Side by Side Hand in Hand

Psalm 139:7-10 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me.

For the last eight days we have been cruising the “remotest part of the sea”… or at least it is to us!

We have seen a glacier, a salmon hatchery and a temporary rain forest in Juneau, Alaska. We have taken a train and around and even THRU a mountain in Skagway, Alaska. We have seen eagles and their nests in Ketchikan, Alaska. And now, today we are in Victoria, British Columbia to top off our Pacific adventure with city life – the Canadian way.

We didn’t take this cruise to escape God’s Spirit but in true confession we didn’t take this cruise to view God’s Spirit at work either. It was JUST a vacation.

But God…

Isaiah 55:12 “For you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. 

Thank You, Lord God…

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. 

When we SAW the great glaciers, and HEARD man’s pessimistic concerns for the future demise, we REMEMBERED Who created them. We were left breathless at the full circle of life which continues whether this ant-sized male and female participate in all of the solutions mankind can imagine &/or try in rectifying global warming.

It isn’t that I don’t understand the fear of losing something I treasure. It isn’t that I won’t do all I can, and even be proactive, in good stewardship of all of God’s creation.

But this trip has given me view of our future, and it is not a future filled with fear. This trip has renewed the knowledge that…  it is God who is at work in (and outside of) you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:13

I want you to know that God did not allow us to see His work through rose-colored glasses. We have seen God through rain and wind and therefore somewhat cold. Yesterday was the first day we saw the sun and were warmed by it.

Even this, not so fine weather, has contributed to our hearing God’s message. In fact, both my husband and I agree that seeing these sights in any other way would have diminished our understanding that we were witnesses to the glory of God. The glory of God that planted and gardened this wild land, underneath snow and ice, surrounded by a sea that is intense and more than persistent in its mission to find the path of least resistance.

The glory of God that prepared this luscious table of wild and called those men and women who could and would honor His challenge to come and partake of His feast.

The glory of God which waits with patience as the ice bears down until it is “blue in the face”. When the ice melts (in a hundred or so years) it leaves behind what looks to be rock upon which nothing could ever grow.

And yet… wait a little while (just a few years more) and you will see that a whole lush green land will grow and be filled.

We found that one can look at what HAS happened, what IS taking place right now, and what MAY happen in the future, in at least two ways. Either with hope and certainty or with discouragement and fear.

We heard the cries of the pessimistic prophets who were telling us that the end was near for our (man does have the audacity to take possession of anything and everything) ice fields. We were given the evidence of this disaster through measurements taken and assessed by renowned scientists. I don’t dispute the melting… but looking through the raindrops, and seeing the mountains rising above us and the ocean rocking below us,  we could not help but know how small we are and how big our God is.

If our future were in the hands of men I would be nothing but pessimistic… but when you have faith in our Creator and Sustainer, you taste and see God… and you KNOW you have a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 “For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. What we planned and looked forward to as a vacation, became a deeper awareness of our GOOD God… His call to come closer… and our joy in finding Him… Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for me with all your heart”

It was indeed as if the Alaskan mountains and hills broke forth in shouts of joy before us, and all the trees of the field clapped their hands as we cruised by.

God is good, all the time… And all the time, God is good!

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB  version of the Bible

 

 

Luke 5:18-19 And some men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus.

Do you have friends like this? People who don’t just talk about doing but do and don’t stop. People who are ready to do the hard work of their solutions. People who don’t just drop you at someone else’s doorway and leave you to get yourself the rest of the way.

I want friends like this! But even more… I want to be a friend like this!

THIS looks like love!

On the other side of the coin, I admire the paralyzed man. Yes, he couldn’t really stop them if they decided they knew what was best for him. But I don’t get the impression that he was a victim of these do-gooders. I get the impression that all of the players were on the same page and fully engaged in getting this man to the Healer.

Notice they didn’t have a front row seat. They weren’t on the VIP list. They were in the back of the crowd.

