When You Don't Have Answers

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. Phil 4:11

 

I don’t have answers to life’s questions.   God knows I have many, many questions.  I long for Him.  I want to understand Him.  I want to follow Him.   But, if I am honest, I also want life to be stable, predictable and easy.   When hard days come, I want to immediately see what God is doing and explain it to myself and to others.  If you’ve read my story (www.morethanchocolate.org), you know my life has been anything but predictable or stable. Yet, way down deep I have still clung to a secret hope that somehow I could make it be.  I like order.  I like predictability.   I like to feel like I am in control of what the day will hold.  Yet life for me, and many of us lately, has been anything but predictable and anything but easy. 

 

A few years ago, I went for a walk around our little farm with my niece Riley.   We noticed the change in the season as the cool air hit our faces.  Leaves and dried blackberries were falling to the ground.  Fallen persimmons were rotting into the earth.  The ground was turning brown and crunchy with all the decaying matter.  I explained to Riley how God would make something beautiful out of all the ugly, dead stuff the coming spring.  I told her we couldn’t see what God was doing but that deep down under all the decay, He was at work. 

 

That walk and those words came back to my mind today.   It seems every news story, every conversation with friends and family is full of hard, heartbreaking things that are far from beautiful and seem so utterly out of control.  I remembered telling Riley, “God is still at work even when things look ugly.”  My mind raced to my own ugly times – like losing my husband to suicide—and other times when I honestly felt like giving up.  In the midst of the heartache, I couldn’t see what God was doing.   Still, He whispered a persistent, hold-on-hope and asked me to believe He was indeed “doing”.   My eyes could no more see His hand than I could see a flower being birthed under the rotting leaves that fall day with Riley.  Sometimes it is seems forever to wait on spring in the dark days of winter and even harder to wait on God when we desperately want answers, when our hearts are breaking, and when nothing seems to be in control.   It is exhaustingly difficult, but it is not impossible for those who are determined to keep following and trusting God.   He has given us (yes given us) a gift of faith (all that we need) to be sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Heb 11:1).   He has always been in the business of bringing beauty from ashes, and His Word is full of the incredibly hopeless finding real, stand-on, keep-going hope.  Indeed, His greatest miracles came from the most desperate of situations; and I expect they still do.

 

Yet, it is in the very midst of the trial, in our weakest-of-weak that our Faithful Father asks us to surrender our will to His and believe He can still do great things for us, in us, and through us.   Yes, when we finally lay down our conditions and expectations for how things should turn out and say, “God, I trust you more than I trust me, I believe you are at work even when I can’t see you,”  it is then—that we find incredible, amazing, hope-filled, hold-onto-peace that makes no earthly, logical sense.  

 

Oswald Chambers said, “There is only one thing you can consecrate to God and that is the right to yourself (Rom12:1).”  Yes, the enemy may have intended what you are walking through for evil, but God alone can bring good.  Keep your eyes on Him.  This hard road you are walking may be the only way someone else sees the only Savior of Souls.   That awful situation that you or someone you love is enduring may yield a depth of love for our Lord that could come no other way.   It is in reckless abandon to God (not predictability or stability in this life or even the easy) that He tells us we will find rest for our souls (Matt 11:29-30).   And that is no small thing.  So keep reading His Word, keep praying, keep seeking encouragement from other believers and keep hoping in God who  is at work in your life.  

 

Prayer:  Oh Lord, help me to lay down those things which keep me from experiencing your peace.   Take my right to myself, my day, my calendar, my expectations, my need to control, my desire for stability and predictability, even this heartbreaking thing, and help me to live in reckless abandon to You.   May I give glory to You no matter what this day brings.  May I only desire to stay under the shelter of Your wings, for you are my rock, my protector and my comforter (Ps 61:3-4).  Amen.

 

Is it okay to ask God to tell you what He already told you?

 

“Oh God, I’ve been here before.  You showed me truth to answer this question before.  You’ve shown me strength to overcome this before.  Yet, here I am again asking you the same question all over again.   God, are you really this long-suffering?   Can I ask you once again to tell me what I already know?”

Have you been there?   Have you walked with God through a fire finding Him to be true and faithful at some point in your life only to later on become incredibly frustrated with yourself as you question Him about something you so solidly believed before?  Have there been times in your life where you ran back to God asking Him to tell you once more what He had told you before?  Is that okay?

