parched beside the still streams He has provided for me.
Getting back to Luke – lets look at the second part of Jesus’ statement :
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. 32 But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.”
Jesus knew the state of Simon Peter’s heart.  He knew that he was going to stumble – but, he also knew that WHEN he repented and returned He would have renewed strength and focus to strengthen his brothers.  God wastes nothing. If we are going through a trial – it will be a place of authority and victory in your life that you can use to strengthen the church and your brothers.
God speaks. I am guilty of a schedule that is so hectic I dash from thing to thing. To be STILL and KNOW that HE is God.   We are coming into the Holidays, and my husband is home, for the time being. My choice in this season is going to be enjoy my family and the time that the Lord has graced us with.  To slow down and to refresh my soul.  I want to hear what He has to say and I want my compass to adjust to His plans and His heartbeat.  So, I will find rest by the streams of still waters and allow Him to lead us through this valley.
 

Job Week 41: Chapter 29

 

Job, Week 41: Chapter 29

I loved this chapter of Job!  I love that we get a glimpse into the life of Job before disaster struck. 
In verses 1 – 6, we see Job lamenting over the hole that he felt, in not sensing the presence of His God. Unlike Samson – Job knew that he could not feel the presence of God and he lamented over the loss.  Satan wanted him to curse God – Job cried out in distress, at his absence.  He longs for the presence- the intimate friendship of God- to be felt by Him again.
How I long for the months gone by,
    for the days when God watched over me,
when his lamp shone on my head
    and by his light I walked through darkness!
Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,
    when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house,
when the Almighty was still with me
    and my children were around me,
when my path was drenched with cream
    and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.”
I think it is natural for us to look back at brighter times and feel the pull of nostalgia.  I would warn against planting ourselves in yesterday.  The Lord has promises and missions for us, in our present day.  To be lost in yesterday robs us of the blessings He has in store for today.
Job continues on in his memories, of the respect that was granted him. A respect that seemed to be granted, not demanded.
“When I went to the gate of the city
    and took my seat in the public square,
the young men saw me and stepped aside
    and the old men rose to their feet;
the chief men refrained from speaking
    and covered their mouths with their hands;
10 the voices of the nobles were hushed,
    and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
And in verses  21 - 25
“People listened to me expectantly,
    waiting in silence for my counsel.
22 After I had spoken, they spoke no more;
    my words fell gently on their ears.
23 They waited for me as for showers
    and drank in my words as the spring rain.
24 When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it;
    the light of my face was precious to them.[a]
25 I chose the way for them and sat as their chief;
    I dwelt as a king among his troops;
    I was like one who comforts mourners.

Job was sought out for his knowledge and his wisdom. With the fear of the Lord as the seed, wisdom grew in His heart and blossomed out of him – and he was respected as an elder and as a man of integrity. We are granted a different glimpse into Job, rather than the heap of itching, decaying flesh on an ash heap- we see a man that is respected in his community.  A community that seems to have abandoned him in his grotesque state.  Job was one that comforted mourners- but, when it came time to BE comforted – it seems the well has ran dry.
Are we a comfort to those that need a prayer, an approving look, a simple hug – or a touch? I want to tell you about Amelia, a woman I “met” in Romania.  Amelia was facing the wall when we entered into her room.  She looked sullen and angry and her eyes were not responsive.  She moaned inaudibly and did not seem to blink. I hesitated.  She looked so mad. Some of the people that we went to see were not well, not stable. Should I touch her? Would I anger her?   With great trepidation, my hand reached across the galaxies of time, social standing, and decorum and I touched her hand, while holding my breath. She turned to me- and a light when into her face.  She reached for my hand and turned over to me. She did not speak any words, other than “God, God, God” and I wept….because you see Amelia shattered my paradigms when She TOUCHED ME.  By all of the worlds standards she was an untouchable.  She was poor, she was ill, she was elderly, most likely of gypsy descent.  Gypsies, or more correctly – Roma- in Europe are seen as unclean, untrustworthy and scavengers. Amelia allowed me to touch her and she touched my heart, shattering existing paradigms of social structure and social norms.   Jesus touched people.  He got into their everyday space and He touched people. As I touched Amelia and she responded to that touch, I knew that touching the “untouchables” is, in fact, touching the heart of God.  I wept as I held her hand, because I felt the presence of God around us, smiling at the union that He created between two woman- worlds apart in every conceivable way- being joined together, through the power of touch and prayer.  So, today I offer a prayer for Amelia – that she would feel the Joy of the lord all around her and that she would know how He delights in her and sings over her.  Lord, I pray for Amelia a personal touch and a reminder of her identity in You!
In verses 11- 17, I fall in love with Job all over again:
Whoever heard me spoke well of me,
    and those who saw me commended me,
12 because I rescued the poor who cried for help,
    and the fatherless who had none to assist them.
13 The one who was dying blessed me;
    I made the widow’s heart sing.
14 I put on righteousness as my clothing;
    justice was my robe and my turban.
15 I was eyes to the blind
    and feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy;
    I took up the case of the stranger
.
17 I broke the fangs of the wicked
    and snatched the victims from their teeth.
I started to write this lesson before I went on my mission trip to Romania on October 7th.  But, I read these words and I knew that the Lord would have so many more layers written into my heart AFTER the missions trip.   Thank you Lord, for how you line up these scriptures with our everyday lives- and insert them into our hearts in Your perfect timing!
In Romania we served the elderly, through Elder Orphan Care. Imagine your parents out on the street, through a cold European winter. Imagine the frostbite settling in and the feeling going out of their limbs.  Imagine the sleepiness that takes over the senses.  Now, if you would join me in imagining the rats that feed on such victims, nibbling on frozen limbs through the long hours of the night. Imagine your parents and grandparents waking up to the horror of seeing their limbs frozen and gnawed on and the horror as their legs are amputated.   There is a man in Romania who was watching TV one night in Dumbrava, Romania.  The news caster spoke of two elderly that had frozen to death on the streets of Oradea. He had a choice.  He could have turned the channel, turned off the TV and “said a prayer” – or- he could act.  He chose to act. He hit the streets and found elderly and took them into his home. He rescued, and continues to rescue, the elderly and frail from the streets.  At this point, he is serving 161 elderly and frail through the countryside villages in Romania.   We get to partner with him when we go to Romania and encourage him. He is the one that lives there and lives with the everyday demands of rescue.  We are a small respite that wishes to encourage and partner with him.  If you are interested you can learn more about “Elder Orphan Care” on Fb,  https://www.facebook.com/ElderOrphanCare?fref=ts
In the months of preparation of our trip, we prayed into what our focus would be.  In the past we have brought eyeglasses so that – literally – the blind could see.  This did not feel like the focus of the trip. Through prayer we kept landing on “art” and “shoes”.  With 160 elderly, of all different physical and cognitive capabilities- I had no idea how to roll out an art aspect! The Lord provided answers in little steps.  First, we purchased watercolor kits, inexpensive watercolors, and cheap brushes.  With a sharpie marker, I printed out 160 different Romanian words: Jesus loves  me and Praise the Lord!. I had an art bag packed and ready to go, not sure how it would play out and if it would be received well.  These were children’s watercolor kits- would I be insulting?  Would they “go for it”?
When we got to Romania – we spent the first day with Viorel, catching up. It had been 2 years since the last time I had been, and things were different.  The last time I had gone his motto was, “It is better than the streets”.  Conditions were difficult and rough.  This time, there was grass, and flowers, paintings hanging in the rooms, statues outside.  I was shocked by the change in scenery and the beauty that had been introduced into the little villages where the elderly are. I asked him about all of the changes and he told an amazing story of a man that came to him that had tried to commit suicide 4 times. Viorel looked around at the buildings and realized he had to do something to make him want to LIVE.  To exist, in a place that was “better than the streets” was not enough.  Viroel said, “For the first time I saw the importance of flowers”.   He introduced color.  Hearing this, in his warm kitchen, a thick coffee pressing to my lips, in the village of Dumrava- tears sprung into my eyes. I was there with one purpose and one passion, because BEAUTY MATTERS.  Beauty pierces through the darkness and brings hope.  A single rose is a protest against the violence, poverty, disease that is all around it. Color is the presence of LIGHT, in dancing hues.  Blackness is not a color – it is void of color.  To bring color into the soul is to bring LIGHT into the darkness.  This was my purpose, my mission- and our hearts had been focused with the same intent, by a God that goes before us and makes a way.  Viorel did not know about the ART BAG that was waiting in the wings for a time such as this.
Let me take you to the moving moments when the art bag was opened and color was released out into the world. There were gnarled hands, incapacitated from a stroke.  There were trembling hands that shook. There were those that couldn’t even sit up in bed.  Protests against the light were many – in the words of our translator: “We will not take no for an answer!” The paints were given out and we all stood and sat by each bedside. Sometimes we gathered in the garden, and other times we gathered in the lobby of their homes. Either way, paintbrushes were put into gnarled hands and encouraging words were spoken.  Men with big hands, that had worked their whole lives- dwarfed the little paintbrushes- engulfing the tool of light so that it was almost not visible.  And……they….painted.
Smiles played on their lips and sparkles could be seen in their eyes.  It was if they had INGESTED the color, they were radiating out this message of life and light and color.  We all wept to see the transformation that a simple pan of watercolors could bring.
One man, Rudolph, spoke gibberish constantly.  He has been waiting for his mother to come and get him for years. We put the watercolors in front of him and he continued to babble and gesture wildly.  One member of our team, took his hand and placed it around the brush.  At the darkness often does, it protests against incoming light.  He gestured,  his eyes told the story that he believed he couldn’t do it. With patience, each stroke was laid on with the help of a team mate. His breathing slowed, his focus sharpened.  She let go of his hand.  HE continued on. He took a deeeeep, deeeep breath, almost breathing in the light and the color into his soul and continued on in silence- finishing the entire painting by himself.
And we wept to see the beauty find victory over the darkness.
One man couldn’t do it, though we tried and tried to convince him. Another member of the team sat by his bed and did it for him, while he watched in fascination. One might say that the beauty failed him, that beauty couldn’t pierce through his darkness. When we all left his room, a member of the team stayed behind and caught a picture of him, holding the little painting before him, soaking in the color and the light- as beauty pierced into the darkness and shattered the night of the soul.
And we wept for the goodness of beauty and a God that works in such an intimate way.
We met us with Viorel after we had been doing the art throughout the houses and he was moved to tears by the happiness that God brought to his doorstep. He had looked at the pictures on Facebook and said, “How much would I pay for a smile like that.” Sometimes existing isn’t enough, to live is to live in the lightness of God’s love.  Something changed in the villages of Romania.  After we left, Viorel posted (loosely translated) this on his page:
"All this week I was visited by six women in North Carolina who came to be useful for patients in Dumbrava, Tinca and Rapa. I was surprised and deeply moved by the extraordinary positive effect they had. I chose to spend three days with them in different simple activities. I never thought that such simple things as painting will bring smiles and joy on the face of the sick. I thought then, why do we hardly ever do such things? They had to travel thousands of kilometers to bring smiles and brighten the faces of our patients, while this is all within our reach. It seems that we have learned, you can bring happiness in the lives of others and without great expense. Yes, it takes time and a little love. Are we so poor in these respects? I thank God and I hope the lesson is that we will be more creative, more efficient and more determined to be of service to others. So be blessed but do not forget to be a blessing." - Viorel Pasca

And I wept, because beauty matters.  It pierces the darkness.


 

  Job: Week 40:

Job Week 40 : Holy Obedience to the Ordinary
“God alone understands the way to wisdom;
    he knows where it can be found,
24 for he looks throughout the whole earth
    and sees everything under the heavens.
25 He decided how hard the winds should blow
    and how much rain should fall.
26 He made the laws for the rain
    and laid out a path for the lightning.
27 Then he saw wisdom and evaluated it.
    He set it in place and examined it thoroughly.
28 And this is what he says to all humanity:
‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom;
    to forsake evil is real understanding.’”

This week we will look at Wisdom. I love how the Lord dovetails messages and all of life into a continual stream of living messages for us to breathe in and encounter.  I am working through the Book of Proverbs with some, lovely, dear, ladies from my church.  Each week we look at a few proverbs and discuss them, in great detail.  If I am being honest, I must admit…in the many times I have read through the Bible, I often become bored with the proverbs and tend to skim through them.  Now, every now and again – one would hit me over the head and I would sit up and take notice…but, for the most part – I was skimming.  I found them repetitive and obscure.
In undertaking this jo
urnaling adventure with these ladies, we have found that the Proverbs offer “Holy Obedience to the Ordinary”…what an amazing explanation “The Message” offers in the intro to the Proverbs!!   If I can find how to walk in holy obedience to the ordinary – what would my life be like?  The proverbs are Godly council, meant for our protection. These two facets, become a luster in the diamond of this treasure of wisdom. God lays down this Godly Council so that we can avoid the pitfalls and the crooked paths that bring us into ruin and a walking death.  AS I watch my children grow – my greatest fear would be that they make the same mistakes I did.  I want more for them. I want my ceiling to be their floor – and for them to reach higher than I could have ever imagined.  God, our Father, has the same ambition for us, His children.  He lays down this Godly council so that the celing of those before us can be OUR FLOOR!!! It is all here – a holy obedience to the ordinary – a map of snares and traps that the enemy has used since the beginning of time.  Are we not foolish, if we don’t open up this book and pour through it ?  Shouldn’t we allow it to become our compass and our navigator?
Wisdom is referred to as a “She” in the book of Prverbs.  There are many thoughts as to why the writer did this.  One reason, is that a personification of Wisdom as a dignified woman makes a difficult concept more approachable and personable through personification.  A woman did not have access to the written word or reading, but a woman – all woman, all people, have access to Godly Wisdom.  Using the personification of a woman, shows us that through experience and communication with God – everyone has access to this wisdom. A final, interesting thing I found on wisdom is the union between the WORD (logos) of God personified through Christ made flesh, and Wisdom – the carrying out of the Logos – is a picture of the BRIDE – or the church in full maturity.   The Word made flesh came so that we might live – John 1:1-5
In the beginning the Word already existed.
    The Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him,
    and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
    and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness can never extinguish it.

When we couple the logos of Christ – the Word of God made flesh with Godly council in how to live we can walk in the inheritance that Christ came for us to live out of.  Through the coupling of the Word and the Council, we draw closer to our birthright.
The Word- Jesus- gave life to everything, and brought His life to us. As we house the habitation of God within us – how are we to know how to live?  Wisdom through Godly Council, through the Spirit of God housed within our tabernacles, and through the Word of God given to protect us.  Thank you Lord that we have access to heavenly realms through Your Son and through Your Word, and by the Holy Spirit within!!!!