We might be a little concerned that they had no regard for someone else’s  property. In our culture, we might even condemn them for busting through the roof uninvited.

How dare they…

This looks like love but it also looks like FAITH. They believed Jesus could… they believed Jesus would… they believed Jesus.

Earlier I asked if you had friends like these. But honestly… if you go to Jesus like they did, you have the BEST FRIEND of all!

Romans 5:6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 

This Friend went all the way to the grave so that we might have life. This Friend paid our debt when we had nothing to give.

Jesus doesn’t just lower us through the roof of heaven, He raises us from the dead and gives us eternal life.

Jesus, He doesn’t just look like love… He IS love!

WHAT A FRIEND we have in Jesus…

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB  version of the Bible

 

 

Proverbs 16:9 The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.

And PRAISE Him, He does! I have no (zip, nada, none) plan to grow up. My plans are to remain in the playground of life. I plan to sample everything I can get my hands on and throw away anything that makes me grimace with pain and/or dislike. I am the little one who dances for her Daddy, spinning tales of great adventure and star quality lifestyles. Never will I be average, only striving for excellence! “Oh, Daddy, I will make you so proud!”

Man/girl plans…

The saying is… God laughs (meaning BRING IT ON!), but God is a “Good Good Father” (I love this song by Chris Tomlin!)… I prefer to see Him smiling. He does not ridicule or destroy our dreams. He gives us a future and a hope… For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope… Jeremiah 29:11 

We sometimes view God as our competitor. Sometimes a competitor who relishes in our defeat. A competitor that we must conquer at all costs for the sake of our happiness. “Why me, Lord? What have I done to deserve Your wrath?” If necessary we try to distract His focus from us to those we know who we believe need it more.

God is good ALL THE TIME… (and ALL THE TIME, God is good).

If you’re not sure about this, may I suggest you reread the Book for a description and mission statement of each and every cast member on this stage called earth.

God is the only one who has always acted with love, in fact He IS love so He cannot act any other way. Satan is the only one who has acted with death and destruction, in fact he is on his way to eternal damnation and wishes to take those whom God loves with him. We, those whom God created to be like Him, are given the opportunity, ability, and responsibility to CHOOSE whom we will believe and serve.

It aint always easy! God knows the plans He has for us. We don’t always know the why or why nots…But it will always be used to train us up in the way we should go… Proverbs 22:6. Satan also knows the plans he has for us. 1 Peter 5:8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. We must always be aware and prepared to make our choice.

My husband and I are three days away from leaving for a trip we have been planning for the last six months. We each have a list of things to do for each day and will only finish those lists the moment we back out of the driveway.

Man plans…

Surprisingly, no where on any of our lists is the plan to handle a busted hot water pipe and the mitigation of the least resistant path the water took to come out from under the walls. It (the plan) is now, our lists have expanded!

Just a few weeks ago, Houston was the beneficiary  of a storm that dropped 17 inches of rain overnight. Thousands of people, I’m sure, did not have the plan on their list to mitigate the flood damage or spend months restoring what the river of water took from them… they do now.

It is shocking when we hit or are hit by a wall of crisis. Be assured that both God and our enemy have a vested interest in what is taking place. It is not OUR plan that rules the day!

In those moments that our little water problem (probably in the neighbor hood of a few thousand dollars) we looked but couldn’t believe what was happening, we both were at a loss for what to do. Of course, the first thing was to declare that NOTHING CHANGES! Then we began to admit that, at the very least, our lists need to change. And finally, we began to do the necessary, leaving the inevitable for later, and taking one step at a time

Over the years of our training, God has given what I call our version of STOP… DROP… and ROLL in the “firestorms” of life.

We hit the wall of crisis…. STOP what you are doing

In the midst of our shock, our brain and body continue as if this is NOT A PROBLEM… DROP our expectations  and DROP to our knees in God’s throne room in order to lay it all before Him.