In Matthew 3, John the Baptist baptizes Jesus and hears the voice of God proclaiming, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”  In Matthew 11, we find this same John sitting in prison asking his disciples to go to this same Jesus and ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”     What John had heard that day as he baptized Jesus had to ring in his ears as his mouth uttered the question, “Are you really who I think you are or should I look for another?”   John’s circumstances had dramatically changed from the revered baptizer and the one who prepared the way for the Lord as he now sat in a dirty prison awaiting certain death.  John the Baptist was questioning what he knew before.  Time out, did you hear that?  John the Baptist was questioning what he knew before.   Although John had heard and believed truth, his human nature and circumstances caused him to ask Jesus what seems like a ridiculous question after literally hearing the voice of God.  It was John’s very hands that had baptized the Son of Man.    

Yet, God put this and many other examples of His children having crises of faith in His Bible.   He graciously allows us to see David, Peter, and many more struggle in both belief and action after previously walking in amazing nearness to God.  God did not have to include those faith failures in His Word; yet in His goodness He has encouraged me with them over and over.   He has allowed me to see David going from wailing to dancing in the pages of Psalms, and with that He has encouraged my heart to run right back to Him with every doubt and question I have ever had.   Nowhere in Scripture does God condemn His children as they run to Him with their questions.  Our gracious God tells us we can indeed ask Him to once again remind us of what we knew before.   He knows we need Him to tell us over and over again that He loves us, that He won’t ever leave us because He knows life and the circumstances we face will cause our human hearts to despair and to question what He has told us before.  

Yes, I believe our loving, patient Father wants a real, authentic relationship with us; and just like I need my husband to tell me what I already know: to tell me He loves me, to tell me he will be here for me, God allows us to go right back to Him and ask Him to tell us over and over those same things.  He knows we desperately need to hear from Him again and again.  I am so thankful God really is that good, that loving and that long-suffering.   I’m glad He really is Who He says He is.   So go ahead, ask Him again to remind you of what He told you before.   He will and you can walk on in that truth when life (and it will) gets hard, when you question and when you doubt.  Not only does God not change with our circumstances or emotions – He can handle them as we bring them to Him.  Don’t ever stop bringing them to Him.   Don’t ever stop bringing them to Him. 

Don't Judge Me Man!

 

 

I hear the phrase “Don’t judge” so often in our world and often out of the mouths of Christians.   I am concerned that the enemy has confused this phrase and used it to silence many from speaking truth and has kept many from hearing truth, because the enemy knows truth will set us free. 

 

I am so thankful for people in my life that saw sin in my life and loved me enough to point it out.  In fact, I will go as far to say that the people who have said, “I love you but you are wrong” are the people who love me most and want the best for me.   They want nothing to stand in the way of my relationship with God.  

 

I guess they could have been worried that I would tell them to, “Stop judging me”,  but I am so thankful that they knew the difference between judging to condemn (which a Christian is not to do) and a discerning judgment of fruit (which a Christian is to do).   The father of all lies is skilled in taking the very words of God out of context.   We have to recognize how often he does this today and has done so since the beginning of time as he questioned Eve in the garden, “Did God really say?”  This is why it is so important for Christians to know God’s Word and to read it in context.   Yes, God does say in Matthew 7 “Judge not that you be not judged”.   Yet, He goes on to say in the very same chapter that we can “know them by their fruits” and that “every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit” (v. 15-17).   In this same chapter, God tells us we can judge a tree by its fruit.  John McArthur (The Truth War) says “Scripture does clearly and consistently teach the primacy of right belief as the foundation of right behavior.  In other words, righteous living is properly seen as a fruit of authentic faith and never the other way around”.   McArthur emphatically pleads with Christians to know and speak truth and ignore the enemy who says you are “judging” when you do so.  

 

God tells us to encourage one another to be followers of Christ and to mimic His behavior in every facet of our lives.   God’s Word tells us how to live, and that we can know right and wrong in our lives and in the lives of others.  McArthur says, “The idea that the Christian message should be kept pliable and ambiguous seems especially attractive to young people who are in tune with the culture and in love with the spirit of the age and can’t stand to have biblical truth applied with precision as a corrective to worldly lifestyles, unholy minds, and ungodly behavior.   And the poison of this perspective is being increasingly injected into the evangelical church body.”   Now more than ever we are to know truth and encourage others to know it as well (Titus 2).   

