Ability Awareness

Last week a friend of mine invited me to hear a couple of people speaking at the local university.  They were focusing attention on the issues that people with disabilities face.  Both speakers were born with birth defects.  They described the kind of obstacles that might have caused them to be bitter, filled with self pity and anger.  I can't say that I wouldn't have responded that way.  But these two men, rather than focusing on their disabilities, saw the abilities that God gave them.  The ability for one to play baseball, the other football.  Both men played college ball, one played professionally for four years.  Neither allowed his disability to handicap him.  In fact, it seemed that his disability made each of them more aware of his abilities than he might have been otherwise.

As one of the speakers said, we are all born with handicaps.  His was visible.  Not all impairments can be seen.  Sometimes the biggest handicaps people face aren't physical.  They are the handicaps of fear, doubt, distrust, rejection, hopelessness, and despair.  How do we overcome those handicaps and keep them from robbing us from achieving what God has planned for us?

Do we overcome by focusing on our limitations and our disabilities?  Or do we overcome by focusing on our strengths and our abilities?  I am inclined to believe that you get more of what you focus on.  The best way to grow your fear (or insecurity, or hurt, or whatever is holding you back) is to focus on it.  When you do that, it is like you feed it with the attention you give to it.  Or, you can choose to starve it by focusing on God, the abilities that He has placed within you, and the power and strength that is yours in Him.

What is your disability?  Recognize it for what it is.  Then turn your attention to your abilities.  I empathize with those with disabilities and support efforts to raise awareness of their struggles.  But maybe it would also be helpful for us all to set aside our own Ability Awareness Week.  To focus on the potential within us, both through what we are born with along with what the Holy Spirit gives to us.  Concentrate on God's strength and abilities that He has placed within you to help you overcome whatever threatens to disable you from achieving your goals and dreams.  

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. -- Philippians 4:13.

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. -- 1 John 5:4

Today is the Day

Today is the Day.  For what?  I don't know yet.  I know what is on my schedule.  My haircut at 11:30.  My class at 7:00.  What I need to accomplish in between.  But regardless of what is on my calendar, God has appointments lined up for me that I don't even know about yet.

I can look back on days past and see chance encounters where I had the opportunity to pour into someone else's life.  I also see days where other people ministered to me when they had no idea they that they were impacting me.  Those were appointments God had planned from the time I was conceived.  Mind boggling, I know.  But Psalm 139:16 says: all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 

Today is the Day.  God has something lined up.  He has appointments for me today, too.  Maybe they will relate to my haircut and 7:00 class, maybe not.  Maybe they will be totally unexpected.  But he has given me the hours in this day to unwrap, like a package.  Today was part of the birthday present He gave me years ago on the day I was born.  Every day is like a package, waiting to be opened.  I get to open today, October 19, 2012, today.  Tomorrow I get a new package to open.  But today, this one is full of surprises, waiting for me to embrace, enjoy, live.

Today is the Day!

This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)

Welcome to Moe's

"Welcome to Moe's!"

I wanted a little something to eat yesterday afternoon.  Not sweet.  But I needed something before I went to the grocery store so I wouldn't spend so much money.  Moe's was close by, and we settled for some nachos and cheese.  It was a gorgeous day, sunny, a little breezy, and I just had to sit outside.  It seems a shame to waste days like that sitting indoors if you don't have to.  As we enjoyed the fresh air, the breeze was a little more than I expected, and one of the nacho chips blew off the tray.  Several small sparrows were waiting to claim the prize.  (I suspect they had enjoyed a few chips before.)

The chip was rather large for a small bird, so none of the birds could manage the entire thing.  I stood up and stepped on the nacho, breaking it into smaller pieces so the birds could enjoy a snack as well.

 Several birds flew toward the broken chip.  Some birds would hop toward it, but were frightened of us, and would fly away without getting any of the chip.  One bird came and got a piece of chip, and as he hopped away with it, another bird came and stole it from him and flew away.   Yet another bird came, and bit the chip, with some little crumbs falling off a little further from us than the original chip was.  A bird that had been afraid to get close to us came and ate the crumbs that fell.  One bird, however, came right next to us and boldly claimed a rather large piece of chip.

As I watched the birds respond differently, I thought, this was the kind of situation that might have prompted Jesus to tell a parable.  An everyday occurrence.  Insignificant, but as you watched, you could see the parallel to life.   Don't we often respond like those sparrows?

God wants to nourish us -- with His word and His presence.  But sometimes we start to draw near, and we are afraid.  We are afraid of getting too close.  So before we do, we withdraw without receiving what God wants to give to us.  Sometimes, we receive it.  But very quickly the distractions and heartaches of life come and rob us of the blessing we received from Him.  Sometimes, He wants to give us more; but we settle for the crumbs.  We let someone else draw close, hear from God, and we just settle for what they share second hand.

But some people are bold.  They go right into the presence of their Heavenly Father.  They get as close as they can and can't wait for more.

Hebrews 4:16 says:  Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].

When we approach God boldly, we are rewarded with so much more than we could ever imagine.  Mercy,  Grace.  Help.

Welcome to God.

Chaos

Chaos.  That's what it was in the beginning.  Remember, back when.  Genesis 1:2.  "The earth was without form and void.  Darkness was upon the face of the deep."  God had created.  Evil had corrupted.  What had been beauty and order and become darkness and confusion.

That's how it seems now.  Like there isn't anything in this world that is containing the confusion and madness.  Everywhere you look it seems like the world, people's lives, are clouded with darkness.  Sadness.  Hurt.  Despair.  We live in a world tainted by the chaos of evil.

Don't think this will be all negative.  It won't be.  But at this moment, I am overwhelmed by those stories I hear of tragedies happening in the world around me.  Stories of people struggling with issues that are beyond comprehension.  A 12 year old girl who has battled cancer for the last six months and is facing a life changing surgery today.  A young student I met in Atlanta over the weekend who is working three jobs and battling cancer.  A 50 year old pastor friend with three children who has lung cancer.  I could go on with the cancer theme, but there are other tragedies, too.  The wife of the news anchor in Arkansas who is now dealing with the death of her 32 year old husband in a tragic car accident this past week.  After reading her blog, I feel like I've met her too.

Then there are the world events -- I won't go into the details, but you feel them too.  The unstable political environment, the economic uncertainties, constant news of unrest abroad, changing moral trends.

Chaos.  That's what it was in the beginning.  Father, it's chaotic now too!! But wait, remember what God does?  GOD MAKES ORDER OUT OF CHAOS!  God said, "Let there be light . . . ."  Father, we need your light in the middle of all this to eliminate the chaos and darkness!