The first step to Godly wisdom is the Fear of God.   This is a reverence for the Holy.  This reverence for Him is set forth as the path to life and to security.  We must bow our knee to Him.  How we think and respond to God is the most practical thing we do.  In the everyday of our ordinary, nothing takes precedence in how we approach God and how often we approach God.  Through this reverence, we are granted Wisdom, for all who ask of it.

Job wrote of this mystery as one of the earliest books in the Bible.  Remember that scholars believe that Job was written at the time of Genesis. Long before Solomon asked for a discerning heart to govern his people, Job had tapped into the mysteries, and the promises, of God.
The fear of the Lord is true wisdom and to forsake evil is real understanding.  Join us in a walk through the Proverbs.  Imagine that God chose to protect us through His Godly Council- what a treasure the Proverbs really are!!! 

Week 39: The Mouth of the Righteous Brings Forth Wisdom

 


Job- Week 39: My Tongue Will Speak No Lies

In Chapter 27 Job makes a vow:
As long as my breath is in me,
And the breath of God in my nostrils,
My lips will not speak wickedness,
Nor my tongue utter deceit.
Far be it from me
That I should say you are right;
Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.
My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go;
My heart shall not reproach me as long as I live.

This week this got me thinking about the power of our tongues and the power hidden within my words.  In drawing on the past few weeks, I know that God Himself donned a pair of human sandals and died, so that I might live abundantly.  Then, we looked at God, living within me.
Psalm 91 says that my refuge – my shelter – is within God’s Holy presence.  So that, I am living within God’s shelter and God is living within me. Jesus modeled this for us – are we living in this kind of authority? Are we living within this kind of holiness?  We are walking tabernacles of the Most High.  Do our thoughts and actions reflect this majesty found within us?
I was undone this week by Psalm 91, as I prepared this lesson, lets look at it together:
You who sit down in the High God’s presence,
    spend the night in Shaddai’s shadow,
Say this: “God, you’re my refuge.
    I trust in you and I’m safe!”
That’s right—he rescues you from hidden traps,
    shields you from deadly hazards.
His huge outstretched arms protect you—
    under them you’re perfectly safe;
    his arms fend off all harm.
We remember, from last week, that He abides in my fragile vessel. Here, I am invited to dwell within the shelter of the Most High.   Refuge is a shelter from danger, pursuit or trouble – it is taken from the Latin “refugium”- re: Back  and ‘fugere’ to flee…so that He is my shelter, a safe place to run back to and flee from the enemy.   As His child, I GET TO Live in the shadow of His wing, while He inhabits My being – JUST amazing….
Lets go on in this Psalm:
Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night,
    not flying arrows in the day,
Not disease that prowls through the darkness,
    not disaster that erupts at high noon.
Even though others succumb all around,
    drop like flies right and left,
    no harm will even graze you.
You’ll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance,
    watch the wicked turn into corpses.
Yes, because God’s your refuge,
    the High God your very own home,
Evil can’t get close to you,
    harm can’t get through the door.

Our High GOD IS MY HOME. I can choose to dwell from within His shelter.  From within His Holiness.  Hold on, it continues to get better and better:
He ordered his angels
    to guard you wherever you go.
If you stumble, they’ll catch you;
    their job is to keep you from falling.
You’ll walk unharmed among lions and snakes,
    and kick young lions and serpents from the path.

And here, I came undone, once again. He ordered angels to our assignment.  Think on that- we have a continual,divine connection to heavenly realms. We have ourselves, these tiny broken pots, that God chose as His place of habitation. He assigns angels over us- to keep us from falling. And then He invites all of us into His wing – to protect us. I am not worthy of this Lord.  I am a klutz and prone to accidents. I do silly things like stick my hand into a cotton candy machine and inflict nerve, muscle and tendon damage on myself.  I am sure my angels are exhausted and weary from trying to get me to – simply- stand up.   Do I go through my day – knowing that I house God within and the power of my tongue and actions should be a reflection of the majesty of that which lives within me….or do I disgrace the Holy?  Do I stand up and walk in the authority that lives with me, or do I ask my angels to work overtime, trying to get me to stand up and claim my birthright?   Do I stumble in sin, time and time again – making the same bad choices?  Are my angels so busy trying to get me to stop stumbling in sin, I cant live out of the power that is housed within?  Is my character and integrity that which reflects the treasure that I house within?  Job vows that as long as he lives, while he has breath from God, his tongue will speak no lies. Job, a man of integrity- continues in his blameless ways through the scourge of sickness and loss.  In my middle class home, in the richest counry in the world, so I offer the same steely determination to my character and integrity?

Through my inadequacy- God does not – ever- loose His faithfulness to my broken vessel.
“If you’ll hold on to me for dear life,” says God,
    “I’ll get you out of any trouble.
I’ll give you the best of care
    if you’ll only get to know and trust me.
Call me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times;
    I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party.
I’ll give you a long life,
    give you a long drink of salvation!”

We may not understand our circumstances.  We may not understand the tragedies that befall us.  Life is not fair. It rains on the wicked and the Holy. But God….But God offers us eternity.  Whatever the world brings, we house the most High within these containers- until we can see Him, face-to-face, in Glory.

Lord, let my words and actions be a reflection of You – and not my wicked inclinations. May be tongue be cured and my Spirit be that of love. May I not participate in gossip and slander and lies and deceit- but my mouth praise the glories of the King and speak of your goodness. May this honey slip  from my mouth as I deposit heavenly realms into the world and hearts, through the power of Your Holy Spirit.



Week 38


Job: Week 38
This week we are in chapter 26, Job’s ninth speech; a response to Bildad.  As Job relates his understanding to Bildad, I am, once again, undone by our God.  Let’s look at it together.
In Chapter 26 we see Job present the power of our God:
He spreads out the northern skies over empty space;
    he suspends the earth over nothing.
He wraps up the waters in his clouds,
    yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
He covers the face of the full moon,
    spreading his clouds over it.
10 He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters
    for a boundary between light and darkness
.
11 The pillars of the heavens quake,
    aghast at his rebuke.
12 By his power he churned up the sea;
    by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.
13 By his breath the skies became fair;
    his hand pierced the gliding serpent.
14 And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
    how faint the whisper we hear of him!
Who then, can comprehend the thunder of His power?– (MSG)

Our powerful, mighty God is “EL” – the strong one, and job reminds us just how powerful He is and the majestic deeds He is capable of.

Yet,  2Corinthians 4:7 says:
We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. (NLT)
Let’s ponder on these words for a moment – the majesty of our God,  Our “El” who suspends the earth in nothingness and spreads the stars over the northern skies imparts this great power into fragile clay jars.
We house the power of the Lord, through the light of Jesus Christ living within our hearts.  In our earthen frailty we know that our power is from that which we house, not because of the fragile container that holds it.

Job asks the question, “Who then, can comprehend the thunder of His power?”  We can not comprehend the power of God and all of His mysteries….we, certainly cant comprehend the power and the authority that lives within us through the Holy Spirit (and allowing Jesus Christ to be Lord of our lives.)  The fact that this God of Job’s- the one that knows the stars by name – that  God is housed in these fragile “clay pots” we call bodies!  Ponder on that and fall to your knees! Who can comprehend the thunder of His power, Job?  Even more to the point I might ask, Who can comprehend that this power is housed within each of us?? 
That He would choose our fragile vessels to be His place of habitation….it causes  me to be undone, once again, in the presence of our God.   These fragile bodies contain a great treasure.

If we could really get our head, and our hearts,  around whose we are and who chooses to inhabit these frail vessels – perhaps it really could be “on earth as it is in heaven”.  I think the thing that amazes and humbles me – it the dichotomy of His power contained within my weakness.  Job asks, who can comprehend the thunder of His power,   (I add) contained within my weakness?

I am a fragile, broken pot…prone to splashing out of control and times of great drought.  I leak, I loose chips and pieces without even noticing.  My glaze has aged and my vessel shows wear and tear.  His promise to me is that in my weakness, I am made strong.  As I give over everything I have and all that I am, all of my weakness – He makes me strong as I allow more room for His inhabitation within me.  In my little clay vessel I give over the vestiges of self –to allow Him the freedom of my vessel. “….This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves”  (2Corinth 4:7)

In amazement and humility, I can answer Job, that the mysteries of God escape me.  His power is more than I can fathom or imagine. Eternity is a concept I can hardly get my head around.  The fact that He chose,  out of all of the places He could inhabit, my heart- undoes me.  The fact that EL Shaddai choose this clay vessel as His inhabitation is a mystery so vast, I can only get my big toe wet in the vastness of His grace. I am a child of God, of the King of Kings…and the power and authority that lives within me is staggering because of whose I am. The grace, love and mercy that is available to me and through me, abides in whose I am.  

We have this light shining in our hearts, and these fragile clay jars contain this great treasure.  Through our cracks, and our chips and breaks, through His strength- let’s all agree  to let His light shine out and through us.  Through our brokenness, we can share this great strength that lives within us and share a treasure so vast, we can scarce get our hearts around it.

 

Week 37: The Majesty of God

 

Job Week  37



This week we are looking at Job: 25, Bildad’s third response to Job.  I have to say that there are a number of things that I think Bildad  got right – God IS more glorious than the moon and He shines brighter than the stars!  We, as humans, suffer from our human condition and we are maggots, we strive in the death of flesh to find nourishment to sustain us, to no avail.  We eat on the flesh of wordly delights in hopes of growing up and into maturity. Save for the redemptive power of Jesus Christ.

Did you know that a worm has no heart? It has five heart “arches” that work as a heart. Before Jesus our hearts beat and wobble out a heartbeat – but we are not in sync with the divine Heart of the Father.   Our hearts do the job, but don’t pump in heartbeat to the divine. 

A worm cant see – it has receptors that can sense light- before Jesus – we are blind, we can not see the glory of the Lord as the Father presents Him to us – we “Feel” the presence of the light around us – but, until we bend our knee – it is nothing more than a tantalizing presence of light, that beckons us into its existence.

I think Bildad hit it straight on- we are worms and maggots and God is glorious and majestic.  Bildad did not have the saving grace of Jesus Christ.  Bildad couldn’t direct his friends to the living waters of Jesus - but we can.

In Ephesians 2 it says:

1And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body] and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.[

We were mere maggots and worms before Jesus Christ, satisfying the never ending appetites of our flesh, sensing the light- always going towards the light, but not knowing how to break into it and LIVE in the Light- with full sight and full heart and mind.

 But[c] God,

Perhaps some of the strongest words in scripture- BUT GOD….BUT GOD spoke into our miserable existence and found a way for us to live in the light and through His living waters to never thirst again.

 being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved

Even when we were dead in our sins, in our selfishness, in our bondage, in our blind lust for flesh- He made us alive – together with Christ. 

BUT GOD, is majestic and Holy and worthy to be praised!
and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7

Maggots and worms, redeemed through the power of the cross and the redemption of God’s only Son – we are seated in high places in Jesus Christ. 

BUT GOD, loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son, so that we might have eternal life – when we BELIVE in Jesus Christ.

 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Maggots and worms, BUT GOD, chose to show us IMMEASURABLE riches of His grace, with kindness towards us, because we are in Jesus Christ. 

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

BUT GOD, made a way for us to enter into the light of His grace and mercy.

 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (ESV)

BUT GOD, saved us from the life of a worm, and EVEN, prepared good works for us to do – before there was time.

But God , oh BUT GOD, IS more glorious than the moon and brighter than the starts. 



Our God is glorious and majestic.  When I think of the glory of God – I think of sunsets, and mountain ranges, water raging over a waterfall, the heavenly spaces that we see at night.   Majesty comes from the Greek word, “Mega”, meaning BIG. 

Psalm 145:3

Great is the Lord and highly to be praised; and His greatness is [so vast and deep as to be] unsearchable. (AMP)

When we see the work of His hands, the glorious sunsets and all that He has created- the marvel of little fingers and toes that wiggle right out of the womb, we are humbled and amazed. 

BUT GOD wanted to share the joys of His creativity with us.



Psalm 8:3-4 (Amp)

When I see and consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have established,

What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him?



BUT GOD is seen in the majesty of His hands, Psalm 19



The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice[b] goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
    It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
    like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens
    and makes its circuit to the other;
    nothing is deprived of its warmth



Psalm 147 says:

He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by their names.

Great is our [majestic and mighty] Lord and abundant in strength;
His understanding is inexhaustible [infinite, boundless].

And:

Who covers the heavens with clouds,
Who provides rain for the earth,
Who makes grass grow on the mountains.

He gives to the beast its food,
And to the young ravens that for which they cry.



BUT GOD,  calls the stars by name.



There is a song called, Shout to the Lord, by Hillsong:

“Shout to the Lord, all the earth let us sing.
Power and majesty, praise to the king.
Mountains bow down, and the seas will roar,
At the sound of your name.
I sing for joy at the work of your hands,
Forever I'll love you,
Forever I'll stand.
Nothing compares to the promise I have
In you.
My Jesus, my savior.
Lord, there is none like you.
All of my days, I want to praise,
The wonders of your mighty love.”



I think we can all agree with Bildad on the majesty of the Lord. As I was preparing my lesson and drawing this week – I was struck by one of the most profound thoughts ever revealed to me. What if the majesty of the Lord is found in the most ordinary of places? What if the – ultimate- majesty of our Lord is found in a simple pair of sandals? 

BUT GOD, donned a pair of sandals to save us all. A well worn pair of sandals that walked on this earth so that we may live and be redeemed from our status of “worm”.

Majesty on the earth, in the frailest of forms – the human body.

BUT GOD, DID THIS FOR YOU AND I

Breathe in the majesty of these sandals.

I think in life we sometimes thing that in serving the Lord, it has to be great majestic –open acts of worship and obedience.  The grander the gesture, the more visible it is – somehow it is more majestic. I think the majesty of God is more intricate than the just the big and glorious.



God wore sandals.  Majesty incarnate wore dusty, old sandals.  Probably threadbare, as He was considered “poor”, by earthly measure.   What if the majesty of God is in the mundane – the ordinary experiences we have in our everyday, as we walk from place to place.  What if the majesty of God is found in the simplest of deeds and the lightest of touches, in the whisper of prayers and in the faithfulness of friendships?

Isaiah 53:2 says that He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him.  Jesus was ordinary in His humanness, and humble and righteous, the Godhead wore sandals, and walked through barren wastelands.  When Jesus went back to his hometown, he could not perform miracles, because they could not get their heads around this ordinary carpenter’s son, being anything other than ordinary. 

God, who  knows the name of the stars, and created mountain ranges, and DNA, and spiderwebs, chose to wear human flesh to cloak His majesty.  I find myself undone by this act of majestic humility.

What….could be more majestic than this humility that He came to serve us all – the lowest of worms.  How majestic is the humility in which Christ presented Himself to us.  With flesh as His cloak, and feet in worn, tattered sandals -our God interrupted a lost world with truth and grace.