 

But what if they call you a hypocrite?  What if they point out sins they have seen you commit in the past?   Get ready for it, but don’t let this fear stop you!   When they call you a hypocrite, agree with them that you have indeed messed up.   “Yes, I’ve sinned, but I always knew God was in my life because I felt guilty over my sin.  But the times I have chosen to follow Jesus and not sin are the times I have felt such freedom.  I just want that for you too.  I want God’s best for you because I love you.”

 

We have to help others know what God says about how we are to live, “Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to their debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting’ (Roman 1:28).   McArthur says to, “Abandon a biblical definition of truth, and unrighteousness is the inescapable result.  We see it happening before our eyes in every corner of society.   In fact, the widespread acceptance of homosexuality, rebellion, and all forms of iniquity that we see in our society today is the verbatim fulfillment of what Romans 1 says always happens when a society denies and suppresses the essential connection between God and truth.”

 

This is hard stuff.   This is “cling to Jesus with all you have stuff” but the consequences are huge.  People we love are in bondage to misery-making sin.  People we love do not know our Lord.   The consequences are huge.  Pray.  Stay connected to God and trust Him to give you the words.  Love them.   Speak truth to them.  Keep loving them when they call you a hypocrite.   Keep speaking truth even in this hard world….because this world needs Jesus and eternity without Him is Hell. 

 

 

Questions to Ask Yourself When Trouble Comes

Questions to ask yourself when trouble comes…

 

1. Is God still on the throne? (yes)

And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb” Rev 7:10

2. Does God hear my prayers? (yes)

You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
 you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, Psalm 10:17

3. Is God still capable of miracles? (yes)

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matt 19:26

4. Does God have the ability to use this hard thing for my good and His glory?(yes)

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Rom 8:28

5. As I seek God through His Word and prayer will He strengthen me through this storm? (yes)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Rom 15:13

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:6-7

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isa 41:10

6. Can the faith of others grow as they see me cling to Jesus through this? (yes)

Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings

 I Pet 5:9

Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31-32

7. Will I be free from this problem, difficulty, trial or tragedy in Heaven? (yes)

Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death  or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Rev 21:4-5

     8.  Will it help me to keep my eyes on Jesus and take one day at a time? (yes)

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matt 6:33-34

 

 

 

The Day after The Cross

The Day after the Cross

 

Devastated, despairing…confused.  Even though Jesus had told His disciples what He had come to do, the Cross certainly didn’t look or feel like victory.

 

Those who had seen Him feed the five thousand, calm the storm, raise the dead, and fulfill countless prophecies could not bring themselves to imagine anything good coming from the Cross.

 

They reasoned, “It was over.  Finished.”  Doubt flooded their minds.  Was He really who He said He was?

 

How like us today.

 

We’ve read His promises.   We’ve seen Him act in our lives.   We’ve heard His voice whisper things just for us.  But, then, He does something unexpected.   Something we don’t like.   Our circumstances don’t turn out the way we had hoped.   We can’t see Him at work or imagine that He is. 

 

What then?

 

Do we shirk away- devastated, despairing and confused?

 

Or do we hold on?   Remembering, like that day after the Cross, even when things look horribly wrong—Jesus is always at work keeping His promises.   Always.

 

Hell has been defeated.   Victory is already won.   Jesus said He is coming again to make all things new.  And He is.  

 

He said His plans for you are exceedingly abundantly more than you can ask or imagine (Eph 3:20)… (let alone see or figure out).  

 

Just because you don’t understand what He is doing doesn’t mean Jesus isn’t defeating Hell for you.  

 

Hold on.  Hold on to Him.   Believe Him.  Follow Him. 

 

Hope is found in His promises, in His blood, in His righteousness. Especially when you don’t’ understand.

 

Hold on.   Sunday is coming. 

 

Blessed are those who believe in Him even when they can’t see Him.  (John 20:29)

Ilogical Easter

It doesn’t make logical sense.  Eternal life for those destined to die – freely offered to all who will receive through the blood of God’s sinless Son. Surely, there must be more required.  So many of us hear about it but can’t receive it.  A few feel above it all, saying they do not need the forgiveness of some higher authority only to one day answer to the “Higher Authority.”   Others spend years trying to find peace and hope in other things only to ultimately come up empty after each new acquisition. 