I asked someone this week about what gave them hope.  The person couldn't figure out an answer.  That may have been one of the worst tragedies I encountered this week.  That, and the fact they didn't want to hear about my Hope.

The common link in all of the sad stories I shared, what they all have in common despite the circumstances, is each person is a strong Believer in Jesus Christ and knows that they have an eternal Hope in Him!  They know that whatever they are dealing with, it will not win.  From the 12 year old to the 50 year old, each person knows that they have a Hope that is secure, that the current darkness will be dispelled by His Light!  That He will bring order to the chaos of life!

God promises our chaos  is temporary, but our Hope is eternal.   The Message Bible, in Philippians 3,  shares Paul's message of hope and promise:  There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. . . But there’s far more to life for us. We’re citizens of high heaven! We’re waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He’ll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him.

One of these days, God is going to transform this world back to the perfect place it was "in the beginning."   He is going to bring everything under submission to him!  The chaos will end.  He will put everything back as it should be, under and around him.

Build that Wall

Fifty-two thousand captives had left Persian captivity and returned to Judah.  King Cyrus had ordered that anyone who wanted to go should be allowed to leave.  Fifty thousand left with Zerubbabel.  Two thousand left later with Ezra.  Nehemiah had undoubtably had the option to leave when the others did, but he chose to stay.

Nehemiah had a good thing going in the capital at Susa and he knew it.  He was the cupbearer.  That may sound like he was insignificant, but far from it.  Next to the queen, he probably had more access to the king than anyone else.  The king trusted him with his life -- literally.  Nehemiah managed the meals at the palace.  Part of his responsibility was to be sure that everything that the king ate was safe. Attempts to assassinate the king were not uncommon.  The threat of poisoned food was real. Nehemiah would put his life on the line each day, testing the food, assuring the king that it was safe for consumption.

Nehemiah was obviously dependable, trustworthy, and responsible.  He was a man of integrity and honor.  He had strong convictions about doing the right thing.  When he heard the news that the wall around Jerusalem was still down, Nehemiah was heartbroken.  He was grieved to hear that the city and its people were left without the defense that the wall would provide.  He felt a deep sense of urgency that something had to be done, and that he was the one that had to do it.

The wall would be the only thing that would stand between the city and its enemies.  The people had to have someone to lead them in building the wall.  Nehemiah felt the weight of a need that they had ignored.

After spending time in prayer, Nehemiah took a chance and made a bold request of the king.  It was a risky thing to do, but Nehemiah knew that he had to do something.  His people were in need.

He took a risk, and the king showed him favor.  He gave him permission and provisions to go to Jerusalem and build the wall.  Nehemiah was a pioneer mission worker.  He led a small construction team that, with the help of the Jews who were already in the city, accomplished more than it would seem possible.

In 52 days, they built a wall 15 feet thick and 4.5 miles long.  It is impressive to think how much they accomplished in such a short period of time.  It is amazing what can happen when God empowers and equips.

Nehemiah felt compelled to build a wall that would defend the city of Jerusalem and its people.  He knew that without the wall, the people were vulnerable and subject to attack.  The wall was important to keep them safe from their enemies.

Walls.  People build walls to keep some things in and other things out.  Walls are important.  We have to put walls around those things we think are important.

God continues to call wall builders.  He continues to place in people's heart the sense of urgency to respond to others who are needy and vulnerable.

What has God put in your heart?  What need pulls at your heartstrings?  What concerns come to your mind time and time again during your quiet time?  What has come to your attention that you just can't forget about?

Does it seems impossible?  Maybe.  Building a 4.5 mile long wall that is 15 feet thick in 52 days sounds impossible to me.

So does the possibility of a girl from Brunswick, Georgia, going to Egypt all alone with just $100 to her name and starting an orphanage.  But that is what Lillian Trasher did.  In 1910, 10 days before she was to be married,  Lillian responded to the call to build a wall in Egypt.  To build a wall of protection around children who were dying with no one to care for them.  She called off her wedding and answered God's call.  She left against the wishes of her family to build an orphanage that since it started has housed 25,000 children.  Lillian Trasher was a wall builder.

God is still calling people to do what may seem impossible or at least improbable.  Is he leading you to give your time?  Your money?  Your skills?  Your gifts?  Your prayers?

What wall is God calling you to build?

Teach Me to Wait

Waiting on God.  Who has time to wait on anything or anyone these days?  Wait on God?  If He wanted us to wait, would He have placed us in a time in history when we get everything now?  We want to read a book, we download it.  No need to go to the bookstore.  We want dinner.  We microwave it.  Ready in minutes instead of hours.  We want information, it is at our fingertips, 24/7.

We want it now.  We want it easy.  We want it cheap.  We want it perfect.

There always seems to be somebody that tells us that's what we can can have.  We can have our best life now.  We can have a new husband by Friday.  WE can lose 10 pounds in 10 days without changing what we eat or exercising.

There is someone who will tell us: we can have what we want, when we want it, the way we want it.  It tickles our ears.  It sounds good.  Too good to be true, maybe?

Ever heard the saying, "If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing well. If it is worth having, it is worth waiting for. If it is worth attaining, it is worth fighting for. If it is worth experiencing, it is worth putting aside time for."

That seems like an outdated way of viewing life.  Do we still have to wait, fight, invest our time for things that are important to us?  Or are we living in a new age and time when that no longer holds true?

What can we have now?  What do we still have to invest our time and effort in?  How do we know the difference?

We have one minute devotionals.  We say 30 second prayers.  Has God adapted to the 21st century way of life?  Surely he understands that we are busy.  Too busy.  We don't have time to wait on Him like people once did.

Waiting on God.  Does He make us wait on Him just because He can?  Because He wants to make life hard for us?  Or does He make us wait on Him because of the change it makes in us?

Could it be that God wants me to wait because when I wait, I take time to look at things that I normally rush past?

Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10).  Take a moment and regain a right perspective.  Do I forget that He is God?  Do I rely on this world and the things it offers and not on the One who created it all?

But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary.  They shall walk and not faint.  (Isaiah 40:31).  When I wait I will gain strength.  He renews me when I wait.  He prepares me to soar!

Waiting isn't sounding so bad.  Not grow tired?  That sounds good.  Growing stronger sounds pretty good too.  Being tired and weak seems to be a way of life.  Maybe there is a better way.

Jesus promised power to those who wait.  Luke 24:49  "And I myself will send upon you what my Father has promised. But you must wait in the city until the power from above comes down upon you."  I need his power.  I am certainly aware of my powerlessness.

Waiting isn't a stagnant waste of time.  It's a pause in eternity to invite the Almighty into my circumstances.  It's allowing the Creator of Time to take time to revive my worn out spirit.   Waiting transforms me from overwhelmed and defeated to on top of things and victorious.
 