As our minds comprehend, our bodies prepare, and our faith inspires… we ROLL on… one step at a time, holding on to Daddy’s hand, dressed in His armor and filled to the brim with the power of His Holy Spirit.

Don’t expect to be a super human, someone who is never in pain, someone who is never afraid, someone who always has the perfect plan, someone who is never wrong… Jesus is, was and always will be the ONLY PERFECT man. Expect to NEED HIM!

We will always plan… we will always want our way… we are, after all, created in the image of God.

But here’s the difference between God and us…  “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts… Isaiah 55:8-9

 

Maybe it should be… man plans prays… God smiles.

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB  version of the Bible

 

Romans 12:9-21 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Interestingly, as I was reading this scripture and thinking about the direction this blog could go, the phone rang with a sales call that we haven’t been able to stop. Immediately, my blood pressure surged, I had a hot flash and my voice became low and hateful. I spoke words with a tone of hate (“Take us off this list!”)… hit the end button… and threw down the phone.

Then… reread the above scripture…

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path. Today it was a SPOTLIGHT… one that swayed back and forth, lighting every defect and providing no shadows to hide my dirty feet in!

I have indeed lost that loving feeling!

But maybe this is exactly my “training up in the way I should go”. Yes, this is Battle Strategy 101 (in my case probably 100,001)…

In the army of the Lord, the weapon of choice is always LOVE. Not the soap-bubble shooter of “feeling” love but the demon destroying assault weapon of God’s love. The kind of love that doesn’t distinguish between deserved and undeserved (except to give MORE to the undeserved). The kind of love that forgives and gives more as the crown of thorns is hammered into the skull and the whip tears off skin as it digs into the body with every lash. The kind of love that moves forward toward the cross in the midst of the cheers of the enemy.

Battle Strategy… put on Jesus Love!

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails;

Step One… KNOW LOVE! Love is not a feeling! Love is an action – a verb – an ongoing, unconditional, walk of righteousness.

If love depended on feelings we would NEVER DO LOVE. We might pretend we care. We might even have moments of actual rocket blasting infatuation that may lead us to care for more than a minute.

But love… REAL love is based upon a vow… a lifetime commitment to pay forward what we have been given.

Step Two… RECEIVE LOVE! I can only give the kind of love I have received. Most of the love given in this world (if not all) is temporary, conditioned on the benefit to “me”, and wrapped with the fake bling of dramatic theater meant to impress and convince.

I think there is a human conspiracy (instigated by our enemy – Satan and  his minions) to define and promote love as whatever it takes to make you a slave. I think we have lived with this for so long that we do not recognize and receive TRUE LOVE. We do not receive God’s love because it does not look like what we expect it to.

John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

Receive GOD”S LOVE! It is the love of freedom… it is the love of adoption as children of the most high God.

Ephesians 1:3-14 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory… This is JESUS LOVE!

Step Three… DO LOVE! Feelings aren’t bad… God gave us these soul tools to use as signal flags – much like they use at airports to safely guide pilots to and from the runways and the right gates for those they are carrying to their preferred destination.

But feelings were never meant to be the deciding factor in DOING… only one form of counsel and we know the Bible calls for MANY counselors.

God HAS feelings! But God IS love! It is passion that God felt when He created the world. It is passion that moved God to speak such majestic things into existence. But it is love that moves God to save us (even before we knew Him)… to make us His own!

I have no excuse to act as I did this morning to a stranger on the phone. Was I required to listen and buy the spiel? I would have to say NO… but love would not have acted like the brat I was being at the time.

I can only say…

“Father, forgive me for I know not what I do!”

But thank You that…

I’ve lost that LOVING FEELING… and I will choose to move forward with LOVING DOING!

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible

Galatians 5:17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 

The Apostle Paul said… I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, buy I am doing the very thing I hate. (Romans 7:15)

Me too!