Today I choose to put on my “sandals” and walk with the Father, in humility and gratitude, that these steps were already made by Jesus Himself, on this very earth, with dirty feet- just like mine.

Job Week 36: An Illusion of Security


This week we are looking at Job:24 Our general overview looks like this:
Job shows that open sinners are often prosperous, ver. 1 - 12.
That secret sinners often pass undiscovered, ver. 13 - 18.
That God punishes such by secret judgments, and reserves them for future judgment, ver. 19 - 25.

We will look at the illusion of security that can lull us to sleep. Job captures better than I ever could the fact that those that are less than righteous prosper and carry on. We have spoke, in past lessons, that “riches”need to be defined. I would offer that those that walk separated from the Lord do not have an internal richness, and continually strive to find a fully satisfied, blessed life.

This week, I would like to come at this illusion of security from a Christian point of view and look at our identity crisis, as we succumb to an illusion of security.   This past weekend I was praying with a number of friends and I heard the phrase, “Horton hears a WHOOOOOOO”. Now – this grabbed my attention, because it is not everyday that Dr. Seuss pops into your prayers and into your heart when you stand before the Throne of God!!! So – I paused and gave reflection to what the Lord was saying through this picture in my head…I think the church, His bride, is busy doing things, while asking, “Who me??”   “Were you talking to me Lord?”“Certainly not ME Lord, I can’t do those things.”

While the wicked prosper, I think Christians can get lost in busyness and distraction- serving and doing great things – but are they the great things that He intended for your life? I am constantly having to clean up my calendar and shift and adjust – see I like to do everything! Confession is good for the soul, right? I love serving my Lord– I just have to be careful that I am signing up to His will for my life, and not the enemies distractions for my life. I believe that satan will keep us busy with many things – causing us not to get into the groove of our true identity where we explode for His glory.   They can all be good things for the church and for the community, but they are not the place that the Lord is calling us to – we are minimized in the Kingdom – not walking out His highest calling on our life. I think our enemy will take us chasing our tails in smaller deeds, rather than have us exploding outwards in a heavenly display for the glory of the Lord.

As we are busy and distracted, we believe this is all there is. This is what we were created to do. We look at missionaries on the front lines and we ask, “Who me, Lord?” No – that is fora different kind of person than me….We look at folks helping the broken, weary, addicted and those in prison and we say, “Who me Lord?? But, I am making a potluck dish for the church picnic.”   We see the homeless and the hungry and we turn away , that is too much to bear,  after all we serve on every committee in the church. The Christian walk can become very comfortable within the confines of our churches and the fellowship that we adore.

I am not saying that all of the potlucks and the committees don’t need to happen-I know they do – but there is a bigger picture here. The question little Horton should have asked is : “Whose” so that “Horton Hears  A Whose”. See it was never, ever about who we are. It was never, ever about what we have done, what committee we were on, where we have served, how many seats are filled in church, how many baptisms, if the meat was warm at the last potluck ---the real question here is“Whose are you?’, never “Who are you”---we are nothing if not for Jesus Christ.

If you have come into personal relationship with Jesus Christ and made Him Lord of your life – YOU ARE HIS> you are a new creation in Christ Jesus. This doesn’t mean that you are recycled – see our God loves us too much to recycle…He doesn’t take the good things and put them over here in a pile…while taking the not so good things – and put them in the trash ----No – the truth is so much better than that. When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior – we are made NEW!! Brand new!!!! The old is gone, the grave clothes are shed and we are new creatures in Christ. Remember the things you used to enjoy? You wont anymore because you are new- and those don’t align with your spirit any longer. You are uncomfortable when past sin patterns are presented to your new body- because you are brand new. So WHOSE Are You?? You are his – you are a child of the King –you were created to do great things before time existed. He planned your days long before you took your first breath.

So whose are you?? You are His. Knowing this, knowing it is not about you and your own power or strength – what can you do for Him? If the Bride of Christ were to come into full realization of WHOSE they are, they WOULD know us by our love. The church is in an identity crisis, not living out the full authority  that Christ has instilled in us through His death, resurrection and the Spirit that dwells within us. We are a living tabernacle to the Lord on High, as we house His Spirit!!!   Woah – when Lisa can really get a grasp and Lisa Hears A WHOSE – Lisa is empowered to do great things for the Kingdom of God!!  That stands for each of us. Ephesians 3:20 says that He will do MORE than we can FATHOM or IMAGINE----MORE. Take your biggest dreams – and they are a speck of sand on the plans that the Lord has laid out for your life. He has created you to do great things for him. Expand our territories Lord, so that we see more of you and we serve you with a larger impact.

Our church walls can lull us to sleep and offer us an illusion of security. We can get comfortable in our pews, and the routine of meetings becomes as known as a warm pair of slippers. Yes, we are leading Godly lives and we are regular church attendees – but is that all of this great adventure we want to give over to the Lord? Has the enemy distracted the Bride with church politics and meetings, committees and zoning, potlucks and BBQ’s,newsletters and bible studies?

I see Jesus walking throughout the New Testament. He wasn’t holed up in the temple, waiting for folks to come on in.   He walked and He watched and He listened for all of the Divine Appointments that the Father had laid before Him.   He was inconvenienced for His Father and he touched the dirty, the demonized, the sinner and the disciple. He did this thing, where He was out and about in the world, loving well – with truth. Touching and walking and allowing His hands and feet to get dirty. He did life outside the temple walls and He was always in step with the Father. He allowed plans to be adjusted and had absolute submission to the Father as hearts and circumstances presented themselves.

The disciples lived according to the Spirit- they listened to Barnabas as Paul was brought into their circles, they listened when they were told not to go into Asia and brought the Gospel to a woman that worshiped on the banks of a river. They lived life out of the overflow of the identity of WHOSE they were.

How could we live differently- as we look at the world like Horton did and utter,
 “ ___________, hears a WHOSE.”?


 

Job Week 35:  Finding Higher Ground







This week we are in Job, Chapter 23. I fall in love with Job all over again in this chapter as we see his struggle, once again, in missing the voice of the Father. In the midst of his trials, he can not see or feel the familiar presence of his God.
If only I knew where to find God,
    I would go to his court.
4 I would lay out my case
    and present my arguments.
5 Then I would listen to his reply
    and understand what he says to me Job 23:3-5


If only Job knew where to find Him……that makes me pause and reflect. Sometimes it is hard to hear. I was having a conversation with a bunch of ladies this week, that I love and respect. We were speaking about how – in the beginning of our faith journeys we seem to have a honeymoon stage of “instant gratification” with the Lord---it is like He is showing us the power in prayer and devotion. As we continue to walk, I think He has to stretch us and stretch our faith. It seems that we are so used to hearing from Him, that we expect instant answers, much like a baby that cries and is fed- all night long. As babies, He loves us and nurtures us and he cradles us and answers prayers. If we were to stay in this infant stage of development – we would never grow up in the faith.   Think of Paul’s admonishment to the Corinthians, I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready”1 Corinthians 3:2
Ouch.
So how do we continue to grow, yearning for meat – rather than milk?
Ephesians 4:14,15 - Be no longer children, but grow up in Christ.
2 Peter 3:18 - but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 1:3 - The Thessalonians grew exceedingly in faith
I think some may prefer staying spiritual babies. As a spiritual baby, you aren’t called to do anything, you are a consumer and require constant care and attention. This works for some folks, but wears out the Body. I once had a dream that made me stop in my tracks and reflect on how I approach women’s ministry. In my dream, I had this baby. This baby – was little and small, and bundled in swaddling clothes, but its head was fully grown. This baby demanded me from me and pestered, called and was never satisfied. If I put it down – it wailed and called and demanded my attention. I was so ANGRY at this baby – it was sucking the very life out of me. Sometimes ministry can be that way. When we are doing ministry and the babes always need fresh milk and have no desire for solid food, it wears you out.   We can push our churches in strollers for the rest of their lives….bringing them the Word and lessons,sermons and ground up- bite size pieces of meat. I would offer though, that at some point, we have to unwrap the swaddling clothes and let these babes get a bit hungry for more of the Spirit and more of relationship with our triune God! Stop pushing the stroller , let the milk get a bit cold. Don’t make it so easy to be a consumer. I am preaching to the choir here- it is nice to feel needed, nice to please people, but, do it for longer than its intended season – and we are sucked dry. A baby wants to grow up,wants to be just like mommy and daddy, or older siblings. There is a desire for maturity. WE should desire spiritual maturity.
In this day and age, when being a Christian is a bad word,we need our babes to desire to grow up.  We have to disciple maturity in our churches. Yesterday I had a disturbing experience. My husband and I were out looking for studio space for me to rent. We found a co-op of artists, that all share a gallery –with sub let studio spaces. This seemed like a perfect fit. I was whisked into the managers office to put my name on awaiting list. As we were talking, a few“Yay Gods!!” must have slipped from my mouth- because that just is who I am. She stopped and looked at me, and asked,
“What are you looking for in this space?”
“I would like to teach, and have space to hold classes, as well as sell my work.”
“I am sensing a bit of a faith based thing going on…can you separate your teaching from your faith?”
“Ummmmm, well, …….I don’t think so……Its kind of who I am….Everything I do is bathed in prayer and reflection. Each layer I teach has prayer embedded into it. My studio is called Praise HeART.”
“Hmmmmmm”
“Will my faith be a problem?”
“Yes, it might be- I am going to have to check on that and get back to you.”
I have never been discriminated –so blatantly- for being a Christian.   When did the word“Christian” become the one word that can not be tolerated?
To finish up this story, the women then went on to tell me about a studio that rents from them….where there are skulls on their doors and a real skull doorknocker. They use animal remains to make art- bones and tidbits, constructed into an artform (how is THAT for mixed media?????)– and that was encouraged and tolerated…but CHRISTIAN could not even be entertained.
Its time for us all to grow into maturity in the church. The church has to take back a claim of who we are- and represent ourselves as Disciples of Christ. The media is having a field day misrepresenting what it means to be a Christian.

As we grow in the faith, I think that instant gratification kind of weans off and we are met with moments of silence. We are met with seasons of silence. Like Job, we are not sure where He has gone or what happened.   It is as if God stops pushing the stroller- and He steps away from us, down on His knees- His arms spread wide- encouraging us and calling us to get out of the stroller and WALK. AS we learn to walk, He encourages us to run. Just like a mother or a father – teaching our children to walk, we have to separate from them to do this.   We have to take a step away for them to seek us out- to try – to grow – to strengthen – to walk, so that they may run. We watch our children fall and bump themselves – and we rush back in with arms open wide, hugging and healing with our presence. I think God does the same thing – He lets us walk. WE get to choose to walk away, as the Prodigal did. But, God stays on the front porch, watching for our return- while the Son goes out in search of the 1, leaving the 99 at home with His Dad.
Through all of this, just like our children- the love thati s shared and so freely given at birth and through infancy, childhood and into maturity, is the promise of His faithfulness. My children know they are loved,because I loved them well. I know I am loved by my God, because He has loved me well.   In the dessert, when He has stopped pushing the stroller, I can walk and search Him out and HE WILL be found by me.
In the desert, I can ask others to pray for me- while I do not engage in the active process of searching after the heart of the Father in prayer and supplication.  Jesus died on the cross to grant us ALL access into the throne room…why do people not go there often, and just hang out there – in His presence? To disciple would be to invite others into the throne room, teaching them how to pray for themselves.
I can sit in my stroller and ask and cry and whine and barter – all the while- simply trying to get my own way. Like that full grown baby, if my teeth have come in, it is time to thirst for spiritual meat and loose the swaddling clothes. Those feet are made for walkin’and those hands are meant for servin’. When we approach God, as our genie in a bottle, rubbing Him just the right way until our wishes are granted – we have never entered into the fullness of His grace, or the majesty of His presence. We are a demanding child – pouting until we get what we want – how we want – in the timing we want.
I think the silence is needed, for us to grow. In that silence our whines are squelched and our faith is grown. When He stops pushing the stroller, we have to learn to walk.   When He steps away, He gives us the space to find Him on our own accord.
Job says in verses 10 -12:
But he knows where I am going.
    And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.
11 For I have stayed on God’s paths;
    I have followed his ways and not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from his commands,
    buth ave treasured his words more than daily food
.

Here we see the maturity of Job as he disciples his faith to his friends. In the midst of his trials, with "no presence of God" – He falls back on what he knows and who he knows God to be.   He leaves his circumstances and he chooses to find higher ground.
Are we, leading others through example, to higher ground?
Where are you on your spiritual journey?
Have you become comfortable there?
Do you experience fresh manna daily?
Are you over joyed by the anticipation of being a Christian, and what comes next?
How do you disciple others and call them to higher ground?
My prayer is that this week we would all look at our journeys and thirst for more. I pray for all of the babes to have a desire to grow up, and those that are silver haired, in their faith, desire even more of Him.   …….and, I pray for that artist co-op, that they would come to know and understand the true meaning of Christianity, and that they would feel and know the presence of Jesus in their midst. I pray spiritual fulfillment through the One Spirit that satisfies.