Teach me, Lord.  Teach me, Lord, to wait.

"What Do You Want Me to Give to You?"

My husband and I had been married six years, were in our late twenties, and desperately wanted children. Nothing happened.  Month after month we were disappointed when I didn't become pregnant.  I began to accept that the ugly label -- infertile -- applied to me.

Oh, how I remember the comments.  People who innocently ask why you don't have any children yet.  The ones who tell you to just relax.  Others who tell you how they never had that problem.  It seemed like people always had something to say.  Then there were the women who didn't want children who were having them.  It all seemed so unfair!!

Finally, we went to the closest infertility specialist we could find.  Her office was a little over two hours away.  When we went in, she sat down to talk with us before she examined me.  Her first question blew me away.

"What can I do for you?", she asked.  HELLO?!   This was a reproductive endocrinologist, an infertility specialist! What does she think I am here for?  After looking at her, completely surprised by her question, I responded.  "You can help us have a baby.  Help us find out why we haven't been able to so far."

When she asked what I needed from her,  I knew exactly what I wanted.  My heart's desire was to have a child.  I had been thinking about nothing else and had made the appointment weeks ahead of time, believing that she could help us.

2 Chronicles 1:7 - 10 records that God asked Solomon a similar question:   God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” Solomon answered God, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place.  Now, Lord God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people....  Solomon was bold when he responded to God.  He made a big request, and because Solomon's desire honored God, he was given all he asked and more.

God is still asking, "What do you want me to give to you?"  Psalm 37:4 says Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.  In Mark 11:24 Jesus said, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. " In John 16:24 Jesus said "Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."

Are you still seeking God for your heart's desires?  Are you still asking for Him to deliver on the promises He made long ago?  Are you boldly asking for Him to give you those things that you desire to return to Him to honor him?

While cautioning us about our motives, James states in chapter 4 verse 2:  You do not have, because you do not ask God.

What do you want from God?  Do you want more of Him? Ask Him.  Do you want to have opportunities to be used by Him? Ask Him.  Do you want Him to shake your life, your family, your church, with His presence and His power? Ask Him.

Our answer to the infertility specialist's question led to her intervention in our situation.  I had hoped she could help. Several months later I became pregnant with our first son.  What if I had not told her what I wanted?  To think, I could have missed out on the joy of my child!

When God asks the question,"What do you want me to give to you?",  He has unlimited resources and total power to give us what we desire.  What are you missing out on because you haven't answered His question?

Money from Jesus

I remember when our oldest son, Drew,  graduated from the nursery to the two-year-old Sunday School class.  No more toddling around with the babies, crying and grabbing cookies from the other kids.  Now it was time to move to a room with a table, where he would sit in a chair, sing songs,  listen to a lesson and color.  He was finally learning about God, Jesus, the Bible!  I could hardly wait to pick him up and see what he thought of his new class.

As I had hoped, he had fun.  He was in a familiar place with familiar people, so the transition was easy.  I asked him about his "story" and he seemed to be excited.  Sunday School was going to be a good experience.  As he jabbered about it (after all, he was two), he showed me something that he had gotten that morning:  a quarter!  Confused, I asked him to explain where the quarter came from.  "Money from Jesus", he explained.  Money from Jesus?  He went on to tell me about the basket they passed around that had money in it.  "Money from Jesus!"

I was mortified!  It had never dawned on me when I was telling him about his new class that they would be passing an offering basket.  My sweet, innocent two-year-old had thought the basket was for him to take money from it!  When he went back the next week, he had the quarter he had taken, plus his own "money FOR Jesus"!

Unfortunately, my then two-year-old's misunderstanding becomes the mind frame of many Christians.  Many of us continue to live year after year looking for what God can give to us, rather than what we can give to God.  We, too, fail to understand that Christianity isn't about what God can do for us, it is about what He has called us to do for Him.

What delight there is in giving to God, to giving ourselves to Him!  To fully realize the joy that overflows when we are seeking what we can do for Him, rather than focusing on what He can do for us!  The psalmist said:  Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4).  

What are you seeking?  Could you really be satisfied with anything less than the outpouring of the blessing and favor that comes from seeking HIM?  As Matthew 6:31-33 says in The Message Bible:  What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

Deceit, Disobedience, Destruction

It's so easy to be deceived.  If for just a split second we think that we don't have to do exactly what God said, we can fall into Satan's trap.  If we listen to a voice other than God's, we follow a path that leads to destruction.  Ask the man of God in 1 Kings 13.

A man of God went to then King Jeroboam and prophesied.  He witnessed miracles as amazing as the ones Moses witnessed before Pharoah.  How humbled he must have been to be so close to what God was doing.

The man of God had specific instructions:  "You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came."--1 Kings 13:10.  After witnessing God move, he started out as God instructed, going down a different road.

The man of God was on a complete fast until he returned to Judah.  He was hungry and thirsty.  God had said no food or water.  He was going back a different way, and maybe the way back was even longer.  How long before he could eat?

As so often happens, in all our lives, he met temptation.  Temptation came in the form, not of a serpent like in the garden, or some obvious sin to be avoided, but as an old prophet.

Satan knew where the man of God was vulnerable.  He knew who he would listen to.  King Jereboam had urged him to stay and eat.  He refused.  But an old prophet offering food?  The hungry man of God couldn't resist a meal offered by one he believed to be a fellow prophet.

Satan knows how, when, and where to strike.  He won't hit us in places where we are sure to avoid the trap he is setting.  He hits us where we are vulnerable.  He tells us what we want to believe.

The man of God didn't know as he ate that the meal would be his last.  I imagine him sitting there, stuffing his face, justifying his disobedience to the almighty God, when the old prophet, used by God, told him of his fate:  "You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink.  Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your fathers."--1 Kings 13:22.

How downcast he must have been when he left that place!  And how quickly the Bible records that God dealt with his disobedience:  "As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was thrown down on the road"--1 Kings 13:24.

How sad!  The man of God had prophesied events that would happen years later and seen God perform mighty miracles!  But he didn't follow God's instructions.  He started out strong, but he didn't follow through.

The price of disobedience is high!!  Remember the choice God game the children of Israel in Deuteronomy 30:15: "See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction."  If we are disobedient, we will suffer consequences for not following the directions that God has laid out before us.  But if we obey God, He blesses us, and we will be able to say as Paul did in 2 Timothy 4:7  "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

Thirsty for God

Lord, I am parched.  Thirsty.