 

However, most of us know the perpetual emptiness found in things on this earth and are also keenly aware of our own sin-- knowing we need forgiveness.   But still, for many, the thought of such a simple solution:  a magnificent trade--Jesus’ blood for my sins (past, present and future) seems, well, wrong.  Not enough.  Shouldn’t there be more required?   Can it possibly be that easy?  We may not say it aloud, but we resolve in our minds and hang on to the belief that we have to keep on striving.  So many of us decide we must add to it.  We reason, “Jesus’ blood PLUS my good works, my moral behavior, my ‘try harder’… that then, could equal forgiveness.”   

 

Yet, is this belief not the most selfish and conceited affront to the love offered by our Savior?   Aren’t we putting ourselves on a pedestal higher than the Savior and selfishly saying by our focus on our works, “We deserve it and we can earn it…what Jesus did isn’t enough”?  Jonathan Edwards, in The Nature of True Beauty, explained it this way:

 

“If you don’t believe the gospel of grace (is enough), if you believe you are saved by your works, then you have never done anything for the love of others or for the sheer beauty of it; you’ve done it for yourself.  You haven’t helped the proverbial little old lady across the street just for her sake –or for God’s sake.  You’ve done it because then you can look at yourself in the mirror and know that you’re the kind of person who helps little old ladies across the street and you expect to go to heaven someday because of it.  It’s all selfish; it will become drudgery, yet you’ll believe yourself superior to others”

 

There is only one way to come to the Cross and receive it in truth.  We have to come to the Cross helpless -helpless, at the end of ourselves, asking God to help us fathom this great gift.   Jesus is our substitutionary sacrifice and has done for us what we cannot do for ourselves, what we cannot find for ourselves, what we cannot earn for ourselves.   He has paid for our sins once and for all.  It is finished means: it really is finished.   Tim Keller puts it this way, “He (Jesus) has proved to our insecure, skittish little hearts that we are worth everything to him--we have everything we need in him.”  This changes everything.  Oh friend, can you fathom this illogical, wonderful truth?   Can you believe it and receive it?   God will help you….even help you believe it just as he helped the father who said “I believe help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). 

 

And once we believe, we helplessly accept - we find soul rest, no longer working, no longer trying harder for our salvation.  Our lives and our perspectives are forever changed.  Keller goes on to say, “Now you do not need to help people, but you want to help them to resemble the One who did so much for you to bring Him delight.  Whether you think they are worthy of your service doesn’t come into it. Only the gospel gives you the benefit of unselfish living that doesn’t rob you of the benefits of unselfishness even as you act on it.”   In other words, I want to live in such a way that others will see Jesus in me and will want to give Him glory… not because I think I can earn His forgiveness because of what I do.  Truly, it is not about what we’ve done but what has been done for us.   Grace is more amazing than we can ever fathom.   

 

Jesus paid it all.   All to Him I owe.   We have so much to celebrate because of The Cross….Happy Easter!   Amazing illogical Easter!

 

This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3:22-24

 

I'm not enough for my kids

I’m not enough for my kids

 

 

Almost twenty-one years ago a squirmy, wet, beautiful, little creature was laid upon my belly, crying, filling his lungs with earth air.  My heart exploded with emotion because everything in me knew I had never loved another human being as much as I instantly loved this tiny angel.   My love for this person has only grown deeper by the day as it has for his brother and sister as well.  Yet, my love, nor any human love, will ever be the greatest love my children could ever know.  

 

As the days have gone by, I have tried to anticipate every possible danger or discouragement coming their way; as well as seek out every opportunity for their good.  From strapping fighting toddlers in cars seats, to baking cookies for kindergarten birthday parties, to going over thousands of spelling lists, to washing dirty football uniforms over and over, to sitting on hard bleachers for hours, to driving to hundreds of piano lessons, to filling out college applications – I have tried to be there for my kids.  Yet, I know I will not always be able to be there for them, and one day they will walk this earth without me.

 

I have held their faces in my hands time and time again and told each of my children how proud I am of them.  I have complimented and celebrated them for the things I have seen them do well.   Yet, my words of encouragement and affirmation will never be enough to be their lasting security and confidence. 

 

I have relentlessly corrected and disciplined them over and over again.   Often repeating the same things to eye rolls and groans, I have hoped my words of caution would spare them from pain.   Yet, I know I cannot always be there to whisper truth to them in moments of decision.  

 

I have told them of a God who loves them even more than I do.   I have pointed them to His Word and encouraged them that it is there they will find strength, direction, comfort and hope.   Yet, they see my faith fail; and my human words fall incredibly short of the words the Holy Spirit has for each of them when they seek Him on their own, or the words He will whisper to them in their deepest dark.