At any time in the “Should’ve, Would’ve, Could’ve” mantra there are choices made that really have NO GOOD excuse. And, to be honest, a GOOD excuse is only an attempt to convince you… it doesn’t have anything to do with making the RIGHT choice or acting on the RIGHT choice.

Our normal human way is to PLEASE the flesh… APPEASE our neighbor… DEMAND ACCEPTANCE from God.

It isn’t that I do not KNOW the right thing to do. It is that my flesh DESIRES a certain outcome… Eve “saw” that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that it was desirable to make one wise (Genesis 3:4)

And so she ate… and gave to her husband to eat…

The logic of the flesh!

And… no matter how “holier than thou” one might be… no one’s flesh goes down without a fight. A fight that is so bloody at times, we give in because we are AFRAID OF OURSELF!

There are those who, like a judge with a gavel, declare (with loud voices and fists pounding their pulpit) “It is a simple matter of just doing!” Then they declare your guilt and issue their approval of all punishment that has come or will be coming.

What they say is true… like Eve… I am guilty, I deserve punishment.

But guess what… punishment will NEVER CHANGE the desires of my flesh. I will remain the same slave to myself that I always have been.

I will agree… I should’ve, would’ve, could’ve…

but…

I didn’t!

When you yell and pound your fist at what you declare UNWORTHY plans and actions on my part, what have you accomplished? When you take the soapbox of fire and brimstone, will your audience listen and learn? I’m guessing, “No!”

The only person who will be pleased and impressed with your oratorical skill, will only be yourself. The rest of us, if we haven’t turned off our hearing aids to avoid the screeching, will leave shaking our heads at such hypocrisy and vowing to never give you the podium again!

Though sometimes I may accidentally get it all right, the cure for my human condition is not me… or you… but only God.

Galatians 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 

Galatians 5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. We live because Christ died for us. We can walk by His Spirit by constantly and continually being led by the Holy Spirit whom God has placed in our hearts… “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26)

It’s a walk! And regardless of how desperate you are for me to do the right thing, I must WALK! I must walk NOT by your wisdom and direction but I must walk with the Holy Spirit… it is my WALK OF FAITH… one step, then two steps, then three… and pretty soon I am putting one foot in front of the other… forgetting what lies behind, reaching forward to what lies ahead, pressing on toward the goal… the prize… the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)

Rather than yelling, screaming, and being disgusted with my mess ups, you could BELIEVE in my future…

Philippians 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. 

Rather than busting a blood vessel and/or causing a permanent break in relationship you could ENCOURAGE (and pray for) my walk of faith…

2 Peter 1:5-8 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I want to… Could’ve, Would’ve Should’ve.

But… I Didn’t… or don’t.

Jesus ALWAYS Does!

Isaiah 55:11-12 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. “For you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. 

How about this for a walk (more like dancing)…

We could walk (dance) Side by Side and Hand in Hand…

I’m just saying… Sshh!

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB  version of the Bible

 

 

 

 

Ephesians 6:10-11 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

Everyday is Armor Time… but especially those days when you are up against the world forces. Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 

God has a plan… The Enemy has a plan… We have a plan… “choose for yourselves today whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15) 

Three Commanders, three plans for victory, three choices of war strategy.

Actually only two choices… in our fantasy, we pretend that WE are equal in might (and brilliant action) but mostly we are the walking wounded in the battle for our lives. Like ants versus humans, we move about in a world we perceive is OUR KINGDOM only to find out… perception IS NOT reality! Nowhere in our perception do we SEE “rulers”, “powers”, “world forces of this darkness”, “spiritual forces of wickedness”, nor do we BELIEVE that they are greater than us. Our PERCEPTION is our own personal fairy tale of the story of ME.

Two Commanders… Good and Evil… Creator and Destroyer… God, who loves us and Satan (prince of all whom are wicked) who hates God.