I haven't felt well for a couple of weeks.  That spring flu/allergy thing going on.  Not a big deal, but I still didn't feel like myself for a few days.  During that time, I turned my focus to physical preservation and away from spiritual sustenance.  The thing about our physical needs is they scream at us to be met.  They insist that we respond.  I am understanding even more the reason that fasting is such a vital discipline.  It gives us the opportunity to bring our bodies, which can be so demanding, to their rightful place in line.  Spiritual needs met.  Then physical.

We live in a physical world.  We tend to identify physical needs that we have and not only meet them but indulge them.  We have difficulty bringing our bodies into submission.  We can be overwhelmed not only by our physical needs but by our physical desires.  We are in tune with the things we see, feel, touch, taste, hear.

I have spent two weeks attending to my physical needs at the expense of my spiritual needs.  As I have begun to feel better, I have become aware of my spiritual thirst.

Lord, I am parched.  I feel dry.  I need your water.  I want you; I need you.

David, too, had times that he was driven by self-preservation.  God had appointed him king, but David still had struggles.  His son, Absalom challenged David and tried to kill him  (2 Samuel 15 - 18).  It was during that time that David probably wrote Psalm 63:  God, you are my God.
                                                           I search for you.
                                                           I thirst for you
                                                           like someone in a dry, empty land
                                                           where there is no water.

Imagine the thirst of someone in a desert with no water.  Can you get a sense of how your body would ache for water in the scorching heat of the day as your throat was throbbing from being so dry?  How you would fight for just a few drops of water to quench your thirst?  How the need for water would be the one thing on your mind, driving you each step of the way?

So was David's thirst for God.  He was driven as if by the thirst of a man in the desert with nothing to drink.  With a thirst that could only be quenched by God.  He was obsessive in his search for God who would satisfy the thirsting of his soul.

So I want to be in my search for God!  Only He can satisfy this ache in my spirit.  I am keenly aware of the need to have Him flow in, through, over me.  I don't want just a few drops.  I don't want to sip it.  I want to gulp the waters of His Spirit.  As the psalmist said in Psalm 42:  As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When may I come to see God's face?




"Lord, I am thirsty for you.  Thirsty for your presence.  Thirsty for your guidance.  Thirsty for your purpose.  Thirsty for your mercies.  Thirsty for your grace.  Thirsty for your direction.  Thirsty for your embrace.  Thirsty for your peace.  Thirsty for your Word.  Thirsty for your Voice. Thirsty for your love."


But may my thirst for Him never be satisfied!  May I never get "filled up"!  


"Lord, I want always to be seeking more of You.  To have You spilling out of me, into the lives of others.  May I seek not just to quench my thirst but may I seek to be poured out into a world that desperately needs you."

The Cost of Not Waiting

Ever feel like you were born waiting?  Waiting to be seated at restaurants, waiting to order, waiting to get food, waiting for the check.  Waiting to check your luggage at the airport, waiting in lines at airport security, waiting to board your plane, waiting for your plane to take off.  Waiting to get a doctor's appointment, waiting in the office for the doctor to see you, waiting to get test results after the doctor's appointment.

Practice might make perfect in some things, but waiting isn't one of them.  The more we wait, the more irritable we often become.  We can't just wait!  We need to be doing something!  We want to make things happen!

We have attempted to speed up some areas of our lives to compensate for the areas that we can't avoid having to wait in.  We cook in microwave ovens that cook foods more quickly.  We take advantage of twenty minute workouts that help us exercise more efficiently.  We use hot houses and Miracle-Gro to make our plants grow faster.

We don't like to wait.

But sometimes we run into a situation, and God says wait.

That's what happened to Saul.  Saul "was an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites" (1 Samuel 9:2).  When Israel rejected God as their king and demanded an earthly king, God selected Saul to fill that position.

Some time after he became king, Saul found himself waiting at Gilgal.  Jonathan had won a battle against the Philistines, but the Philistine armies had joined together to attack Saul.  He apparently had instructions from Samuel to wait for seven days for Samuel to arrive to offer the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.

Saul's troops began running off.  Where was Samuel?  Saul waited.  The days passed.  Four.  Five.  Six. Seven.  The day Samuel was to arrive.  What time was he coming?

"Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear.  He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul's men began to scatter." (1 Samuel 13:7-8).

Saul waited.  How much longer was he supposed to hold on?  Saul's impatience finally reached its limit. Deciding something needed to be done, he took matters into his own hands.

Saul offered up the burnt offerings himself.

Remember the rules about the burnt offering?  The priest was to offer it.  No one else, including the king, had authority to do that.  No exceptions.

Here is recently appointed King Saul taking on a role only the priest was to fill.  Here is King Saul disobeying God.  Notice Saul's explanation for his arrogant gesture:  "I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering." (13:12). Compelled?  Saul had a sense of urgency to ignore what Samuel said and to put himself above God's law?  What could have possibly compelled him to do that?

All Saul had to do was wait, but he determined that he couldn't.  He decided he didn't have to follow the law.  The kingdom was his.  He had celebrated with the people who were elated to have him as king.  No split decision or opposing parties.  Israel wanted a king and they wanted King Saul.  But the decision not to wait cost Saul God's favor.

Ironic that what Saul didn't get, his successor King David understood very well.  Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. (Psalm 27:14)

We say we would rather do something than nothing.  We don't stop to realize that waiting on God is the most important something we can do.

What's the cost of not waiting on God?

It cost Saul his kingdom and eventually his relationship with God.

What might not waiting on God cost us?

Press In. Press On. Press Forward.

Ever been to an event where people are standing, waiting to see a celebrity or important person? Invariably there will be someone from the back who is determined to get to the front of the crowd. They seem oblivious to everyone else who has been waiting patiently, courteously, standing in polite rows, following the unwritten rule that you fall in behind the person in front of you. This person will shove everyone else aside, pushing ahead, pressing in, determined to get as close as they possibly can. Maybe they came late to the event, but they aren't going to let that stop them from being close. No one is going to keep them from the front row.

Seems rude. Shouldn't they have come early if they were really that interested? How dare they push everyone else out of the way!

The woman who had been bleeding for twelve years may have seemed rude as she pressed in close to Jesus. She wasn't rude. She was desperate. Desperate to be healed. Desperate to touch the one who could change her life. If she could just get close enough to touch his clothes....

She pressed in.

Jesus turned and saw the woman and said, "Be encouraged, dear woman. You are made well because you believed." And the woman was healed from that moment on. -- Matt. 9:22.

Then sometimes you press on.

Naomi went from being a wife, mother of two sons and mother-in-law, to being a widow with two widowed daughters-in law. Life was filled with pain and heartache. The future seemed empty and hopeless. But Naomi didn't give up.