Job: Week 34: Judge Not 




 

This week we are looking at Job, Chapter 22, and I am forced into looking a the word “Judgment”. I am forced to see that Eliphaz judges, condemns, ridicules. He issues a host of things that Job “MUST HAVE” done, because there “is no limit to his wickedness”.
I am brought face to face with judgment and who we are as Christians. We have spoken before of the most quoted Bible verse bynon-Christians: Matthew 7:1 “Do not judge; lest you be judged”. Do they know us by our love? How do we walk out being“of this world, but not in it?” How do we resist political correctness, while leading people to the cross? How do we share the story of salvation, that He is the one and only way to eternal life,without being accused of judgment? What does loving recklessly involve?
This predicament seems to have reached a pinnacle in today’s society as we teach tolerance to our children.  We are living in a world where everything is ok, we are encouraged to“be who we are, whatever that looks like”. Gender becomes fuzzy, sexuality boundaries are blurred and redefined.Christians have forgotten to love and non Christians seek to diminish us. What did Jesus mean by “Judge not, lest you be judged”? I would like to try and dig a little here and see if we cant come to a more solid foundation, other than absolute tolerance on one side and judgment on the other….what does that middle area look like?  
            The word“judge” in Matthew 7:1 is Krino, meaning to form – and express- a judgment –or opinion- as to any person or thing, more commonly unfavorable. In taking out a few of the words that Strong’s Concordance provides- we can shorten this to: to express a commonly unfavorable opinion.   AN opinion is a view or judgment expressed against something, not, necessarily, based on fact or knowledge.
            Perhaps the first step in JUDGE NOT would be to gather our facts, to pray and seek the Father, before we open our mouths, or point our fingers. Eliphaz in this chapter has some opinions and he breaks our first rule, as he has no problem expressing his unfavorable opinion of Job.  Let me bring you into some scriptures, Eliphaz:

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.   Romans14:10-12 ESV

And :

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that eachone may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. 2 Corinthians5:10 ESV


Why, oh why, do I think I have any right to sit in the judgment seat? Why is it that it seems that human nature is to judge, or despise, those that we deem less righteous? Is this a root of pride at work? Do I look down on others from my self exalted high places and think I can pass judgment…even that I am obligated to pass judgment? The Lord has been working on this in my heart since last week.  I claim to be a Christian, I claim to be a follower of Christ, why do I feel it is justified when someone “gets theres?”   Why do we sit and watch the unraveling of lives. So many reality TV shows are just train wrecks that we tune in for. Does it make us feel better about ourselves? The heart holds such potential – for good and evil.
How did Jesus react when the wicked fell?   Lets look at suffering, misery and the down-trodden through the hands and heart of Jesus.
Jesus approached the outcasts:

Jesus Heals Ten Men With Leprosy

11 Nowon his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 Ashe was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[a] met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master,have pity on us!”
14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” Luke 17:11-19New International Version (NIV)

Here Jesus meets 10 lepers on the outskirts of a village. They call out to Him. These are strangers to Him. Does He recoil from their presence? No. the scriptures do not state what depth their disease has robbed them of their humanity. Let’s look at leprosy for a second – it is highly contagious, causes sores to form all over the body, causes body parts to rot and fall off, and has a smell. These men were cast out of the city, from the times of Leviticus: “As long as he has the infection [of leprosy] he remains unclean. He must live alone. He must live outside the camp.” - Leviticus 13:46

These men had leprosy, and called to Jesus from a distance. They followed the “rules” and did not approach. How sweet that Jesus did not recoil. How sweet that He places their healing within the confines of their faith. He says, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” Lepers were not allowed in the Village, much less in the temple. If I put myself in this situation and I am the leper, calling out to Jesus, will He even answer me? He answers with a command, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” Would I? Would I be overcome by my circumstances and my condition, my inadequacy and what the world thought of me? Would that be too big of a stretch- to turn away from Jesus and walk into the town I was banned from? Would my longing for healing be bigger than my fear? Did they  immediately become healed- or did the leprosy heal with each step they took?  Was it an act of faith, with each step reclaiming their humanity?
The lepers all went together – only one returned to give thanks, and it was a Samaritan. Wow – could we place a more scandalous creature at the feet of The Master? A Samaritan Leper falls at His feet giving praises to God.   Does Jesus judge Him? Take away the healing, based on who he is and what his past held? -NO-, He affirms his healing.

So, I look at my own heart and I wonder who is accepted into my circles and who I allow to share my walk with me, from “village”to “village”. Do I speak with those that the Christian faith would deem wicked? Do I love them, or do I judge them? Do I get dirty for them, or do I remain aloof, aside and a step out of reach. Jesus was a carpenter- I bet you Jesus had dirty hands, dirt under His fingernails. Those hands touched and loved, and healed and rekindled. Are my hands dirty for Jesus? How do I treat those that the world considers wicked? Do I throw my Bible verses at them, and try to get them to say a prayer of salvation?   Do I stand on a soapbox and condemn them to Hell?
My daughter is at a large University,as a freshman this year. She sent me a picture of two teens, sitting in lawn chairs – with a sign “STOP SINNING”. There was NO –ONE around them. Is this the best way to evangelize the Lamb of God to the world? Setting one self apart and aside- hidden behind signs. Is this effective evangelization?  It seems there are only two outcomes available:
1-   Folks have a revelation that this applies to them and they, miraculously,  stop sinning. (when we are ALL sinners, saved by Grace…?)
2-   We separate ourselves from them ,creating an US and THEM mentality. We are Christian and they are wicked – and we all feel the separation.
Jesus walked towards them. He walks toward the Lepers and He speaks WITH THEM. There was no sign that said, “Get thee to the priest”. He walks on, and he does this thing He does, in His every day every moment – grabbing opportunities as they present themselves. He speaks to the Lepers – and not with shouts of, “Unclean,Unclean!!!!!” , that they are used to. IS this what our present day lepers, ie those we have deemed wicked, are used to by Christians? Do we shout at them, outside of our churches UNCLEAN, UNCLEAN and write them off?  Do we give them a chance at the brass ring,called “Salvation” and if they don’t take it , we walk away, or sit back down -holding our signs?
Jesus doesn’t – He just keeps on walking and He interacts with the world moment by moment – as the Father brings opportunity after opportunity.
I believe the Father is still giving these opportunities to us. I guess the question is, how do we respond to the every day – to the every moment interactions that we have with the world and the people in it?
How do we respond to friends and family, to those that we “think”are less righteous than ourselves? It there a degree of satisfaction when things begin to unravel and fall apart?  Do we take a seat and grab some popcorn to watch the ensuing train wreck? I am ashamed to say that I have been found in my seat, with popcorn, rather than on the sidelines---encouraging, speaking and touching their lives. To walk as Jesus, I think we have to get up and move. We have to get out of the pews, and out of the church buildings. We have to drop the “us” and “them” mentality and know we are ALL sinners saved by Grace. It doesn’t matter how long we have walked, what we have done for the Kingdom, who we know ---we are all sinners saved by Grace and in need of a Savior. We all make mistakes and we all need forgiveness. What would happen if I remembered this during my daily walk?  What if I remembered to look at each interaction as a divine appointment to show the way to Christ-or to religion?

My aunt posted a picture on Facebook, it said, “Some of the nicest people I know have tattoos- some of the most judgmental ones I know are in church on Sunday”. WOW. Reality check. Are we judging or are we discipling? Are we so busy expressing our unfavorable opinion of others that they know us by our judgments? Jesus never compromised truth,my conundrum isn’t with compromising truth, it is with truth without mercy.Judgment without mercy is what we all deserve, but we are saved by grace. Why, of why, oh why, do we not offer this to the least of these? The world isn’t about“nice”- it is about discipling others to the cross, through our lifestyles and our daily walk.

I continue to struggle with the roles of Christians in a world that needs a Christian presence to be found, to rise up and to be heard. A voice that speaks with truth and mercy to all of those that would listen. This week I can begin by “Judging not- lest I be judged” – and to put it another way – Speak not of your unfavorable opinion, lest others speak of you in the same way.   May others know me by my love for our Savior and the life I lead, not by my mistakes…because, Lord have mercy – I make a lot of mistakes! Let’s agree to disciple and to check our pride at the door, while searching for the good in others.

Week 33: Living in the Wealth of the Spirit

Job: Week 33
This week we are looking at Job: 21- Job’s seventh speech. I can so relate to Job’s way of thinking here. Let me recap – Zophar has just declared to him that the wicked suffer and loose all. The fleeting pleasure found in wickedness will bring ruin and despair.
“They enjoyed the sweet taste of wickedness, let it melt under their tongue. They savored it, holding it long in their mouths. But suddenly the food in their bellies turns sour, a poisonous venom in their stomach. They will vomit the wealth they swallowed, God wont let them keep it down.” (19: 12 – 15)
Zophar speaks of the wicked, as if Job is counted among their members, and worthy of the demise that has over taken him. Zophar goes on to say:
Though the pride of the godless reaches to the heavens
and their heads touch the clouds,
7 yet they will vanish forever,
thrown away like their own dung.
Those who knew them will ask,
‘Where are they?’
8 They will fade like a dream and not be found.
They will vanish like a vision in the night.
9 Those who once saw them will see them no more.
Their families will never see them again.
10 Their children will beg from the poor,
for they must give back their stolen riches.
11 Though they are young,
their bones will lie in the dust. (19:6 – 11)
In Zophars arrogance and judgment, He assumes a great deal about the condition of Job’s heart. He assumes a great deal about how God treats the wicked and the righteous. He assumes a lot about the character and nature of God and he assumes a lot about the character and nature of Job. Phillipians 2: 3 says, “ Let nothing be done through selfish ambition, but in lowliness of mind- let each esteem others better than himself.” We are not meant to esteem more of ourselves – but to hold others higher. We are not to erect altars for our hearts to sit upon, exalting our selves, our wisdom, talents or righteousness – we are to be on bended knee before our living God and empty ourselves for Him. Altars are meant for the inhabitation of God…..not us.
Zophar sepaks, at length, about the fall of the wicked. I do agree with Zophar, in that, earthly appetites do not satisfy our hunger for God- or the yearning for relationship. We can try to fill ourselves with a million different imitation joy anecdotes- but, God, and God alone, is meant to inhabit our hearts, and minds. We can seek, with a voracious appetite to satisfy that hunger for ”something more”- but nothing satisfies until we come into the Joy of our Master and submit our hearts to Jesus. I believe that this is where abundant living and true joy are found – everything else is a cheap imitation.
Zophar continues on with the demise of the wicked…..and, I have found this not to be so true. I do believe the wicked are empty inside, searching for pseudo joy through their earthly appetites…but I have seen the wicked prosper, and can not always hold the same opinion of Zophar that “God’s anger will descend on them in torrents”. When I was pregnant with my first child, I had a job in an orthopedic manufacturing company. I was responsible for lining up all of the trade shows and everything that went into a successful show. The man I worked for, I found to be – extremely – dishonest. I was appalled by the business practices that were encouraged. I didn’t work their long, once I had my baby I did not return to the workforce. The dishonest dealings made this decision an easy one for my husband and I. No matter how dishonest, how much cheating and lying – the business continued to prosper. At the time, in my Christian walk – I kept waiting for him “to get his” – surely God wouldn’t allow this degree of dishonesty, surely a price would be paid for the dishonesty. It has been 18 years, and to my knowledge, that business is still successful- God has not “smited” them for their unjust practices. The wicked prosper, the righteous prosper. Eighteen years later, I look at this with older eyes, more mature eyes, and I find myself looking at this idea of “prosperity”. For this unrighteous man, who I saw practicing dishonest business practices, would his internal life be thought of as “prosperous”? Lies get confusing. Lies are hard to keep track of, and the house of cards will, ultimately, come crashing down as the tower of lies grows and grows. The pursuit of wealth, and prosperity, is a short lived happiness- as it is never enough. Happiness is fleeting, dependent on luck and favorable circumstances. JOY – now JOY is a different thing – JOY is living out of the wealth of the Spirit. This is the abundant life that Jesus came , that we might have it! So, I could fathom that the absence of God, in ones heart, is poverty - never having enough, always coming up short. Drugs, wealth, lies, pornography, gambling, eating, are never enough – they never satisfy for long, they just create an insatiable appetite for more. Poverty of Spirit chases and looks for places and spaces to fill what only God can fill.
So, Zophar seems to hit upon some of these truths in his last discourse, but Job calls him out on the carpet for his over generalizations of the treatment of the wicked. If it were the way Zophar explains – it would seem that all of the wicked would be perishing before our eyes. Actually, all of us would not have a chance – because there is not a one of us that is not wicked and with the potential to do great evil in the world.
Job opens by asking Zophar to just LISTEN to him – then he can continue mocking him, and in Chapter 21 speaks of the wicked that spend their days in prosperity and go to the grave in peace. Job knows he has not sinned against God- and knows prosperous folks that have sinned. We all know dishonest people. How does Job wrap his head- or his heart -around the fact that he has lost all, is miserable, his breath is repulsive to his wife – and he did not sin against God…..yet the dishonest folks around him seem to “have it all”, while he slips further away into illness, poverty, and misery? . His friends sit before him and torment him with their accusations , tormenting him with their knowledge of the state of his heart. They offer empty advice and clichés, rather than entering into his suffering.
Here is the bottom line: We can not assess or assume to know the ways of God. His ways are higher. We can find ourselves in a season that we have no idea what is going on, and we may not understand the trials this side of heaven. But, if we have hope – the expectation of goodness, we can trust in a God that is walking us through it for His purposes.
In Matthew 5: 38 – 48, “The Message” does a beautiful job of summing up everything:
Love Your Enemies
38-42 “Here’s another old saying that deserves a second look: ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’ Is that going to get us anywhere? Here’s what I propose: ‘Don’t hit back at all.’ If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.
43-47 “You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.
48 “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”
We are to live out our God created identity of love. Zophar’s friends seem to have been sideswiped by something other than love. It is not “Us against them”…it is us loving them, all of them, including our enemies and the sinful. At any moment we are just a breath away from our sinful nature- it is through the grace and mercy of Christ that we are redeemed. What if we put our energies into prayer? Easy, right? I wish it were easy to put my energies into prayer when others hurt me….I struggle with rehashing the argument in my head and not letting it go. He says to put that energy into prayer…for them. When someone gives you a hard time, the first line if defense is prayer. How beautiful. How easy – all of that inner turmoil doesn’t have a chance to fester. Let your enemies bring out the best in you---wow. I am not sure my enemies bring out the BEST in me – but, what a beautiful thing to strive for. I love how God continues to work on our hearts and work on our holiness, always calling us to higher ground. When someone gives me a hard time – that they would see the best in me. Help me Lord, show me what that looks like!
Zophar seems to fall back on the clichés that are comfortable to him, as he berates Job. His words are empty, deflated, an old way of seeing things, that are not what the situation is presenting. He seems to be going through the motions and the arguments in his head that have been handed to him, generation after generation. “The wicked perish”. …therefore Job must be wicked. I think his starting argument is faulty – because the righteous suffer as well. This launch against Job, is allowed by God, and initiated by satan. We have one enemy – and it is not God or each other. Have you ever done that- been set in old mindsets? Been set in old ways of thinking that don’t seem to line up anymore? Old ways of doing things that seem empty?
Romans 12: 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
How many times do we come at situations the way that we came at them in the past….digging through past experiences to see how to enter into our present circumstances. Zophar seems to flip a switch, and enter into his old mindsets, unaware of the man that sits before him. He begins his discourse and does not take into account the words , and the heart, of the man before him. To be transformed by the renewing of our mind, we are allowing God’s perspective in, and releasing our own. In this way we can test and approve His perfect will.
We can get lost in our parents religion, not experiencing it as our own personal relationship.
We can stake a claim on a pinnacle moment of our faith, a baptism, or our salvation date and camp out there as our “God moment” – He wants us every minute, of every day, to be walking with Him in relationship, as He did in the Garden with His creation.
We can hear the Bible stories and we can listen to sermon after sermon after sermon – and never open the Word of God and experience its transforming powers ourselves….living vicariously through others transforming relationship.
Old mindsets can look like offense and living our lives through that filter, everything gets filtered through offense and every interaction holds a shred of that offense.
Old mindsets are being comfortable with the relationship we had with God yesterday, being enough for today. Are we like a deer panting at the water? Hungry for more, or have we become complacent and comfortable – staking a claim in our present walk?
IS our walk dynamic and alive, filled with grace and mercy?
Do we live in expectant anticipation of what is coming next?
Old mindsets and old arguments stop the transforming of our minds. Perhaps if Zophar had opened up to other possibilities, and allowed the chance that he might not understand what was happening, into the discourse- it may have been a gentler ash heap. Help us Lord, to release those things that are from yesterday and were for yesterday to stay there – and to enter into Your presence for fresh manna for this day and for this season. Help us, Lord to always search you out anew, to hunger for you- so that we WILL be found by You.
I pray for all of us a fresh season, with restoring, renewing rain that opens up old dreams and new ways of transformative, Kingdom thinking!!