“choose for yourselves today whom you will serve” 

And when you choose… put on the armor of your Commander!

You have to choose.

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.”

Here is where I think that we devise the perception that WE are in control.  We choose! This One… or… that one… or… both… or neither. In our myth, it is our CHOICE that creates and controls the master, NOT the Master of the Universe who controls the creation.

Reality Rules! There is a line in “Don Quixote” that says it well, “Whether the stone hits the pitcher, or the pitcher hits the stone, it will not be good for the pitcher!” The stone is reality… we are the pitcher… reality rules (or bites as the case may be).

We do get to choose whom we SERVE. We do not get to MAKE the rules.

It is definitely wise to know all that can be known before choosing sides.  When we choose our Master, we join the ranks of that army, we wear their uniform, fight the battles we are given to fight, and share in the victory and/or defeat of each battle and eventually the entire war.

According to Scripture… this is the ultimate war… the battle for life or death. The first shot was fired in the garden with the enemy assured of victory when Adam an Eve raised the white flag of surrender and declared God the looser of His perfect creation. The creation, no longer perfect, had no power to defeat the enemy, without intervention it was certain destruction and death. God’s enemy declared victory.

But God… John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 

Our enemy judges (we are mere pawns in his plan) and brings destruction and death… God saves (we become His children – heirs of His kingdom) and gives us eternal life. Someday, our enemy will suffer his final defeat, until then he has been given permission to “prowl around, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). When we choose to serve a master other than God, we are serving the enemy. If we stick with him, we will be devoured.

I choose God… the Father, Son and Holy Spirit…

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is… patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

I choose the armor of God…

Ephesians 6:13-16 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking the shield faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

This is war!

But we know who wins!

It’s Armor Time!

When my day sucks… It’s Armor Time!

When it seems as if I am “snake bit”… It’s Armor Time!

When my fairy tale turns into a horror story… It’s Armor Time!

I may be bloody and wounded – even at death’s door… It’s Armor Time!

I’m wearing the BELT of Truth… I’ve shod my feet with the GOSPEL of Peace… I’ve lifted the SHIELD of Faith… I proudly wear the HELMET of Salvation… and I use the weapon of choice, the SWORD of the Spirit, which is the WORD OF GOD.

Whatever this day brings (for this is the day the Lord has made!)… It’s Armor Time. It’s TRUTH, PEACE, FAITH, SALVATION, SPIRIT, WORD OF GOD time!

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB  version of the Bible

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colossians 3:8-10 But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—

The other day, as I was waiting for company to arrive, I was looking over the stash in my craft closet. I was dreaming of all the projects I MIGHT use this stuff for… including the mother of all projects…  organizing, labeling, obsessively locating all of it into the PERFECT CRAFT STASH!

I was in a trance… I think there was even a smile on my face… until one by one the shelfs fell and all the do-dads (big and small) rained down.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall… I had to ask… is this a Divine Appointment? And God said… “Yep!”

He knows I hate cleaning closets much less removing everything… He also knows I should never be allowed to put it all back without Him. At best I will make everything appear neat and tidy but at worst it will contain everything already there and room for more to come…

Left on my own, this closet will remain a hoarders hidden stash of useless  idols that someday may add value to my life…

Hoarding doesn’t happen overnight. It starts with the fear that someday, THIS (idol) will become NECESSARY and I should’ve/would’ve/could’ve USED it to SAVE MY LIFE (or the life of someone I love).  As I put my stash away on the new and improved shelving Don installed, I will fight for every tiny flower, every dried up marker, every ball of yarn that can be used to make SOMETHING! I will fight with my mind that tells me there is no need to keep anything because there is more where that came from. I will fight with my laziness body that says I will never make the something anyway. And I will fight with the truth that fear, not goodness, is the motivation behind this project that will never end until I FACE my MONSTER… myself.

I see in a mirror dimly… this Divine Appointment isn’t about cleaning a closet. It is about renewing  (think RENOVATION of) my heart.