Naomi pressed on.

Naomi returned to her home in Judah with her daughter-in-law Ruth. There she introduced Ruth to Boaz, Ruth's kinsman redeemer. Through events only God could arrange, Ruth married Boaz. Then God gave her not only a husband, but a son. God redeemed Ruth and restored Naomi's dreams.

The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him. The women living there said, “Naomi has a son.” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. -- Ruth 4:13-17.

God gave her a grandson. A little baby boy to love and hold. She was undoubtably thrilled and excited. But little did she know how much more God was doing than she could see. She thought she was holding a grandson. She didn't know she was holding a great-grandparent of the Messiah, the Promised One.

Naomi could have focused on her losses. But she pressed on to be a part in the events that set the stage for the birth of the kinsman redeemer who would redeem all mankind.

Press Forward.

One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. -- Philippians 4:13-14.

We are not made to live here. This earth is not our home.  If sometimes we feel a little out of sorts being here, it is because we were never supposed to be completely comfortable here. This is our preparation area for heaven.

Too often we live like this life is all there is. We don't talk about hell much anymore. We don't talk about heaven, either. We act as if the Christian life works because it is good for us now; that we accept Christ for what He can do for us in this life.

But we are called to press forward to heaven.

When I was a little girl, I loved the old songs about heaven. I remember regularly singing:

When We All Get to Heaven

Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,
Sing His mercy and His grace;
In the mansions bright and blessed
He’ll prepare for us a place.

Refrain:
When we all get to heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

Onward to the prize before us!
Soon His beauty we’ll behold;
Soon the pearly gates will open;
We shall tread the streets of gold.

We can not allow ourselves to become so acclimated to this earth that we don't yearn for heaven. We were created for heaven! We were created to walk on streets of gold, to live in mansions God has prepared for us, to spend eternity praising the One who died for us. There was an old saying that we don't want to be so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good. I am afraid that we have compensated to the point that we aren't heavenly minded at all! 

Be changed by His Spirit. Don't give up despite the circumstances. Yearn for heaven.

Press in.  Press on.  Press Forward.

  

Chosen to Make a Difference

In the book of Joshua the children of Israel were victorious warriors who were following God and claiming God's promise. 

In Judges, a new generation grew up.  Unlike their fathers, they quickly turned from the way in which their fathers had walked (Judges 2:17).

People haven't changed much.  How easily forgotten are the lessons learned by previous generations. Pridefulness makes us think that we are smarter and more accomplished than our parents and grandparents.  The children of Israel arrogantly rested in the military successes of their forefathers.  No longer did they depend on the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to lead them.  No longer did they celebrate the crossings of the Red Sea and the Jordan River.  They had come to believe their sufficiency was in themselves and not in God who had delivered them from Egypt and established them in Canaan.

In the midst of this apostasy, God's spirit continued to move.  He continued to raise up leaders to challenge Israel and to direct them back to the source of their strength and hope. 

Leaders who were willing to take a stand.

God chose leaders who didn't always fit the mold.  Women.  A wimp.  A disabled person.  People who might have been viewed as incapable and whose lives may have seemed inconsequential. Yet these people became leaders who changed the outcomes of battles and reminded the people of God's power and love for them. 

A woman named Deborah.  

After the need for military leadership waned, God raised up judges to lead the land.  Until Deborah, all of the judges named were men, but at that time a woman was appointed to leadership. Deborah was respected, both for her judgement and military prowess.  When God instructed Deborah to direct Barak, a commander in the army, to complete the conquest of Canaan, he balked and agreed to go only if she accompanied him.  Deborah agreed, but warned that because of his reluctance to go, the honor of defeating Sisera, the Canaanite commander, would go to a woman.   

A woman named Jael.   

Barak had a shrewd plan of attack, and Sisera's entire army was killed.  Sisera alone fled for his life, into the tent of Jael.  Jael's husband and Sisera's king were on good terms.  Sisera didn't know it, but Jael didn't feel as hospitable toward him as her husband had.  He went into her tent, drank some milk, told her to stand guard at the tent door while he went to sleep.  She waited until he went to sleep and drove the tent peg through his temple.   

Don't mess with Jael. 

Forty-seven years later -- forty of those peaceful, and Israel had once again abandoned their faith in God.   At that time another unlikely leader came to power.  Reluctantly.  He seemed more than content to hide out threshing wheat in a winepress.  A winepress?   

Gideon never professed to have great courage. 

Or great faith.  God called.  He answered, in a squeaky voice.  "But Lord".  "But Lord, surely you have made a mistake."  "But Lord, surely you can find a man more suited for the job."  But Lord, how can I save Israel?  My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family. (Judges 6:15) 

God sees what we can become, not how we are.  The angel addressed Gideon as a "mighty warrior".  He didn't look like one when he was hiding out in the cave using the press that was designed to extract wine to make flour.  Nor did he look like one when he asked for a sign that it was really God calling him.  So God gave him a sign.  Did fire from a rock convince him?  No, he needed more convincing.  He requested a wet fleece and dry ground, then a dry fleece and wet ground before he answered the call. 

Even then, he wasn't ready to lead the army into battle against Midian.  He agreed to go, but was uncertain of victory.  God spoke to him and sent him to hide out and listen in on a conversation in the Midianite camp. 

Gideon was good at hiding out.  Remember the winepress.

Gideon heard two Midianites talking  One shared a dream.  The other interpreted.  This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon. God has given the Midianites into his hands. (Judges 7:14).   

Gideon finally got it.  He led the army.  The battle was won.   

Don't mess with Gideon when he's finally convinced of what God can do. 

Fast forward over a hundred years later.  Israel was still rebelling.  They had again abandoned their faith.  But God is faithful to the faithless.  An infertile couple was visited by an angel and told they would give birth to a son. He would be a Nazirite.  They named him Samson. 

Samson was destined for greatness.  He looked like a leader. But bad choices changed the course of his life.  He had a weakness, and it wasn't short hair. 

It was women.   

Samson bought a night with a prostitute, sold the secret of his physical strength, and the Lord left him. Left powerless to defend himself, he could do nothing as the Philistines gouged out his eyes and shackled him.  Later they mocked him and used him for entertainment like some sick sideshow spectacle.  The once impressive leader became an impotent fool. 

His hair grew back.  So did his relationship with God. 

Samson did more after his blindness than he ever did when he had sight.  His disability focused him on the source of his ability.  When he was being taunted at a celebration for the Philistine God Dagon, Samson prayed for God to strengthen him one more time.  God did.  Samson pushed on the central pillars of the temple, and the building came down on the three thousand people who were in it.  Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived (Judges 16:30). 