 Job Week 32:



Job Week 32: Chapter 20 Enter into the Joy of your Master.
Zophar is going to give his second response to Job this week, and I think Zophar is close to the truth, close to eternal mysteries….but, misses the mark through judgment and over generalizations- assuming to know the heart of a man. Lets begin by looking at his words. Zophar speaks of the short joy of the wicked. (1-9) The ruin of the wicked. (10-22) The portion of the wicked. (23-29)

In verse 20 – I think the sum of all of these parts are captured with these words: “Surely he will have no respite from his craving; he cannot save himself by his treasure.” Ecclesiastes 5:13 says it another way:
“I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners”.
I find myself circling back around to “Joy” and “Hope” again….how do we get it and how do we keep it? Zophar speaks of the cheap imitations we find to replace joy, cheap substitutes that are fleeting and empty: wealth, food, work, drugs, sex, porn, social media, gambling, …anything that takes us “away” for a few short moments and tries to fill our “God specific” joy center.
Let’s circle around one more time to Romans 15:13: “I pray that God, the source of HOPE, will fill you completely with joy and peace, because you trust in Him, then, you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” If Hope is the seed, Joy is the flower. Hope is the expectation of something good. Hope means that we can trust in His character and nature because we know that He is GOOD.
If you would join me, for a moment, in the parable of Talents, (Matthew 25: 14-30) I think we could find some interesting answers. In the parable of talents. In verse 14, the kingdom of heaven is compared to this story, we open with the master preparing to take a long journey. He calls his servants together and trusts them with His property.
Let’s stop there a moment He calls to His servants – this verb, “kaleo” has a nuance of a shepherd calling to His flock. His servants came, they knew the voice of their master. I once read an interesting article about shepherding and sheep. A man, in the Middle East, found himself on a hillside. Three shepherds came together, with their flocks. All of the sheep mingled and, seemingly, became one flock. The man watching found himself stressing, “How will they find their sheep again?” The shepherds continued on in their conversation, among the angst of the spectator and the delight of the mingling sheep. When it was time to go – each shepherd called out to his sheep, and began on his way again. The sheep knew the voice of THEIR shepherd, and followed suit. These three men, in our parable, came to the sound of their master’s voice. They were familiar with his voice.

The master is going on a great journey and is leaving his servants in the care of his property. One could ask what is the Master’s property? I would offer everything, basically!! For me, I am still in that world of evangalization and increasing the kingdom of heaven, here on earth. So, that if He gives us talents, how are we investing those talents to increase His Kingdom?
Let’s get back to the parable. He gives the servants different amounts, each according to his own personal abilities. They are trusted with a large amount, and each portion is in direct proportion to the abilities present. The Master uses ALL of what we have to increase His property. Matthew Henry says: “Christ keeps no servant to be idle, we have received all from Him (Lisa’s words – everything, absolutely everything that we receive is His- given to us, in order to increase His Kingdom and glorify His name!) –we have nothing we can call our own, except sin. We receive in order to work for Him.”
What are the talents that He has given you? I have a daughter that is brilliant, a son that is wildly creative - a gifted actor/musician- that I delight in watching on stage, a daughter that is so artistically talented it boggles my brain and another son that has the voice of an angel and drives me to tears when I hear him sing.….and I tell them this is not what defines you. Jesus Christ defines you. Your creativity, brains, beauty, brawn, voice, are just tools on your toolbox that the Lord has bestowed upon you to do His work. It is your gift, your “hammer” if you will, to do His work and the works he planned for you before you were born. We don’t get to boast in them or harbor pride and arrogance over these giftings – they are mere tools to the greater good – increasing His Kingdom- on Earth as it is in heaven. To use these gifts for the Master, as they are bestowed on us, and we are trusted with more, to decrease so that He may increase.
The first two servants live to increase their master’s kingdom. They gain nothing in this initial exchange. There is an expectation of the Mater that seems to go hand in hand with the distribution of talents. It seems that their excitement, purpose and passion is found in increasing the Kingdom, it is the joy and the purpose of their servants heart. It would appear that these two servants have hope, because they trust in the goodness of God, they can have an expectation of goodness as the talents are handed to them.
The third servant does not seem to know the character and nature of God. He finds God to be impossible to please, demanding, unfair and unjust…..do you think he really KNOWS God? With the absence of Hope – the expectation of goodness, there is despair, grief and fear. He chooses to bury his talents out of fear. If fear is driving your decisions, stop, drop, pray- remember HOPE and the expectation of goodness, trust in His character and nature, – remember Who HE is and HE will remind you who You ARE! This servant does not seem to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and does not understand, fathom or imagine, the full realization of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wigglesworth said, “As we are filled with the Holy Spirit our one desire is to magnify Him.” I would offer that this servant did not find joy in doing the work of the Lord. I think fear can thwart our Godly work, pride, ambition, selfishness.

The first two servants got to enter into the “Joy of their master”. This word Chare – means the fruition of Joy. Fruition meaning the place that a plan is realized. Christ died so that we might have abundant life, I would offer that this “Joy of the master” is the abundant life that we can lead, on Earth as it is in Heaven – it is the fruition of His talents being used for Kingdom work.
The third servant does not enter into the joy of His master – he is called wicked, lazy and idle. I would question who this servants god really is. Maybe it is power, ambition, selfishness, competition, pornography, addiction, thievery, whatever counterfeit satan throws at us – it is a cruel task master that woos in the beginning and robs, kills and destroy ultimately. The god he describes “harsh and a hard man, reaping where he does not sow, and gathering where you have not winnowed.” What god is he serving? That is not our God.
This servant looses his talents (and they are given to those that will use them for Kingdom work) and is cast off to the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Is not the loss of hope, joy and peace a darkness that engulfs and smothers?
Remember that the master called and all of the servants answered, all of the servants knew the voice of their shepherd. The Bible says that God reveals Himself to all, no matter the geography or the location, He reveals Himself to His people. God is and ever shall be, and will forever more, seek out His people. It is us that changes frequencies, hides our talents, switches the channel and focuses on self. It is our job as faithful servants to magnify His name to all of the world so that His Kingdom might increase- so that we can magnify the voice that calls His sheep home and touch others with the love of Christ.
The news has been so disturbing this past week – with the fall of the Dugger boy - it has been so sad to witness. Zophar, and Ecclesiastes speaks of other taskmasters as god- masters that are harsh and reap where they did not sow….that appetites are never satisfied. There is no joy in the Lord, there is a taskmaster that presses and pounds for more. Out of fear, in an attempt to find joy- these passions are explored and exploited and the recipients find themselves cast out into an outer darkness, scrambling to grab imitation joy- trying to let it be enough- never being satisfied- they continue to try and fill the spaces that are intended for God and His place in our hearts. These cheap substitutions for joy can not bring us into abundant life. The seed is not hope – the expectation of goodness, the seed is our sinful natures and the fruit is that of the flesh. Galatians 5: 16 – 21 says: ‘16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[a] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Folks fall and forget whose they are. We can all give into the desires of our sinful natures. If sin wasn’t fun and alluring, satan would be out of business. We can hold onto our blessings, our wealth, our ministries, our children, our families, our businesses – so that they become our ruin. If our fists are so heavily clenched around our blessings – holding onto them- we can not have open hands to receive new blessings, which arrive each morning, so that we can lavish them on others.
If we loose sight of Hope: the expectation of goodness. If we become filled with despair ( loss of hope in the future) – for whatever the reason, we have switched masters. We have switched our focus from serving the Kingdom to serving ourselves through fear, anxiety, addiction, pornography, molestation, thievery, gambling, food, social media, serving, and the list goes on and on.
The Duggers need our prayers, not our judgment. He forgot what true joy is and what it feels like to enter into the Joy of his Master…..He forgot where true joy comes from and has accepted a counterfeit, fleeting shadow of joy. I pray he remembers whose he is and the digs up the talents that God bestowed on Him to do Kingdom work.
What talents has the Lord given to you to use to do His work in the Kingdom, to increase His Kingdom and to glorify His name? I pray that you use them well, invest them wisely and you enter into the Joy of your Master.

 

 

Job Week 31: Evangelization



Job: Week 31 Evangelization
Job: Week 31: Chapter 19
There have been some things rattling around inside me for some time, and I am not sure that I have come up on any side of the fence, as I continue to rattle. My rattling is caused by one word: Evangelization. The dictionary helps in my definition by explaining that it is to “seek to convert to Christianity, to preach the gospel”. At it’s most rudimentary level I get that, and it does not cause me to rattle. I think my rattle is caused by HOW we go about doing that.
In Job, Chapter 19, Job says (v4 NLT), “Even if I have sinned, that is my own concern not yours.” Leave it to Job to get to the heart of the matter, and to cause a rumble in my rattle. Would you care to come into my rumble and help me explore? A friend of mine shared a quote with me this week. I am not sure who said it, but it is brilliant, “How we walk with the broken speaks louder than how we sit with the great.” If I couple these two thoughts together, I find myself wanting more from evangelization than handing out a tract and judging others sins. Will we ever lead people to the Lord through sitting with them on their ash heap, and – painstakingly – trying to magnify the sins that we have found within them- while ignoring the pride and arrogance that fuels us?
I was brought up Catholic, in the Northeast. For me there were two things you didn’t discuss: Church and politics. We moved down to the Bible belt 18 years ago – where ALL you talk about is church and politics!!! What a switch!! I have struggled with evangelization “HOW TO DO IT CORRECTLY”. There are so many conflicting ideas and stances. We can drive down the road and see banners being held high and the man on the soapbox with a microphone. We get flyers on our car and we get folks knocking on our door. We get buses coming into our neighborhood, really questioning me and judging as they ask, “If you die right now, do you know where you are going?” I am shocked and appalled at the insinuation that I wouldn’t know where I am going, and a sort of anger rises up in me- a Christian. How does a non-Christian feel when they are hit with these evangelization methods? I don’t mean to insult or offend, honestly, I don’t- but, you see, I am rumbling and rattling with the present state of the world – and our position as Christians.
I have explored just about every denomination there is. We, as a family, don’t seem to stake a claim in any one denomination. For us, it is about where God leads us and relationship in the church. (Whether that is right or wrong I don’t know – but it is how the Lord leads us.) We have been Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, back to Methodist, the kids grandparent are Lutheran….the kids sing in an Episcopal Choir. My family has been exposed to just about every denomination and every form of evangelization- from none, to tracts, to mission work. It all seems to be settling into a stew lately, as the world continues to change and adapt to cultural pressure.
While I was in one church, in our journey, there was pressure to hand out tracts (ie Bible tracts – that speak the Gospel, have the “Roman Road” or the ABC’s of salvation) to folks. I was never comfortable with this. Coming from the North – it was too invasive, too pushy, to judgmental. I felt like I was a failure at being a good Christian because I just couldn’t get the hang of handing someone a tract and walking away, “Hoping I see them at church”.
In 2013 I was blessed to go to Romania and serve alongside “Elder Orphan Care”, a ministry that serves the homeless senior citizens in Romania. Imagine being homeless. Imagine being cold. Imagine being a senior, homeless and cold. Many of these frail elders loose their legs. They fall asleep in the cold, and the rats chew on their extremities as they sleep and the frostbite settles in. I never thought I would do mission work. I can remember driving down the road once – sitting at a red light and hearing a song about children in Africa. My thought was, “God bless those who are called out of the country to serve others in the name of Christ – that is not me.” Even as I said it – I felt something open and – I think – God chuckled a little.
As I was preparing for this mission trip, I was denomination hopping. The church I was attending was not the church sending us. This was a friends church and we had to be trained through their church. I found such a treasure, such a freedom in this little green binder that housed our training. There were different forms of evangelization listed- from handing out tracts to REALTIONSHIP. Now this got my attention!! Relationship as a form of evangelization. This opened my eyes and freed my soul. I didn’t have to kamikaze in, drop a tract, tell them our church hours and get out. I got to settle in for a bit, share a sweet tea and talk, and share and love and hug them right to the altar of God. Now, I understand that some are called to other forms of evangelization, but this one worked for me. If you are interested in other styles – check out this website to find your niche: http://www.pcbc.org/jeffsblog/?p=1064
In being released to my own evangelization personality, I found that I could enter into relationship, transparency and vulnerability – I got to Love His sheep, while I was tending to them and feeding, both, His lambs and sheep. I would encourage you to find your evangelization personality and let it shine – often.
This brings me to the state of affairs today, coupled with my unique evangelization personality. Do we walk with the broken, or sit with the great? Through my rattling and rambling I think evangelization has a natural offshoot of discipleship. I am not even, exactly, sure where the lines blur and one fades into the other. Evangelization without discipleship seems to set up a new believer for a crash and burn – the seed that falls on rocky earth, that can not settle in deep roots – and withers quickly thereafter. Evangelization/discipleship hand in hand- I would call it relationship. I would call it mentoring. When we stop looking at numbers, how many are in our pews, how many have we led to the Lord, how many baptisms, how many mission trips….and see His sheep. Bleating, alone and scared before us, as we settle in next to them and- through the work of the Spirit, lead them to greener pastures.
The world is upside down and backwards- with boundaries being blurred and redefined. Will we stand before His sheep and accuse, judge, torment as Job’s friends have? Would their answer be much like Job’s, “Even if I have sinned, that is my concern, not yours”. Is it not fair that non-believers can issue the one scripture that they do know…Matthew 7:1 “Judge not, lest you be judged.” This is the scripture that is used to keep us at bay -to silence us. We, as Christians, would like to believe that it is John 3:16 for non –believers and believers alike….but no, the one verse that is known by the whole world is JUDGE NOT. LEST YOU BE JUDGED.
How can we step up as the Body of Christ? I would offer, for me personally, my answers are found in putting down my judgment, pride and arrogance and stop using the Bible as an introduction into argument. I would use the Bible as a means to grace.
I have met some pretty unloving Christians who seem to view Christianity as an exclusive Country Club…are you sitting with the great? In their zeal for “being right”, they loose sight of the truth of righteousness through faith. In their passion for God, they trample stomp and do damage to the Kingdom of God. Would a softer footstep radiate forgiveness and grace- intertwined with truth and love?
Is the testimony of our life, radiating the changes that happen as we grow in relationship with Christ? Does our life testimony line up with our Sunday face? Are we a “Christian” when no one is looking?
In this world today, it seems harder to wear the badge of “Christian” than it does to to wear – just about any other title. Say you’re a Christian and there is immediate offense. I know this is how it was told it would be . I also know that it is His will to find His sheep and bring them home. Goodness, He is standing on the porch waiting for His prodigals to return to Him!
I would never suggest to water down the truth of His word. I think it is the delivery that we may have lost somewhere in this big wide world. I am going to pursue evangelization coupled with discipleship. Entering into the life, suffering, happiness, trials and joy of those that the Lord crosses me with. I pray that He would magnify my talents and my time so that I may roam the Earth for the one He is sending me to find, in His name, for His glory, for His Kingdom. Yes, I will be inconvenienced for His Sheep, and I will try to feed them with His truth and His grace, His forgiveness and the concept of repentance.
So I rumble, ramble and rattle as I call myself a Christian in todays world, seeking to walk with the broken, rather than sit with the great.