You’d think that 35 years in the Word with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, intimacy with Jesus, and the love and care of my perfect Daddy, my heart wouldn’t NEED a renovation. It certainly isn’t that God is responsible for the mess. It is indeed MY mess! I have taken His PERFECT TRUTH and snuck in my version… or that which is easier for me to store.

Anger? Wrath? Malice? Slander? And abusive speech from your mouth?

I have put aside MOST of it… but there may have been “just a little piece” I threw in with a box of memories. I may have kept notes to “remind” myself of the bigger life lessons. I may have hidden some “evidence” to be used later should I ever need to be defended. Some “remnants” stored, may color the fabric of my speech, but NOT ON PURPOSE!

A Divine Appointment indeed… since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—

Do not lie to one another… as if hidden from view means gone… I need God’s renewal/renovation every moment of everyday.

Once saved always saved… I believe this… Jesus said, “It is finished!”.

But turning this wretched mess of a child into royalty takes an earthly lifetime. Sometimes (most times) it takes the destruction of my carefully managed mess to prepare me for God’s renovation. Our God is so good (all the time!) and will never destroy us… only the useless idols made by our own hands, heart and mind.

Some of us assume (or have been taught) that when we laid aside our old self, we magically received a new self that wouldn’t ever need discipline, training, renovating. But if it did/does, our magical God would just do it without our participation, commitment, or toil and sweat.

After all this time, it still shocks me when God takes my blinders off and shows me the mess and sets the appointment with Him for renovation.

He knows it will be painful. He knows I will probably cry, and scream, and maybe even throw my best rendition of a hissy fit tantrum. He knows…

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. 

But He will settle for nothing less than the PERFECT PLACE to house His PERFECT LOVE. A heart designed and built for royalty… the heart of a child of the ONE TRUE KING.

Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way. 

Renovation Time… create in me a Heart Fit for a King!

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB  version of the Bible

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!… These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up, You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Not just an hour a week (or less if the pastor has learned the art of fast talking)! This command by God is 24/7… it is so much more than words, it is the passionate desire to know God and be known by God. It is an all-consuming, unconditional love relationship that gives and sustains life, itself.

In my 35+ years of “being born again”(John 3:3), I haven’t always understood, followed or even cared to apply this command to my life… “One doesn’t want to GO TOO FAR with this spiritual thing”. When left up to me, my life becomes small and brittle and pretty much meaningless (with moments of  bling when the family is involved). But when God is honored as my Lord and given complete access to my life, as my Life Giver, I LIVE.

It has indeed taken me years to learn the path of righteousness… it has taken me years to truly observe and remember.

My daughter attends a Messianic Jewish Synagogue, so I get the blessing of the training she gets through this community. Is she a Jew? Am I a Jew wannabe? Technically, no. Spiritually, YES! Our Savior, Jesus… Yeshua… is (and will always be) a Jew. He came and offered Himself as the Passover Lamb that we might become one family and be saved from eternal death!

Every Shabbat (Sabbath meal) we light two candles that burn from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday. These two candles represent the command of God to observe and remember all that He IS… all that He HAS DONE… and all that He WILL DO for His beloved Israel.

Observe and Remember…

The Jewish side of our family has been trained to do this from day 1 when God spoke to Abraham. We’ve turned it into a one-dimensional, one sided conversation… but as one author put it… this was/is a full on “wrestling match”. Not, for purposes of domination, but for the purpose of complete intimacy… a Father/child intimacy. Since Abraham, every Jew, from a very early age learns how to and is encouraged to, wrestle with God. When I read this in the book, “The Gospel According to Moses” by Atol Dickson, I was forever changed! The picture in my head is of a Daddy, on the floor, playing with (and teaching… and hugging… and loving) His beloved child.