Deborah.  Jael.  Gideon.  Samson.  Not the typical leaders.  Weak by the world's standards. Flawed.  Disabled. 

CHOSEN.  Chosen to impact their world.  Chosen to make a difference. 

God doesn't choose us because of what we have to offer.  He chooses us because of what he can do through us.  

Each of us has been chosen.  Chosen by God to make a difference.  Whether we allow Him to use us is up to us.  God did not put us on this earth to wile away our seventy plus years waiting for Him to take us home.  Sure, we need to be anticipating our next life.  But we need to be spending our time and energy in this one fighting the enemy.  Our enemy isn't the Canaanites or the Philistines.  It isn't the Taliban or terrorists.   1 Peter 5:8 identifies Satan as our enemy who is trying to destroy us.  Trying to destroy us and prevent us from reaching the millions, maybe billions, who don't know who Jesus is and what He did for them. 

Chosen to fight.  Chosen to preach.  Mark 16:15 says Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. You have an appointment to do His work.  Will you accept the challenge? 

Deborah.  Jael.  Gideon.  Samson.  Flawed, weak, disabled.  Brad.  Kierra.  Brooke.  Lucas.  Brittany. Jamal.  Rick.  Alex.  Each of us can add our names to the list.  The list of the flawed, weak, and disabled.  The list of people God has chosen.

Chosen to impact the world.  Chosen to make a difference.

  

You Have to Stop at Gilgal Before You Defeat Jericho

The book of Joshua.  I love the book of of Joshua!  Do you know how many times Joshua says, "Be strong. Be courageous.  Do not be afraid.  Do not be discouraged!"  What is more powerful than reading Joshua 10:25? Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the LORD will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.”  As I thought about Joshua's words, about God conquering our enemies,  I was excited about how that applies to us today.

"Write about Gilgal," God spoke quietly to my heart.

Gilgal?

"You have to go back to Gilgal",  He reminded me.

Gilgal.  The Israelites had crossed over the Jordan River on dry ground, much like the generation before had crossed over the Red Sea.  But this generation is poised for victory.  The Promised Land is in sight.  The generation before saw enemies who were giants and cities protected by strong walls.  This generation saw an enemy that God was giving into their hands and a land that was theirs for the taking.  But first, God commanded that they stop at Gilgal.

Can't you imagine 2 . 5 million Israelites, excited, focused, ready to FINALLY defeat the enemies they had been training to fight for 40 years?  Think of all the men, sharpening their swords,  preparing their gear for the time that they are to go into battle.  The women, concerned, yet encouraging, getting together food and supplies that they knew the men might need (but wouldn't think about).

Then God said, first things first.  First, you have to stop at Gilgal.

Three things of significance happened at Gilgal.  First, Joshua took twelve stones that he had ordered removed from the Jordan and made an altar.  This altar was to serve as a reminder of not only how God had dried up the Jordan River for them to walk over, but also His faithfulness to the children of Israel.

Second, God ordered that all the men be circumcised.  Remember, the previous generation of Israelites had been circumcised, but the men born in the desert had not.  God ordered that they be circumcised as a reminder that He had removed the stigma of their slavery.  He said He "rolled away the reproach of Egypt."  No longer did they have to carry the identity of being children of former slaves.  They were free to experience the promise that God had given them.

Third, the Israelites celebrated Passover.  Remember, this was one of the feasts that God commanded them to celebrate.  One of the requirements to observe Passover was circumcision, so now the children of Israel could once again celebrate this feast.  On this Passover, they ate food that the land produced, unleavened bread and roasted grain.  At this point, manna stopped, and they became dependent on the land for their food.

Gilgal was a place of remembrance.  Reflecting on what God had done in sparing their firstborn, delivering them out of Egypt, providing for them, leading them safely to the edge of the Promised Land.

It was a place where their reproach was removed.  They were no longer former slaves.  They no longer had a slave mentality.  God had shown them how to be free.

It was a place of celebration.

They had to experience Gilgal before God gave them the victory at Jericho.

Have you ever been on the edge of claiming what you believe is God's promises for you when He says, "Wait; first, you have to go to Gilgal"?  Sometimes, God has something else He wants to do before He completes His plan for us.  Maybe there is something He wants to remind us of.  Maybe it is something He needs to cut away.  Maybe He wants to remove our reproach.  Perhaps he wants to take away that thing that we have identified with and set us free from thinking about ourselves in terms of it.

The Israelites camped at Gilgal, but they went on to defeat Jericho.  They went on to fight (and win) several other battles,  but after each victory, they would return to Gilgal.

I believe God wants us to return frequently to that place of remembrance.  I also know He wants to keep us free.  Free from those things that could hold us back.  Free from identities of bondage.  He wants us to celebrate what He has done so He can take us where He wants us to go.  Then we can say with the psalmist: With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies. (Psalm 60:12)

"Do You Trust Me?"

"Do you trust me?",  God asked.  The question pierced my heart and dug deep into the recesses of my soul that I try to keep hidden.  I remember the question clearly, as if He asked yesterday and not the winter of last year.  I don't remember the exact date, I don't remember the sermon that had just been preached or who preached it, but I remember the encounter at the altar on that Sunday evening.

"Do I trust you?",  I contemplated.  "God,  I believe in you.  I have faith in you.  My hope is in you.  My trust is in you."

"But do you trust me?"

I guess I know a little how Peter must have felt when Jesus asked, "Do you love me?"  You can't sidestep questions from The One who knows your thoughts.  He already knows the answers; He is asking to see if you do.

"Lord, I want to trust you."  Do I get credit for that?  He says He will give us the desires of our hearts, so if I want to trust isn't that good enough?  Can't He just make me trust Him?

"Do you trust that everything I have planned for you is out of my love for you?  Do you trust me with your family?  With your finances?  With your hopes and dreams?"  God dug deep.  He wanted me to let go.  To quit trying to control (since I never could in the first place).

I remember the encounter.

I prayed, searched.  Why is it so hard?  Why am I afraid to trust the one who gave me life and loves me more than I can ever imagine?  Why am I afraid that if I say those words "I trust you",  it will be giving God permission to do things that will cause me pain?  As if that is what God wants?  As if He ever needed my permission to do anything if the first place?

I thought about things that had led me to be hesitant to trust God.  The lies I've believed.  Do I dare let go of my magical thinking that suggests that by not trusting God, I can some how control Him?

"God,  I want to be whole hearted in the way I live my life.  I want to be closer to you than I have ever been.  I want to live out your purpose for me."

God responds.  "You can.  But first, you have to trust me."

But Satan's lies have not been silenced.  "Look what happens to people who trust God.   Financial ruin. Rejection.  Sickness.  Death."  Those lies are familiar.  I have heard them frequently, and believed them more often than I care to admit.