 


This week we are looking atJob, Chapter 18, and I am reminded to not just listen, but to hear with compassion.  Our old friend Bildad listens to Job lament on his hope being lost, that his spirit is crushed and that his face is red with weeping. Bildad doesn’t seem to hear any of this despair. It would appear that he is simply waiting for his time to speak, his time to re-launch his argument, his turn to “be right”.
Lets take a look at isresponse to Job’s despair. I chose themessage for this weeks reading – as it truly seems to encompass the overall sense that Bildad enters into Job’s suffering with:
Bildad’s Second Attack: Plunged from Light into Darkness
18 1-4 Bildad from Shuhah chimed in:
“How monotonous these word games are getting!
    Get serious! We need to get down to business.
Why do you treat your friends like slow-witted animals?
    You look down on us as if we don’t know anything.
Why are you working yourself up like this?
    Do you want the world redesigned to suit you?
    Should reality be suspended to accommodate you?

5-21 “Here’s the rule: The light of the wicked is put out.
    Their flame dies down and is extinguished.
Their house goes dark—
    every lamp in the place goes out.
Their strong strides weaken, falter;
    they stumble into their own traps.
They get all tangled up
    in their own red tape,
Their feet are grabbed and caught,
    their necks in a noose.
They trip on ropes they’ve hidden,
    and fall into pits they’ve dug themselves.
Terrors come at them from all sides.
    They run helter-skelter.
The hungry grave is ready
    to gobble them up for supper,
To lay them out for a gourmet meal,
    a treat for ravenous Death.
They are snatched from their home sweet home
    and marched straight to the death house.
Their lives go up in smoke;
    acid rain soaks their ruins.
Their roots rot
    and their branches wither.
They’ll never again be remembered—
    nameless in unmarked graves.
They are plunged from light into darkness,
    banished from the world.
And they leave empty-handed—not one single child—
    nothing to show for their life on this earth.
Westerners are aghast at their fate,
    easterners are horrified:
‘Oh no! So this is what happens to perverse people.
    This is how the God-ignorant end up!’”

It would appear that Bildad,simply, needs Job to “knock it off” and see it his way- that Job is hiding his wickedness.
Proverbs 18:13 (NIV) says : To answer before listening is folly and shame.
I know that I have been the,unlucky, recipient of such behavior and that I have unleashed it on others as well.   Have you ever been there? Not listening to the other person, but building up your argument in your head – waiting for a chance to unleash it?   In this state of mind, I – literally – do not hear what the other person is saying, or am inclined to believe them. I havef ortified my judgment and I am ready to show them that I am right. Might I offer that this is not communication, this is not love, this does not help the Body operate.

In my, not too distant past,I had a Bildad in my life- and I have been a Bildad. The accusations formed against me, made small blue birds begin circling around my head, and I was left in utter confusion,with one sentence constantly forming on my lips, “Do you know me – at all?” and “Do you still call me friend- as you unleash these accusations and demands against me?”
The accusations/demands did something to me though- they made me realize that I had a hidden idol in my heart- the idol of pleasing people, not God. The more criticism I heard, no matter how outlandish and bizarre, the more I jumped. The arguments were formed against me and I begged and pleaded- with my actions and my heart – am I holy now? Am I good enough? Can you like me again?
            Goodness, it is so embarrassing to look back on that time, and see who I was- and how God allowed me to jump and run and clap and prance for the acceptance of others. Here’s the thing – if I jumped- and performed well - I would stop and look and hold my breath ------“IS it better now?” No – another accusation flew,another judgment and malignant opinion was hurled at me.
I jumped, I spun, I whistled,I jumped higher….holding my breath, all to no avail.
You see, I think God used this time in my life to show me, to intimately show me- that we are never “good enough” in the eyes of man. Set ourselves up for this folly and we will be on a fast track of people pleasing that will distract us from His purposes, His missions, His identity, His love and absolute acceptance. Through the blood of the Lamb, I want to tell you that God looks at us with the love He has for His Son. We are loved that much-----we are adored- so much so- that each hair is numbered on our heads, and He has purpose for us before we are even born.
Bildad builds the argument in his head while Job is in despair. His heart is hardened with judgment and control. Job is a crushed man before him, but judgment has no heart, nor compassion. Judgment seeks being right…if Control is the seed, judgment is the fruit.  I think control is another Idol we can house within our hearts. Control is a persnickety little beast, it comes disguised in so many forms. Control looks different on different hearts:
*It can look like we don’t want to bother anyone – we will just “do it ourselves”.
*If we don’t do it -it wont get done right
*In absolute idolatry we trust our power more than God’s sovereignty.
*It says, “I can”, “I will”“I think”, “I am”, and does not leave much room for anyone else- and no room for God to overwhelm us.
*It proclaims itself an authority – in all arenas
*It squashes , rather than equips
*It demands, rather than encourages
*It requires a great deal of self importance to be maintained
*It manipulates
*It is ruthless
*It can not fail
*It is – absolutely-exhausting for all.

In my opinion, control takes out churches, takes out ministries, and generally, takes out relationships. If the Bible tells us that we are all parts,that need each other, we need to encourage and equip each other. We need to disciple and nurture. We need to allow others to fail.  Wow –that’s hard isn’t it?? In our attempts to do everything right, and in my heart of idolatry – where I need to please people ---how can failure be any part of my equation? Failure has taught me – maybe even more- than success has.
Encouragement comes up alongside and offers support, ideas and words of life, rather than taking over.  Failure allows a team, a family,friends, a church to brainstorm and reach success together. Failure allows God to break into the control cycle and make His will known. Failure is a powerful teacher if we allow it in. Failure can refocus and unite.

Control, ultimately, shows that the idol we have put up on an altar- is ourselves.   We cant trust others, nor God. Ours is the best way, the “right” way, the“only” way. Of course, this idol disguises itself in churches, and relationships, and appears as an“extreme helper” and an authority in all- ready to voice its opinion,and steer towards its conclusion.   Ready to offer an opinion and a direction, -----unfortunately, the idol of control tends to roll over people- devastating, rather than equipping.

I think a leader sees potential within. Not who we are, but who we were created to be. A leader calls this into action with trust, faith and equipping. A leader prays and gives the reigns over to God. A leader calls up the gifts within others. Remember Barnabas? (Acts 8 and 9)Barnabas meets a horrific persecutor of the followers of Christ: Saul. While Stephen- a disciple - is stoned to death, His murderers cast their garments at Saul’s feet - as he looks on in agreement with the stoning. This man, a Jew – is good at persecution and hate fans his flames of purpose.   His desire is to go everywhere and destroy the church, eager to kill the Lord’s followers.  Saul, as we know, has a divine encounter on a road to Damascus, with Jesus, and is a changed man. He goes from Saul, to Paul, the most prolific writer of the New Testament. A changed man- he begins preaching in Damascus, and the Jews are afraid.   They don’t trust him, they plot to kill him. He escapes out of Damascus and begins his travels to Jerusalem, where he wishes to meet the other disciples. They want nothing to do with him. Barnabas reaches out to him and decides to trust in something bigger than human understanding, He sees into the heart of the man, through the power of the Spirit, and chooses to believe in him. Barnabas took a chance on trust and faith. Barnabas could have failed.
Sometimes folks keep us where we once were, not who we are today. Encouragers see potential, not mistakes. Barnabas took a chance on Paul, and look what happened! “Control” wouldn’t have allowed this conversion – something out of human understanding and perception, something so out of boundaries, could not be accepted- because it couldn’t be controlled.Control squelches the Spirit.   1 Thessalonians5:19 tells us to “Not quench the Spirit”. In this phrase quench means to put out fire. We put out the fire of the Spirit when we control our atmospheres, not allowing “on earth as it is in Heaven”.  We extinguish the fire of the Spirit as we dictate, and orchestrate our surroundings.

Control is a cruel taskmaster that takes everyone out, the person in control and everyone they come in contact with. It kills, hurts, destroys and maims those it comes in contact with.

What if Bildad had entered into the failure of Job’s hope?What would that look like?
What if he didn’t need to control, Job’s redemption?
What if he loved Job, where he was, and allowed him despair?
What if he allowed God to be God and allowed him to show up in Job’s circumstances, not trying to fix it, make it better, or find a solution himself?
What if they prayed together?
What if we don’t have to have all the answers, because God does?
What if we don’t have the full plan, because God is revealing it one step at a time, one OBEDIENT step at a time?
What is we allow others to operate in their giftings? – even encouraging it?
What if we fail?
What if others fail around us?
What if we allow folks to grow up, to change, to be made new – not hammering their past on them like an“A” on their chest- they can never be rid of?
What if we look for the Paul in our Sauls, and love it up and out of them?
What if we don’t need to control others redemption, their path, their purposes and how they walk out their Christian walk?
What would the Bride look like- if we loved each other and supported each other and stopped needing to control each other?
What would the Bride look like if we sought to please God, not others?
What if we listened and gave up our right – to be right?
What if we sought peace rather than needing to be right?

What would the body look like? Would others, then, recognize us by our love?