 

I know, as they grow, my ability to shelter my kids from mistakes and pain is dwindling.   As they grow up and their time apart from me increases--so do the temptations around every corner.   For not only do my kids have a Mom who cannot protect them from everything, they also have an enemy--a real enemy.  His plans are to rob, kill, and destroy.    When they were small he seemed to take little notice of them; but now that they are older, I more clearly see that he is waging a very real war against them.   Yet, I cannot predict his next move or completely protect them no more than I can see the wars waging in the heavenlies over my kids.

 

Since they were born, my every thought has included, if not been consumed by my three children.  When I say, I would die for my kids, I mean it.  I don’t’ think I would even hesitate.  Yet, if I died for them, it wouldn’t be enough to save them for eternity.    

 

I am not enough for my kids. 

 

Yet, there is One who loves my children more than I do, and against Him the enemy has no power.  He is always with them no matter where life takes them.  He can always speak to them, and His Words are perfect and true.    He is lasting hope, peace, and strength.   He is real security in an insecure, evil world.  His plans for them are exceedingly better than they (or their momma) could ask or imagine.    While I have failed my children, God has not and never will.  

 

And even if my love for them and my actions towards my kids had been perfect – it would not be enough.  It would never be enough.   For just like me, although my babies were born gasping for earth air, they were also born with souls longing to be satisfied by the Living, Most High God.  

 

And for this reason… my greatest of prayers for the people I love so much that I hurt when they hurt and rejoice when they rejoice is that they will know (really know) the One who loves them more than me, Who left a throne in Heaven to die for them, Who has made a way for them in eternity,  Who will guide their steps, Who will be their rock-- their calm in the storm, their hope for tomorrow, their real joy  no matter what life may bring….and Who will be there for them long after I’m home with Him. 

 

And Who I (just like my kids) need every moment of every day until then…

 

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.  2 Tim 3:16-17

Sports, Moma Bears and Jesus

He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

Isa 53:3

 

I manage to overlook many things now in my life.   God has worked on my once famous temper and taught me to let more things slide.  However, when insults or unfair treatment are directed at my children… my blood still boils.   As I sat on the bleachers, my heart ached as I saw a hurt, aggravated look on my son’s face as he sat on the bench.   I prayed for the coach to put him in; I wrung my hands; I twisted my hair; and fume began to come out of my ears.   I knew I needed my own “come to Jesus” meeting, and so I abruptly left the stands and walked along the court to the gym door hoping to calm myself down in the cold night air.    Barely outside the door, I exclaimed, “God, do you know what they are doing to my son?”   And then it hit me.  

 

Here, I stood, an imperfect mother infuriated about her imperfect son’s treatment over a game.  My prayerful arguments about “how hard he has worked, how good he plays, and how he deserves more playing time” seemed so insignificant when my words rang back to me as if from God Himself , “Do you know what they did to MY Son?”   How did that feel to God the Father?  I cannot imagine what it must have been like for the all-powerful God to watch us so cruelly reject His Son.   Jesus had done so much more than try hard – they had seen Him walk miles of dusty roads to heal the sick, feed the thousands, and raise the dead.   Yet, they discounted all Jesus had done for them; rejecting Him and His love for them and cried for a murderer to be spared in His place.   They spat upon Him, ridiculed Him, and beat Him.  What if that had been my son?   What if it had been yours?  

 

Yet, instead of wiping us all off the planet, God so loved us, that He was pleased to give His Son for us.   All the punishment we deserve was heaped upon God’s one and only Son.   The Moma Bear in me cannot wrap my mind around that; nor can I fathom what it took for a beaten, bloodied, rejected Jesus to utter the words, “God forgive them for they know not what they do”.  

 

I wonder when God gives us children and lets us so deeply feel their heartache if He is giving us just a glimpse of how much it cost Him to send His Son.    Perhaps He allows our children to suffer unfair treatment so we might teach them more about what our Savior endured and how very much He loves them.   Perhaps God wants His children to be less like a Moma Bear and more like Himself – loving the unlovely, not returning evil for evil, exhibiting patience and grace.   Maybe it is especially in hard circumstances that the world can see something different in those of us who call ourselves Christians.  Maybe it is then that they will see Jesus.  

He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

⁴ Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.

Isaiah 53:3-5

 

Do I want God to change?