I cry out, "God, people who trust you are often struck by tragedy.  They suffer losses.  They hurt.  I don't want any of that."

God responds.  "People who don't trust me are often struck by tragedy.  They suffer losses.  They hurt."

I stop to think.  Things happen because I live in an evil world.  Have I really believed that if I trust God He is going to send calamity my way?  Or do I believe that if I trust God that no matter what comes my way, He is there?  Empowering me, strengthening me, walking beside me, even carrying me.

On this night, I must make a decision.  It feels like an appointment with the divine.  There is spiritual ground to take.

"God, I trust you!  I trust that you are a good and loving God who works all things for my good.  I refuse to believe Satan's lies any longer.  I not only trust in you. I trust YOU."

I remember the encounter.

Trusting God.  What a difference it makes!  The Israelites didn't trust God, so they forfeited the right to enter the promised land.  But as the Psalmist David wrote, "Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord."  Trust gives peace, quietens the unrest that threatens my spirit.  Trust allowed Jesus to sleep when the boat was tossing and turning.  Trust allows me to rest when life feels like it is spinning out of control.

I am so thankful that He speaks to me.  In my spirit.  Through His word.  That He continues to change me to be more like Him.

I am thankful for the encounter.

"Lord, thank you for loving me enough to pierce my soul with your questions.  Thank you for not leaving me like I am."

Is Your Promised Land in Sight?

Finally, Moses starts preparing Israel for the time they have been waiting for:  the time to enter the promised land!  For 40 years, 2 1/2 million people (twice the population of metropolitan New Orleans) have been in transition.  How bittersweet and emotional that 40 years must have been --  celebrating new life as babies were born, grieving the loss of loved ones who died,  frequently moving from one place to another, and all the while awaiting a promise.

Just before it is time to move into the land God has promised, Moses takes the opportunity to prepare the people for the battle ahead.  For while the land is theirs, they still must fight to take possession.  The former residents of the promised land didn't just move out and put a sign out front saying "Welcome, it's all yours!".  Moses warns that there will be challenges ahead.  But he tells them how to prepare for the challenges:


Moses instructs the people in Deuteronomy 11: 11 - 28: The Lord says, ... 'You must love the LORD your God, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul. If you do that, I will send rain for your land at the right time ... You will have plenty to eat.' “Remember these commands I give you. Keep them in your hearts. Write them down and tie them on your hands and wear them on your foreheads ... Teach these laws to your children. Talk about these things when you sit in your houses, when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up.  Write these commands on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates ... Be careful to obey every command I have told you to follow: Love the LORD your God, follow all his ways, and be faithful to him ... Today I am giving you a choice. You may choose the blessing or the curse. You will get the blessing if you listen and obey the commands of the LORD your God ... But you will get the curse if you refuse to listen and obey ...."


Love God.  Obey him.  Follow his commands.  Be faithful.  Remember his faithfulness.  Teach future generations about his faithfulness, his promises, and his commands.  Pretty simple instructions that made the difference in blessings in their lives and curses that would result from disobedience.


It's almost funny the way Moses tells them to remind themselves of God's laws.  Keep them in your hearts, wear them on your foreheads, tie them on your hands, write them on your doorposts and on your gates.  Kind of like we would put them on the refrigerator, place notes on our bathroom mirror, jot them in our calendar, make a screen saver with the notes, place reminders in our cell phones, write them on a post-it note.


God requires the same thing of us that he did of Israel.  We too, must remember God's word each day.  We, too, are facing battles.  Our battles may be against the enemy of our souls.  It may be that we are fighting for something that God has promised to us.  God doesn't always deliver everything to us on a silver platter -- sometimes he requires us to fight!  He may have made us a promise, but we may be having to fight to attain it.  I believe when we are pursuing the promises of God, he would assure us as Moses did Israel in Deuteronomy 31 : 6 :  "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid . . . , for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Is your promise in sight?  Do you have a glimpse of what he has promised you? You may have obstacles to overcome, but if God has promised it to you, it is yours!  I don't know about you, but I plan to serve God, armed with his word in my heart, so that I can attain that which he has for me!

What's in Egypt Besides the Pyramids?

I am a Christian Counselor now, but my undergraduate degree is in accounting.  I can't say I prayed about that decision, even though I was a Christian when I attended college.  I just wanted a degree where I could get a job.

I got a job.  For years I felt tied to it.  I worked extremely long hours and felt it consumed my life.  While it was financially rewarding, personally I felt empty, frustrated, and drained.  After the birth of our second son, my husband and I made the decision to sacrifice the financial security the job provided and for me to stay home with our two sons.  I felt I had been set free to enjoy life!

I think I can relate a little to how the Israelites must have felt after they left Egypt.  They were free!

And look at the miracles God performed for them when He delivered them.  He protected their first-born while taking the lives of the first-born of the Egyptians.  He parted the Red Sea and released its waters just in time to wash away the Egyptian army that was in hot pursuit.   He provided manna, quail, and water.  God spoke to them from the mountain, then dwelt among them in the tabernacle.  He led them in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night.  How could they be anything but full of anticipation at what God was going to do next?

But,  instead of being excited about where God was taking them, Israel quickly got caught up in thinking about what they thought they had left behind.  God had spent a few months preparing Israel for the actual 11 day journey from Mt. Sinai to Kadesh-Barnea, on the outskirts of Canaan.  About 3 days into the journey to Canaan, the Israelites started whining and complaining.  Numbers 11 : 1 - 5 says:  And the people of Israel also began to complain. “Oh, for some meat!” they exclaimed. “We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted.  But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!”  Numbers 20: 1 - 5 : "You brought us into this desert, and now we and our livestock are going to die! Egypt was better than this horrible place. At least there we had grain and figs and grapevines and pomegranates. But now we don't even have any water."


What?  Slavery in Egypt was better than God promising you victory over your enemies and giving you everything you could possibly need??  Are they crazy?  What about those taskmasters that the people served under that the Bible describes as ruthless?  The Pharaoh who ordered that their baby boys be killed?  


 Did they really believe they would go back to Egypt and enjoy all the fresh seafood, vegetables, and fruit juice they wanted?  Why would anyone want to go to Egypt other than to see the pyramids anyway?

As I smugly judged the Israelites for their bad attitude, the Holy Spirit convicted me of mine.  I, too, have been guilty of looking back at my Egypt and remembering it wrong.  "God, at least when I worked in the financial field I had a good pay check.  Do you know what I would be making now if I hadn't quit?" "God, why didn't I just stick it out?  I could be getting ready to retire now."  "God, most people don't really appreciate what I do.  I feel very taken for granted."