Job: Week 29
This week we will continue on our quest of understanding HOPE, through Chapter 17. (NLT)
Job Continues to Defend His Innocence
17 “My spirit is crushed,
and my life is nearly snuffed out.
The grave is ready to receive me.
2 I am surrounded by mockers.
I watch how bitterly they taunt me.
Oh, the encouragers have lost sight of the goal of encouraging!!! Encouragers have turned to mockers, and how easy it is to fall prey to a judgmental, critical spirit.
3 “You must defend my innocence, O God,
since no one else will stand up for me.
4 You have closed their minds to understanding,
but do not let them triumph.
5 They betray their friends for their own advantage,
so let their children faint with hunger.
It seems that communication has stopped around the old ash heap and accusations have taken the place of encouraging communication
6 “God has made a mockery of me among the people;
they spit in my face.
7 My eyes are swollen with weeping,
and I am but a shadow of my former self.
8 The virtuous are horrified when they see me.
The innocent rise up against the ungodly.
9 The righteous keep moving forward,
and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger.
Again, in this chapter, we see that Job refers to his, ever present, state of crying. Should the virtuous be horrified when we are faced with suffering? Should the “righteous” (Who among you will cast the first stone?) keep moving forward away from the one that suffers, away from a lost sheep, away from one who is in need of a Savior? Should we ever seek our own strength- trampling over those who are in need, as we flex our muscles and hone our muscles on others fallen bodies as we “climb higher”, over their despair? Should we ever speak – just to hear ourselves speak? Or do we stand tallest when we kneel to help, to listen, to love?
10 “As for all of you, come back with a better argument,
though I still won’t find a wise man among you.
Ummmm, ouch. Can we hear truth when others confront us with it? Truth without love is brutal. Love without truth is menial and fleeting.
My hopes have disappeared.
My heart’s desires are broken.
12 These men say that night is day;
they claim that the darkness is light.
13 What if I go to the grave[a]
and make my bed in darkness?
14 What if I call the grave my father,
and the maggot my mother or my sister?
15 Where then is my hope?
Can anyone find it?
16 No, my hope will go down with me to the grave.
We will rest together in the dust!”
Yes, Job – please let us step in here and help you find your hope. Isn’t this just like the human condition…we rally and we plummet. We are doing well and then we are at rock bottom. We give things over to the Lord, and then we take it back. Job, we will not walk away from you – we will not argue our righteousness with you, we will not try to destroy you with argument and with our bloated sense of wisdom and understanding. We will love you and we will remind you:
Psalm 39:7 And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.
Our ONLY Hope is with the Lord. Please join me today as we go on a bit of a rabbit trail, as we search for Job’s hope. Can anyone find it Job ?? – I am hoping we can find it today and that we will be able to offer hope to the hopeless in our present day.
The hope is Psalm 39:7 is the word: Towcheleth (to-kheh-leth) meaning expectation, hope. Here we see that Hope is an expectation. What happens when we resign ourselves to a condition, a posture, a relationship, an illness, a situation. When we resign ourselves, taking our eyes off of God – and squarely focusing on what our life is NOT. Fixated and focused on what is lacking. Well, expectation disappears, because we have accepted our circumstances. We have lost any expectation of good and we are resigned to whatever the world heaps over us.
Might I take your head and offer you a glimpse up? A glimpse into the heavenly realm. The Lord’s prayer says, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven. “ Lets think on Kingdom living then….We are asking God’s Kingdom to come into our lives. God’s Kingdom offers hope, because He is the source of Hope. We raise our eyes and we invite His Kingdom into our circumstances, and the atmosphere starts shifting. We loose focus on the circumstance and we trade it for Kingdom focus. Here is the hard part- THY WILL BE DONE. Are you ready to pray that prayer? Are you ready to give over all control and get on a rollercoaster that you have no idea where it ends? Are you ready to stop trusting in your own power and your own knowledge and trust in a God of grace and mercy? Are you ready to give Him COMPLETE control and let HIS WILL be done in your heart and in your life? Have you reached rock bottom? Is there nowhere else to hide? Nowhere else to go? Look up and give Him a chance to sing over you, delight in your presence and shift your atmosphere from despondency to hope. We will come back to the Lord’s prayer in a moment (remember we are on a rabbit trail this week!!!) – here I am reminded of Jeremiah’s lamentations in Lamentations 3:18 that is soul is destitute because his hope in the Lord has perished.
Are you there? Has your hope in the Lord perished? Were your prayers not answered? Did things not work out the way you had hoped? Are you still facing the same, horrible existence from before you asked the Lord in? I would remind you that the prayer YOUR WILL BE DONE is not an easy road to walk. It requires laying EVERY expectation you have down. These are worldly expectations. It is putting your trust in Him and your expectation in HIM ----in whatever, and however He decides to show up. Expectation in the Lord is an exciting place – it is the “sweet spot” of the Christian faith. In this spot we can rely on Him, not knowing what tomorrow brings, even what the next moment will bring ----but, we trust in His character and nature and we know that He showers us with acts of kindness and delights over us with singing. We sit in His love and we expect good things to happen in the midst of our trials…because He is good. We get to relax and watch with expectant joy in what He will bring. This might mean releasing expectation in things you may not be called to – but are in control of. And not wanting to let go of. If the Lord didn’t call you to it - He isn’t going to walk you through it. Are you willing to pray the prayer – YOUR WILL BE DONE? It is scary, it is powerful, it is joyful. It is hard, it is impossible, it is unpredictable, it is not always the way we saw it. Thy WILL BE DONE, does not mean that your walk will be without pain and grief and suffering….but- do you trust Him to get you through whatever comes your way? Remember that He wants us Holy, not- necessarily Happy. But in “Holy” - Joy lives, not the fleeting emotion of happiness.
I am going to express to you a sentiment that has changed my life….every time I am faced with a situation I am not sure of – I stop and I check in and I don’t move until I have clarity. IF there is something that is going on with another person, I ask Him to search my heart and show me where I need to clean my heart. I pray for any ground that I have given over to the “dark side”, and that I need to fix within. Sometimes, people are just mean and hurtful, and like Saul – they throw spears at us, while we are singing to the Lord. That is – while we are in the service of the Lord – there are those who are mean, and controlling, and hurtful – and can throw spears with words, deeds, actions and physical abuse. Might I offer that when the spears hit upon a pure heart, and there is no ground in you for the enemy ----then you are to pray for them. Pray for them like you have never prayed for anyone before. Pray for them and forgive the spear that may have pierced your heart. Don’t allow that spear to teach you how to throw spears, and words, and actions, and hurt and anger, and control. Don’t throw that spear back at them – respond with Love and forgiveness. (If this is an interesting concept to you – the “Tale of three Kings” by Gene Edwards goes into this analogy with such beauty and poise, forcing great reflection to how we deal with conflict! )
“His Will be Done” means that He may be bringing to light something in you that He is wanting to clear out – and using the spears of others to pierce your heart- to grow you and sanctify you. What if you looked at the world in ways to grow you, not throw spears at others? The tongue holds so much power- it is, perhaps, the strongest muscle in the body – with such power to offer life- and death. HIS WILL be done means you may walk through some tough times, but- you can trust that He is GOOD and expect Him to show up in ways that are MORE than you can fathom or imagine!!
Let’s go back to Jeremiah- in Lamentations 3 (NLT)
Hope in the LORD’s Faithfulness
3 I am the one who has seen the afflictions
that come from the rod of the LORD’s anger.
2 He has led me into darkness,
shutting out all light.
3 He has turned his hand against me
again and again, all day long.
4 He has made my skin and flesh grow old.
He has broken my bones.
5 He has besieged and surrounded me
with anguish and distress.
6 He has buried me in a dark place,
like those long dead.
7 He has walled me in, and I cannot escape.
He has bound me in heavy chains.
8 And though I cry and shout,
he has shut out my prayers.
9 He has blocked my way with a high stone wall;
he has made my road crooked.
10 He has hidden like a bear or a lion,
waiting to attack me.
11 He has dragged me off the path and torn me in pieces,
leaving me helpless and devastated.
12 He has drawn his bow
and made me the target for his arrows.
13 He shot his arrows
deep into my heart.
14 My own people laugh at me.
All day long they sing their mocking songs.
15 He has filled me with bitterness
and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink.
16 He has made me chew on gravel.
He has rolled me in the dust.
17 Peace has been stripped away,
and I have forgotten what prosperity is.
18 I cry out, “My splendor is gone!
Everything I had hoped for from the LORD is lost!”
19 The thought of my suffering and homelessness
is bitter beyond words.[a]
20 I will never forget this awful time,
as I grieve over my loss.
“His Will be done “ isn’t always easy and it isn’t always pretty. Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, could attest to this. This lamentation sounds like it could be Job – the complaints are so similar . Jeremiah grieves over Jerusalem, while Job weeps over his condition. Jeremiah doesn’t get stuck in the despair though – lets read on and rejoice as we watch hope restored to absolute desolation:
21 Yet I still dare to hope (can you DARE to HOPE in your circumstances?)
when I remember this:
22 The faithful love of the LORD never ends![b]
His mercies never cease.
23 Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
24 I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!”
Yes, can you feel the hope rising – as we remember who He is and we recount stories and testimonies of His faithfulness. This hope, is available to each of us – no matter what our circumstances and what we are walking through – The faithful love of our God never ends. Rest in that – rest in His love and feel His presence.
His mercies never cease and are fresh every morning. No matter what you have done, no matter what your life has looked like – when you ask His forgiveness- you are forgiven forever and ever. He does not wake up each morning recounting yesterdays mistakes – each day is fresh, alive and new with new mercies. Do you offer the people in your life the same mercy fresh each morning?
Are you worried about tomorrow? Anxious about something that is coming up – He offers His mercy each morning---you can’t store up His mercy, in preparation, for tomorrow. He gives you what you need when you need it to get through your trials. Try not to worry about tomorrow- tomorrow will take care of itself!
The Lord is our inheritance…. The Lord is our portion, that is, He belongs to us through the blood of Jesus Christ. Isn’t He enough? What is bigger than God? He is enough, He is plentiful, He is good. Thus, we can hope in him, we can expect once again.
25 The LORD is good to those who depend on him,
to those who search for him.
26 So it is good to wait quietly
for salvation from the LORD.
27 And it is good for people to submit at an early age
to the yoke of his discipline:
The Lord is good to those who depend on Him, will you depend on Him today and allow for “His will to be done?”
It is good to wait quietly for deliverance from the Lord – quietly, with prayer, thanksgiving and supplication.
It is good to submit –at an early age- to the yoke of His discipline. This yoke allows His will to be done, in order to make you more holy, more pure, so that you can house more of Him --- housing more of His kingdom – here on earth. IT allows you to live an abundant life, that Jesus died for.
28 Let them sit alone in silence
beneath the LORD’s demands.
29 Let them lie face down in the dust,
for there may be hope at last.
30 Let them turn the other cheek to those who strike them
and accept the insults of their enemies.
Don’t pick up that spear that pierced you. Let it fall to the side. Always get to a safe place and then concentrate on you and what the Lord is doing in your heart. Pray for those who persecute you, forgive them, and bless them. This is the way of the Lord.
31 For no one is abandoned
by the Lord forever.
32 Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion
because of the greatness of his unfailing love.
33 For he does not enjoy hurting people
or causing them sorrow.
No one is abandoned by the Lord forever. There may be times where you feel like He is distant. He is not, maybe your back is turned from Him? Maybe you walked away from Him? Maybe things aren’t the way you planned it, the way you wanted it to look – He wasn’t acting like your genie in a bottle…but, He didn’t leave you. You may have left Him in pursuit of your own interests. His will be done, did I mention it is not an easy prayer to pray?
This truth needs to be heard – He does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow- this is a lie from the enemy. God is GOOD. Do you have children, or cousins? Do you love them? What do you do, in love, when they are about to get hurt? You discipline them as an act of love. Hebrews 12:6 “because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son."
He loves us enough to what the best for us, and the best for us is more of His Son in our hearts, and in our world.
So, here is the final destination through our rabbit trail, remember that I said that we would return to the Lord’s Prayer? Let’s look at this prayer again.
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name,
Thy Kingdom come , thy will be done——
One EARTH as it is in Heaven
We are inviting the heavenly kingdom - God’s Kingdom onto the Earth. Jesus walked on this earth and brought the heavenly kingdom to earth and it walked here- altering hearts and atmospheres through His love and truth.
Jesus taught us how to pray this prayer- the one who was born in a stable – who brought the kingdom of heaven to earth,
Dear Father, who abides in Heaven- Your name is so Holy.
We invite your Kingdom to come, for Your will to be done – HERE, as it is in Heaven. Here, within me, within my family, within my ministries, within my church, within my community, within my state, within my continent, within my world – we invite Your Kingdom to be manifest in your Bride – the church, through each one of our hearts.
We are being called to have a Kingdom living experience of faith - not a world level experience of faith. We are inviting His Kingdom to be expressed on earth. Christ came so that we could live ABUNDANTLY- I would offer that KINGDOM living is living in this abundance of the Father. World living is pecking for scraps like an old chicken.
Lord, we ask for divine wisdom in this area - that we can understand BIG concept in our little minds. Jeremiah 33:3 says, "Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know of things to come.” Lord -we kneel before You - not even able to understand or grasp what this Kingdom living looks like - but knowing we want to usher in ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN- in our hearts, in our families, in the ministry, in the church, in our community, in our world. What does that look like Lord? We ask for heavenly wisdom to walk this out - to glorify You - to magnify You and to reap and sow into Your Kingdom. We love you, so desperately , Jesus, Father and Holy Spirit - come- as our triune God and please, show us ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
Help us to get past our present circumstances, our present struggles, trials and prejudices to usher in the Kingdom of God.
Job asked – Where is his hope? Can anyone find it?
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.



 


 

Job: Week 28/ Job 16: 15-22 Inconvenienced?
“I have sewed sackcloth over my skin
and buried my brow in the dust.
16 My face is red with weeping,
dark shadows ring my eyes;
17 yet my hands have been free of violence
and my prayer is pure.
18 “Earth, do not cover my blood;
may my cry never be laid to rest!
19 Even now my witness is in heaven;
my advocate is on high.
20 My intercessor is my friend[a]
as my eyes pour out tears to God;
21 on behalf of a man he pleads with God
as one pleads for a friend.
22 “Only a few years will pass
before I take the path of no return.
This last part of Chapter 16 reminds me, , that we need a Savior. Job has worn sackcloth, sat on ashes and put ashes over his head. This is a posture of mourning and repentance. Job sits – before his friends, more importantly, before His God in a state of visible repentance. The ESV versions says that he is in this posture, though he has, “done no wrong and my prayer is pure.” Job16: 17
This takes me deeper into Job’s character, that he is sitting outside, on an ash heap, in sackcloth, with visible ashes upon his brow- declaring for all of the world the despair that he is in and the repentant heart that he portrays. In Psalm 118:5 says (NLT) “In my distress, I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free”. Job invites the Lord INTO his distress, into the very heart of his mourning and begs to be set free.
How can his friends continue to find fault with him? Perhaps it is just our nature? His face is red with weeping. He is broken, crushed, and stricken beyond recognition. BUT HIS PRAYERS ARE PURE. And there I am brought to my knees and just have to sit a spell on those words. Visibly, he can not be recognized. He has lost his family, except his wife, and all that he owned, his friends torment him as he sits, in utter humility on the ashes of his life. He weeps without ceasing, and mourns the loss of his life and, I would imagine, the “loss” of his relationship with God.
Such humility, such transparency and vulnerability. The sackcloth and ashes are an outward sign of the inner condition…..and Job’s inner condition is utterly broken. I am thinking out loud here, it is an honor and a privilege to step into another’s suffering. For someone to invite you into their heart, to sit next to them upon the ash heap – to listen and to HEAR their story. As they hold out their, vulnerable, heart- it is a privilege to hold that beating heart for a spell, while they catch their breath. It is an honor to pray and to hold that ash heap as sacred ground. God draws near to the broken hearted, our ash heaps are sacred ground.
With all of this going on around the ash heap, Job says, “I have done nothing wrong and my prayers are pure.” Still, Job does not sin. He gets frustrated with his friends (I am guilty of this), he laments over the conditions he finds himself in (I am guilty of this), yet he does not curse God like satan and his wife want him to. He does not admit his guilt, as his friends want him to. He mourns the only way he knows how, crying out to his God, begging for answers, begging to hear from him again, begging for restored relationship. Judges 16:20 (NIV) speaks of one of the saddest moments in scripture, we are with Samson and Delilah ; “Then she called, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" He awoke from his sleep and thought, "I'll go out as before and shake myself free. But he did not know that the LORD had left him.”
Samson did not know when the Spirit of the Lord had left him, not only was his hair cut, but his relationship was severed. It seems that Job is aware of a distance, and this distance is not something that he is used to. It is said you only see the stars because of the dark around them. Job couldn’t know the absence of God, if he wasn’t aware of the presence of God.
In verses 18 – 21 Job speaks of an advocate, one who will plead our case before the Father.
1John2:1 (NIV) “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.”
We need a Savior. There isn’t a one of us that are perfect, no matter how hard we try, it simply isn’t attainable. Jesus is very clear in Matthew 5.
He says, it has been told forever not to murder
21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister[b][c] will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’[d] is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Anger is subject to judgment. Yikes
Mocking someone with names of contempt, ie “Idiot” is answerable to the court. Ooops
Anyone who says, “You fool!!” is in danger of the fires of hell. Uh-oh
Jesus wants our minds and our hearts. The fact that we have not murdered that person that has done us wrong, irritates us, condemns us - is not commendable. We don’t get to pat ourselves on the back because we haven’t killed them. The fact is, we may have killed them a thousand times over with our words. Are we an encouragement or a plague to those around us? We murder with our looks, our body language and our tongue – and we are accountable!! I have issued a challenge this week to my local group: For this week SPEAK LIFE. Speak life over someone that you find challenging. Turn the tide, turn the emotion and speak life…let’s just see what happens!!!
Jesus is after our inner heart and inner thoughts. He addresses adultery – in this chapter – to think it, is to have already done it in our mind. Purity of thought and deed and tongue. Wow – to have control of our physical bodies isn’t enough. We must take EVERY thought captive, every thought before the sanctifying fires to be purified and refined before they are released.
We need a Savior. Can I say what Job says, are my prayers pure? OR are they tainted with a little too much Lisa and a little too little of God’s will, desire and purpose for my life? I cant – I am a mess every minute of the day. Sin is sin – in thought and deed. We need a Savior- Job got that we need an advocate, that we, simply, can not approach a Holy God. Jesus came so that we may live abundantly. In HIM, we find this abundance – this joy, peace, hope.
I have had two – stop – me- in- my- tracks thoughts these past two weeks. I have been convicted and redirected. I would like to tell you about Beverley, please forgive me if you have already read this story on Salty Sidewalks…it bears repeating and he continues to show me greater opportunities He presents…so, back to Beverley…. I would like to tell you about her. She is a 92 year, young woman I have had the pleasure of getting to know over the past few days. Beverly needed to have two teeth extracted. The oral surgeon was over an hour away, with all highway driving. My mom and I said we would take her over to the surgeon and take the pressure of her driving -alone, at 92- off of her.
I met her, and my mom, early Monday morning and we set out on our excursion to the dentist. We came to find out that this was only a consult and we would have to return again. In addition:
*She would be going under general anesthesia and would need to be cared for after her procedure, for 4-6 hours.
*She would need prescriptions filled.
*She wouldnt be able to walk and would need a wheelchair and assistance once we got her home.
*Her children did not want to be involved and told her to take a cab.