Forever changed… when I approach God’s word, when I enter into prayer with God, when I view what God is doing through the people and circumstances of my life… I see Daddy and me! When I intercede for others… I see Daddy… Abba and them!

Thank God He gave me many teachers to “Train me up in the way I should go”. I learned early on that I should study to know God so that I would recognize His voice and direction for my life. I was retrained to see through God’s eyes with Him at the center and in control, instead of seeing everything as revolving around me and believing that this present moment held everything of value in its grip. I did learn to observe and remember and through it, was given freedom from the enemy’s attacks.

Since “believing with my heart and confessing with my mouth that Jesus is (my) Lord”, I have been saved… Romans 10:9-11 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes , resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For Scriptures says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

I have been saved for a lot of years… but it took 35+ years to grow up and into the REAL relationship. Father and child.

Observe and remember…

Do we just want/need to know the details and events? Or do we need to KNOW and WRESTLE WITH the perfect Parent? Do we do battle in this the world, infiltrated and effected by our enemy, Satan, without armor, weapons and training in war? Or do we learn daily, one on one with Jesus, how to defeat our enemy?

Do we observe and remember always that God… our Abba… is good ALL THE TIME.

Observe and remember… am I a Jewish wannabe?

Romans 10:12-13 For there is not distinction between Jew ad Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

I am! Because of Jesus! I am abounding in the riches of wrestling with our Abba… our God!

Observe and remember… then sings my soul… “How Great Thou Art”!

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB  version of the Bible

 

 

 

 

 

 

Psalm 118:24 This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. 

One would think that the author of this Psalm had just listed all the wonderful, fun, glorious things God had given him. One would think that this author has never suffered a day that sucked in his life. One would think… but one would be wrong.

Verse 5… from my distress I called upon the Lord

Verse 10… all the nations surrounded me;

Verse 13… you pushed me violently so that I was falling

Verse 18… The Lord has disciplined me severely, but He has not given me over to death.

THIS is the day!

Psalm 116:1-4 I love the Lord, because He hears my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live. The cords of death encompassed me and the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I beseech You, save my life!”

Verse 6… I was brought low, and He saved me.

Verse 8… For You have rescued my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.

THIS is the day!

If you or I spent one day in the sandals of our Psalmist, would we declare that we love the Lord, because He hears?

Psalm 118:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His loving-kindness is everlasting.

We look at our world through the tainted glass of me… myself… and I. We put great faith in OUR assessment of life determining  whether or not it makes us happy. We judge our day by how “bad” it was… how “hard” it was… how “hurtful” it was.

Our Psalmist used the same assessments to describe his day. He didn’t sugar coat the truth as he saw it. He didn’t declare that his suffering was imaginary. He didn’t rise above his enemies and form a plan to be the toughest kid on the block.

Our Psalmist was under the same human condition of flesh and blood, that of being vulnerable to all the elements of this creation. But our Psalmist KNEW one thing that I pray we all will come to KNOW…

Hebrews 11: 6 without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is the Rewarder of those who seek Him.

Our Psalmist KNEW… God IS!

And… God is GOOD ALL THE TIME!

From the beginning our enemy, Satan, has whispered that God has no control over circumstances, but if He does, He doesn’t care about you, He only cares about His power and position…

Genesis 3:4-5 “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good from evil.”

As believers in God, there is pressure (from without and within) to explain and justify suffering. Our enemy, Satan, knows our weakness. He wants us to believe that WE are God’s advocate… WE are His creator… WE are His sustainer… WE are His Explainer-in-Chief.

The temptation is to judge God, our Creator and Sustainer, by the assessment of our day or an event within our day. Satan encourages us to be God’s jury, to declare our belief in or turn our backs on because of the assessment. Was it good… a delight to the body… desirable to make one powerful…

We take from life’s fruit and we eat. We give to our friends and family, and they to eat. And then… our eyes are opened and we know we are naked; we sew fig leaves together and make ourselves loin coverings… (Genesis 3:6-7)

We are tempted (remember – tempted is not our sin) to say… It’s God’s fault because He created this life and didn’t stop us from destroying it. We are tempted to say, He couldn’t/wouldn’t stop us. We are tempted to declare there is no God… only chance.