What do I do at times?  Whine.  Complain.  I know God gets just as tired of me whining as He did Israel.   Here he has blessed me and given me opportunities that I didn't deserve.  God provided a way out for me when I made a decision without consulting Him.  He blessed me with precious time with my husband and children.  He gave me an opportunity to serve Him by counseling people who are struggling.

By the way, remember Israel's comments about figs, grapes, and pomegranates in Egypt?   Look what Numbers 13 : 23 said the advance party brought back from Canaan:  "They cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes.  Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs."  One cluster of grapes took 2 men to carry!  God's promise for their future exceeds anything they ever thought they had in the past!


What does God have planned for me?  I don't know, but I intend to quit complaining that I don't have what I never had in the first place.  Instead, as it says in Philippians 3:13:  I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.  I am focusing on God's promises for my future!


"Father, forgive me for my unappreciative attitude.  Thank you for second chances.  Forgive me for complaining.  Lord, I know you have blessed me far beyond what I have ever deserved.  Thank you for opportunities past and for the ones to come."

Doing It God's Way

Ever gotten directions on how to go some where and thought, "that sounds good, but I think I will just do it my way",  only to soon discover that your way wasn't so good after all?  A few wrong turns and you discover you are way off course and where you are isn't where you want to be.  


We have this thing about living the way we want, (it all started in the garden),  but the Bible is very specific on how we are supposed to live.  There is only one way, and that is GOD'S way.  Leviticus 18 : 4 - 5 quotes God as saying:  "You must obey ALL my regulations and be careful to obey my decrees, for I am the LORD your God. If you obey my decrees and my regulations, you will find LIFE through them. I am the LORD". 

The book of Leviticus is a guidebook to the children of Israel on how to do things God's way.  We might read it and think, "Really, God, did you have to go into all of this detail?"  It is very specific, giving regulations on daily living to annual celebrations.  God didn't leave anything in doubt.  As we read what God required,  some of His purposes are easy to understand --  like maintaining  hygiene and containing contagious diseases -- and others might not make sense to us at all.  But God made it clear:  Israel was to do everything exactly as He said.

There is a benefit to doing things God's way that is explained in Leviticus 26: 3 - 12:  "If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops . . . I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid... Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.  I will look on you with favor ..."


Provision.  Peace.  Favor.  What amazing promises are given to those who obey God!


There was a song made famous years ago entitled "My Way".  In it, the song writer describes reaching the end and being able to say say he did things his way.  How sad.  Proverbs 14 : 12 says:  There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.  


Doing it my way.  Death.  Doing it God's way -- Provision, peace, favor, LIFE!   I want to live my live so that I can say:  I did it GOD"S WAY!

Why Wait Until Tomorrow?

I procrastinate.  More often than not, I have lived by the motto "Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow."  I am not proud of that, but often it is true.  I put off things I enjoy and things I dread.  I put off phone calls, hair cuts, pedicures, cleaning house, opening mail, doctor's appointments -- well, you get the idea.  I think I know why I do (that's for another blog, another day), but it doesn't make it okay.  


If confession is good for the soul, I should start feeling better any time now.


Last week, as I was reading Exodus, I ran across a puzzling example of procrastination.   Exodus, as you probably remember, starts with Moses and how God uses him to deliver Israel out of Egypt.  God sends ten plagues to convince Pharaoh that he needs to let Israel leave.


It was how Pharaoh responded to the second plague that got my attention.  In the second plague, God sent disgusting frogs that covered the land.  I don't know what kind of frogs they were, but I imagine loud, croaking, slimy creatures that are literally everywhere you turn.  Frogs where you sleep, where you sit, underneath your feet, and in the food that you eat.  I can imagine frogs falling off the ceiling on top of your head and climbing up your leg.  It sounds like a horror movie.


So what would you want more than anything?  For the frogs to BE GONE!  But look what happens when Pharaoh asks Moses to take away the frogs. “You set the time!” Moses replied. “Tell me when you want me to pray for you, your officials, and your people. Then you and your houses will be rid of the frogs. They will remain only in the Nile River.”  “Do it tomorrow,” Pharaoh said. 
-- Exodus 8:9-10


Tomorrow??!!  Are you kidding me??  Pharaoh CHOSE to spend extra time with those slimy, disgusting little creatures!  Was he in his right mind??  He could have said, "Take them away NOW!"  Instead, he said, "Let me be tormented a little longer.  Just wait."


But maybe ... maybe that's what we do when we put things off.  We complain that we have too much to do, but rather than doing them we live with things that we don't have to.  Things that keep us awake at night and distract us during the day.  Things that require our attention but that we choose to ignore. We decide to do it tomorrow when we have the power to make it go away today.


Procrastination can be costly.  Just ask Elisha Gray.  Never heard of him?  You would have if he had not waited quite so long to file a patent.  He may have actually been the inventor of technology that we use daily, but he arrived at the patent office a couple of hours late.  Alexander Graham Bell filed the patent on the telephone first and gets the credit for the invention.  


What is procrastination costing you?  I don't want to put things off any longer, especially if God is wanting to do something for me and my procrastination is keeping me from receiving what He wants to do in my life. 


Ephesians 5:15 says:  Be very careful, then, how you live -- not as unwise but as wise.  I want to be wise in the way I make decisions and do things now rather than later.  I don't want to wait until tomorrow for what God wants to give me today!


I need to go.  I have things I need to do, NOW!

Finding Purpose Through Intentional Living

As I was preparing for a Bible study recently, I ran across a scripture I have read numerous times.  But on this date, God spoke to me through this passage, and I heard a message I had never received before:

Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot . .  and his daughter-in-law Sarai . . and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan.  But when they came to Haran, THEY SETTLED there.  -- Genesis 11:31.


Terah was on his way to Canaan --  the land later promised to the children of Israel, but before he reached it, he settled.  If you go on to verse 32, you read that "he died in Haran."  As I read that, I was struck by how often that happens.  We have a goal, a dream, a desire, a plan, but something happens.  We get sidetracked.  The busyness of daily living stops us dead in our tracks and rather than reaching the destination, we settle for something less than we had intended.  As I read it, it seems Terah had it in his heart to go to Canaan, but something stopped him.  He never reached his goal.  


I don't know about you, but I don't want to miss out on the promise God has for me!  I want to accomplish His purpose in my life by being intentional in the way I live.  I readily admit that I have failed miserably in the past, but thank God, "Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not." -- Lamentations 3:22.  God, in his compassion, gives us new chances each day to regroup and start pursuing His purposes.  I want to be intentional in the way I live each day for Him!