We signed on the dotted line and promised to be back the next day for the procedure. Beverley trusted me with all of her information, she trusted me with filling out her paperwork. She confided all of her personal information to me. I was put on her list as an emergency contact and allowed to know her medical history. I went back into the office with her and reminded her what the Doctor said, and what was happening the next day.
On my way to a PRAYER MEETING that night - I was lamenting , in my mind, about how BIG this errand had turned out to be and how much of my time it would take. Yes, on my way to a prayer meeting - that I was asking the Holy Spirit to join us in, to already be there, to bless us with His presence....as I lamented over loving one of His widows. <sigh, did I mention we need a Savior?>

Have you ever had one of those "Wake up" moments where you come up short on the mercy and grace scale? Yeah, me too. As I was busy asking for the Holy Spirit to bless us - He interrupted my thoughts-----He interrupted my patterns - He interrupted my plans, with one question: "Will you be inconvenienced for me?"
My breath caught and I felt so little and selfish. "Oh, YES, Lord. I am sorry. I will do whatever you call me to do with a smile, with love and with mercy and grace." The Holy Spirit blessed our socks off that night in that prayer meeting. I think I had to make more room for Him, by dying to my schedule and my calendar, and to what I thought was important.

So, that got me thinking - when was the last time I was inconvenienced by my faith? Have I been called into unstable waters? Has He called me into uncomfortable places? Has He set a heart of mercy on me for His homeless orphans, and widows? More, Lord, I ask for more. I hope that the next time He calls me to be inconvenienced I spring into love and to love well, with reckless abandon.
As an epilogue to Beverly's story -we did get those teeth out, and it took longer than we expected.
And I smiled.
She wanted an Orange Julius on the way home. You gotta love her!!!
I got her a medium, with extra ice so she could eat it with a spoon.
She needed her prescriptions filled.
We waited the half and hour until we got her - just what she needed- to walk in health.
She asked for a dozen eggs.
............................................And a dozen Kripsy Kreme donuts.
I got her both, with a smile and a hug.
We got her into her apartment.
She needed to take her antibiotic.
She had to use the bathroom.
She needed help with her internet.
She needed help with her email.
She needed to talk about some family matters that troubled her.

I got to listen to the stories of her boys and see the pictures of her life.
I got to hug Beverly.
In all honesty - the Holy Spirit had to keep reminding me that I promised to be inconvenienced by Him. The eggs? The donuts? I think a gentle reminder that our God loves extravagantly and if we are going to be His hands and feet- we need to make time for Him to work through us. The past few days have been a valuable lesson for me - that, in order to be inconvenienced for Him, we have to lay aside every plan we had- and release into His plan. I pray Beverly felt the love of the Father yesterday as He showered her with His attention.
The second reminder came and convicted me just as heavily. This past week has been busy, well, let’s face it, all of my weeks are busy. I was thinking about, as I got ready for bed, how quickly the days go by. Lifetimes disappear in seconds….children are raised, grandchildren are born and we sail to our next eternal destination. I was having a revelation into how short this life really is, and how quickly it goes. I was overcome, come undone, with one question,
“In your busyness today, did you point anyone to Me?”
I quickly did a mental image of the day, what had I done, where had I been? Who had I come in contact with? Did I get outside my “Church circle” and love the lost, did I Feed any lambs today? Oh Lord, give me strength, I don’t think I did. <sob>
The days are fleeting, the world will end someday. I was hit with an OVERPOWERING sensation that we are commissioned to FEED His Lambs, Take Care of His sheep, Feed His sheep. Am I doing that everyday?? Am I looking for His lambs, finding His lambs and loving them to the cross? Am I being inconvenienced in my day and in my schedule to make time for divine appointments and a divine feeding schedule?
Oh Lord, we need a Savior. We need to be rescued from our own self indulgent, prideful hearts. I know I am not inconvenienced nearly enough to say that I am making a dent in His divine Feeding Schedule, or the tending of His sheep. Lord, forgive me. Give me a Spirit of boldness to proclaim Your good news, so naturally, so excitedly….Help me to be bold in my faith and bold in my testimony. Help me to get out of the Church walls and into the world, into the countryside, to find the one that is strayed away. Help me to launch a search and rescue for Your precious ones.
Help me to love Lord. Help me to understand the deeper facets of love. I am sorry for the time that I have wasted. Please bless my steps and my schedule, which I lay before You, to orchestrate my days. Help every eye that reads this to be called to action to :
Feed Your Lambs.
Take care of My Sheep.
Feed My Sheep.
We need a Savior. We need to be inconvenienced. We need to love your world, starting with our very closest relationships.
So, the call to action this week is to:
!- Speak Life over someone, intentionally, all week. Watch them grow.
2- Be inconvenienced for the Gospel
3-Feed His Lambs
4-Take Care of His Sheep.
5-Feed His Sheep.



She dances, though her umbrellas is threadbare from many storms...with the help of a friend, refocusing, worshipping...she learns to dance in the storms.


Job Week 27

This week we are looking at Job – Chapter 16.   In response to Eliphaz’ second response, poor Job lays it all on the line:
“I have heard many things like these;
    you are miserable comforters, all of you!
3 Will your long-winded speeches never end?
    What ails you that you keep on arguing?
4 I also could speak like you,
    if you were in my place;
I could make fine speeches against you
    and shake my head at you.
5 But my mouth would encourage you;
    comfort from my lips would bring you relief.

Oh my goodness Job speaks to the very nature of us as humans. When we are not the one suffering, or going through a terrible time – we have “all” the answers, and are so ready to share them…but, Job says he wouldn’t do this to his friends. He says that he would encourage and his lips would be used to bring relief.   The ESV says he would try to “assuage their pain”. The word here is “Chasak” (khaw-sak)- to hesitate, hold back, spare,withhold…Job says – if the tables were turned, he would try to spare them any further pain. Don’t you just fall more and more in love with Job?   Remember that God’s account of Job is that he is upright, blameless, fearing God and turning away from evil.   I would say that Job wins this skirmish and he remembers whose he is. He remembers that words of life bring relief and spare further pain. He admonishes his friends for their lack of encouragement.   He scolds them and calls them out on the carpet as miserable comforters! I am reminded of Ephesians4:29  Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion,that it may give grace to those who hear.

I want to look at this concept of encouragement. The Bible is very clear that we are not just called to encourage – but we are called to encourage frequently, often and without reservation.  Ephesians reminds us to let no corrupting talk come out of our mouth. Here the word for “corrupting” is “Sapros” meaning:corrupt, rotten, worthless. Job’s friends continue the assault against Job, declaring the nature of God and the nature of Job, with worthless, long winded, judgmental arguments.   What would it look like if they had given encouragement to Job, rather than long winded speeches that dealt harshly, and unfairly, with him?   The definition of encourage is to give confidence. support and HOPE.   There’s that word again – the word that we keep coming back around to!! HOPE. Encouragement brings Hope. Lets plug this into a past lesson and see how it goes round robin in perfect harmony.  Remember that Romans 15:13 says, “I pray that God, the SOURCE OF HOPE, will fill you completely with JOY AND PEACE, because you trust in Him. Then, you will overflow with CONFIDENT HOPE through the power of the Holy Spirit. “
God is the source of Hope. Biblical hope is the expectation of something good…something good,despite the circumstances, or the lay of the land that we are walking in. The expectation of good, no matter what the world says, or tells us, no matter what long winded accusations come from friends or doctors, no matter what the world whispers over us, no matter what, just no matter what – it is the expectation for GOD TO SHOW UP and to make it good. If this HOPE is the seed – the expectation that something good will come from our Father – JOY is the flower-the passionate response to that expectation of good and PEACE is the fruit….Peace,or eiréné, to rest, in the midst of the trials. I am reminded of Psalm 23 which gives such a visual to this idea.
“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil”
In praying with a group of ladies last week, the Lord dropped a revelation into my lap over this scripture. A shadow is only formed where there is light. While we are in the shadow of death – the light is with us. The light of the world, who was sent to save us. He shines – and the shadows shrink away- it cant touch us. There is rest in this place. There is a rest in knowing that a shadow cant touch us or hurt us. If we allow it, a shadow can scare us – but no one ever tripped over a shadow, hurt their head on a shadow, or had irreparable harm from a shadow. The light is the thing to focus on. The shadow cant even touch us., because HIS light bathes us.
So – we get to rest in the trials because we are watching and waiting for God to do something good, we walk in His light, while He leads us in paths of righteousness. His staff draws us to Him and His rod protects us.   In this place of joyful expectation- we overflow with CONFIDENT Hope, because we trust in Him.
Psalm 23 says, “Our cup overflows, surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life”. In this place of overflowing HOPE, through the power of the Holy Spirit …wait, pause a second…that is an important tidbit, isn’t it?? THROUGH THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. We cant grab hope and wrestle it into our will. We cant shoot it out of a water hose and try to soak in it. First we TRUST IN GOD, and then we overflow with confident hope- through the power of the Holy Spirit. Worldly hope wont give you the light in the valley of death.   Worldly hope- possessions and things, friends, stature and position---wont give you the light in the valley of death. Confident Hope – the expectation of good – comes through trust in God, by the Power of the Holy Spirit. Do you feel despair? Anxiety? Hopelessness? Do you trust God in your circumstances? How can you build your faith? I would offer that gratitude journaling does JUST THAT. It reminds us of God,. And His loving ways, throughout the day. We enter His courts with thanksgiving and praise and worship stops the attack of the enemy.

When we trust in God – our confident hope overflows.   In this place of overflow – we can encourage others. We can offer hope. I love the King James Version of Ephesians 4:2929 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

No corrupt communication- no worthless, rotten words to come out of our mouths. Instead, we are called to offer speech that edifys, builds up, encourages, offers hope….so that we can minister in grace.   Through an edifying word we can usher in the Lord’s favor to others.   Through the use of our words, we can kill, or we can offer His grace.   The word here is“charis”,  Definition: (a)grace, as a gift or blessing brought to man by Jesus Christ, (b) favor, (c)gratitude, thanks, (d) a favor, kindness.

        Do you see the beauty of the wheel of hope?
We trust in Him…..this brings us Joy and Peace (The flower and the fruit of Hope)
Through this Joy and Peace – we OVERFLOW with confident HOPE – through the Holy Spirit.
As we walk through the valley of the shadow of death – we bring a light to others- scattering the shadows.
We speak words of Hope, that is powered through the Holy Spirit
We usher in His grace, His favor, His kindness into a situation or a circumstance.
We are given OVERFLOWING hope, so that we can splash others, building up the Body, encouraging others into maturity, awakening the Bride of Christ.

At the end of John,Jesus has been resurrected and He is having breakfast with Peter, around a campfire. Peter had denied Christ three times, as Jesus had said he would. Jesus asks him three times if He loves Him, of course Peter says He does. Jesus speaks of an agape love, an all consuming love – Do you Agape Me Peter? Peter says, I Phileo you Lord. I love you like a Brother, Lord.   ----------Then Feed my Lambs.
The lambs of our church, the lambs in our society need milk and love and His favor ushered in through an encouraging word. We don’t need to slaughter His lambs with our judgmental fingers. We need to FEED His lambs – little portions of milk, as their bellies get full, and they come back for more. Love and milk,milk and love …..truth and love, love and truth, in little gulps that are easily digested.
Jesus asks Peter again, “Do you AGAPE me Peter? Do you love me with a love that asks for nothing in return- it loves for the purpose of love. Do you love me like that Peter?
Peter replies, “Gosh,Lord, you know I PHILEO you – I love ya’ like a brother man!”
------------TAKE CARE OF MY SHEEP.
Peter cant meet Jesus, at this point in an agape Love. He is as far as he is on his spiritual walk – he cant be any farther and he cant be any lesser – He is just where He is. He no longer denies Jesus, but professes the love that He has for His Savior. I don’t know if agape love had been introduced into the human heart. I would offer that, perhaps, agape love is ushered in with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. What if Jesus is giving Peter a glimpse of a love that surpasses His understanding, a love to come that is more than we can fathom or imagine? A love that we will get to step into as descendants and disciples of The King? Yet, Jesus charges Him to take care of His sheep. The grown up lambs will need to be protected, nurtured, loved and cared for.   Are we taking care of the sheep that the Lord has put in our path? Are we building them up, encouraging them, offering hope? Have we laid competition aside and delighted in each others gifitngs?
Jesus now asks Peter,“Do you PHILEO Me, Peter?”
“Yes, you know I do.”
-------------FEED MY SHEEP
How can we FEED His sheep as a church? How do we feed those that are in our circles?   How do we feed those that we come in contact with?

Job’s friends are not feeding Job, encouraging him, or building up hope – they are offering him a death by a thousand cuts- a thousand cuts that are ministered from the tongue.   Job tells them they are windbags, that they are miserable comforters.  His friends have camped out at his campfire and they offer despair – the loss of hope in the future and Grief, the loss of JOY in the present. When Hope and Despair are cut off, the fruit of peace can not thrive. Lets agree to minister in grace with our words, grace with our actions. Lets agree to agape His sheep, our friends,our congregations, our communities, our towns, our world. Take care of His sheep, no matter the color or creed – we are ALL His sheep – all loved and pursued by the God that adores them. It is not ours to choose who His sheep are – we are called to love all.

So let me ask you –Do you Agape Him? (From Wikepedia…. Love that always seeks the highest of the other, no matter what s/he does. It is the self-giving love that gives freely without asking anything in return, and does not consider the worth of its object. Agape is more a love by choice than philos, which is love by chance; and it refers to the will rather than the emotion. Agape describes the unconditional love God has for the world.)
Feed His lambs, with Agape Love
Do you Agape Him?
Take care of His sheep, with Agape Love- the love that Jesus died for us, while were still sinners. We don’t get to judge the world, we get to love it, to the best of our ability, while we are all still sinners. To love others while they are sinning. Agape love– a tall order, I am wrestling with and trying to get my heart around in today’s world.
Do you Phileo Him?
Feed His sheep……with word and deed, heart and hand, brother to brother, friend to friend – watch out for each other, build each other up, edify one another for the greater good.

 I thought I would include some scriptures on encouragement!!!

1Thessalonians 5:11 ESV / Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Hebrews10:23-25 ESV / Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

1Peter 4:8-10 ESV / Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:

Ephesians4:29 ESV / Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion,that it may give grace to those who hear.

Hebrews10:24 ESV And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

Galatians6:2 ESV / Bear one another's burdens, and soful fill the law of Christ.

Colossians3:16 ESV / Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Proverbs27:17 ESV / Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

Romans15:13 ESV / May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Proverbs12:25 ESV / Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.

Acts15:32 ESV / And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words.

Philippians4:8 ESV / Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Colossians2:2 ESV / That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ,








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