Some believe our ANSWER to “How was your day, Honey?” is our verdict of God. But I believe the real verdict is our RESPONSE to the day we had.

What do you do and say when your day sucks?

1 Corinthians 13:11-13 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man (woman), I did away with childish things. For, now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. 

How was my day?

… THIS is the day the Lord has made… God IS

… Let us REJOICE and be glad in it… God is GOOD ALL THE TIME!

And someday soon… He will return… we will go out with joy and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before us, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12)

What a day, what a day that will be, Honey!

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB  version of the Bible

Exodus 17:9-12 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set. (What an example of INTERCESSION!)

Have your hands ever been heavy? Were you surprised or did you know (without a shadow of doubt) that THIS “battle” would require hands up prayer for the duration? What did you do? Try to do it all yourself? Give up and let the enemy prevail because you had to let your hands down?

Did God send you your very own Aaron and Hur? Did you allow them to lift and hold you and your arms and the staff of God up in prayer… one on one side and one on the other?

I was reminded of a couple of those “Hands Up Battles” the other day by my very own Aaron (thanks Barb!). We practice this Holy Spirit led battle plan when either of us feel our arms coming down and timing demands them heavenward. She’s my Aaron, not because I deserve the best but because I NEED the best. I am her Hur because I am still in training in Prayer Warfare (Right, Colonel?).

For a long time God allowed me to view the warfare from a naive and protected distance. I was given opportunity to stand beside and hold up the arms of a Prayer Warrior but yet not personally experience the pain and wounds and anxiety of the Warrior. I was blessed with Warriors who were grateful for the little I could offer and I was shown the great and awesome hand of God by their faith in Him.

I stood by, waiting for the call to lift and hold, but never really knowing the heart of the Warrior and never really knowing the danger that the heart was involved in, nor knowing the signs of the enemy beginning to prevail. I wore God’s armor as a cocoon…

 I girded (my) loins with truth, I put on the breastplate of righteousness, and shod (my) feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; I took the helmet of salvation (Ephesians 6:13-17) 

I knew there was indeed a war, but I wasn’t a fighter, I was at most an assistant (an encourager) to a medic.

Then God said, take up the shield of faith with which I would be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God… 

And then… He sent me to war!

Nothing I had ever heard or seen or shared, taught me as much as being thrust into a battle that both broke my heart and, in the end, healed my heart from loving the wrong things (MY WAY is mostly the thing I loved). I realized the need for Side by Side and Hand in Hand ministry Aaron and Hur provide when my eyes were blurred by tears and my head was lost in trying to find all the pieces rather than lifting God’s staff higher.

Truly, though I am no Moses, I learned the value of a battle plan and I learned the agony of fighting beyond endurance. I learned to be wounded and fight on, because GOD is the source of our victory… He IS our VICTORY. He is in our midst wherever two or more are gathered in His name… Matthew 18:20!

Jesus said… I will build my church; and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18… We are His church and He has plans for us… Jeremiah 29:11-13 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 

And so… to all the battle wounded and weary… to all the faithful Aaron’s and Hur’s… to all my fellow warriors and their Side by Side brothers and sisters in uniform… let us imitate Moses by lifting up our hands to heaven. Let us stand in the gap for and with each other…  KNOWING the ENDING because we seek the Alpha and the Omega – the beginning and the end of all things.

Though the battle for the heart is fearsome, we lift up holy hands like Moses did. And then… like Moses… we build an altar and name it The Lord is My Banner; Exodus 17:15 

Give your Aaron and your Hur… a call. It’s “Hands Up Prayer” time, somewhere! Let’s go to war…

The Lord is our Banner!!

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB  version of the Bible