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Heb 13:8

 

Life is made up of moments.   Some are spectacular, unforgettable, and sweet.   There are also moments you wish would never happen --those moments where the bad news comes, and you know life will forever change.   We never know what the next phone call or breaking news story will hold…indeed, life is always changing by the moment.   Some thrive on change and make their dollar marketing change whether it be in the fashion world (oh, how I miss my 80s leg warmers) or political arena.   We are a people simultaneously drawn to and running away from change.   It both excites us and terrifies us, and there is nothing we can do to stop it.  

 

And then there is God.   He says He does not change. “Yes, yes”, we say “we know that”.  We say we take comfort in the rock-steady, unchanging nature of our God.  Yet deep down do we really believe He does not change?  Or do we, in fact, really want to believe He is changeless only about some things.   Incredibly, some rest in the fact of His unchanging love while simultaneously living as if He might have changed His view on certain sins.  Perhaps seeing the obvious problems with overpopulation and unwanted, inconvenient pregnancies, God has evolved in His views on the sanctity of life?  Perhaps, He really didn’t mean what He said in His Bible about divorce, adultery and homosexuality?  Ouch.!   Those are hard things --political things.  

 

But God is not a political god.   He doesn’t take an opinion poll and then take a stand.   No.  He is God and He says He does not change.   Would you really want Him to?   Would you want Him to forgive your sins and then decide you just aren’t worth it?   Would you want Him to promise you Heaven and then decide He has better options?   Don’t we desperately need to know we can count on God not to change what He has said? Would you want Him to tell you that the blood of His precious Son (that you are counting on to cover all your sins) is no longer an acceptable payment for your sin debt?  

 

Try as we may, we can’t have it both ways.   No, somewhere in the deepest part of us we have a desperate need to know really know God is indeed the same, yesterday, today and forever.   While He is all good, full of mercy and standing with open arms completely willing to forgive our sins—He does not redefine sin from one generation to the next.   He can’t change His nature, and we would be insane to want Him to be able to do so.   For those who call upon Him as Lord - He is also rock.   He is firm foundation in a world filled with sinking sand.   His changelessness is hope to be counted on.  He is our “true north”, and when we follow Him, we find rest for our weary, bounced-around-by-the-world and all its opinion souls. 

 

Prayer - Father, You are God and I am not.  Thank you.   My emotions are apt to change by the minute.   So also are the emotions of those around me.   Help me to rest in your unchanging love and follow your always-for-us ways.   Thank you that in the same passage of scripture where you tell me you will never leave me nor forsake me you also tell me you will not change (Heb 13) .   Help me to remember those truths when life gets hard, when the things I have counted on seem to fail me, help me to remember there is rest in your unchanging love.   Thank you Lord for being my rock.  Amen.

 

Chips, Salsa and a Picture of God

 

 

 

My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.

Job 42:5

 

 

I sat trying to restrain myself from the bowl of chips and salsa when it happened.   She poked my arm and looked up at me proclaiming, “This is a picture of God.”  My four-year-old niece proudly held up her crayon drawing-- a large squiggly circle surrounded two odd-shaped, bulging eyes.   Speechless, for a moment, I thought about the holiness of The Most High God sitting on the eternal throne and the fact that no one has ever seen Him.  I knew the ancient Jews reverently hesitated to even write His name.  Yet, there she sat, smiling from ear to ear; and I believe God must have been smiling too.   “Oh, Ann Claire I know God must be so happy that you were thinking enough about Him to draw a picture of Him.  I bet you made Him smile.” She seemed satisfied with my response, but I have thought about her picture for days.

 

I think we all draw pictures of God.  Though many have given Him so little thought; their pictures are quite featureless.  Some base pictures on the few words heard about Him long ago in a Sunday school class or VBS.  Some base pictures on totally false information.   For many, their pictures are just copies of what others have told them their pictures should look like.   But what about you?  What does your picture look like? 

 

No one has seen Him, yet God’s desire is to reveal Himself to us.  How much thought have you given the God of the Universe, your Creator?  Do you desire to know Him? Do you search the Scriptures for the minutest details of His character?   Is He smiling in your picture? Or is He angry?  Are His arms wide open?   Is He laughing?  Is He far removed from you or are you walking arm and arm, talking about everything?  Do His eyes twinkle with a sense of humor (as when He called Samuel (I Sam 3))?  Is He strong, even fearsome but still approachable? Is He fortress and Father?  Is He completely loving and all good, yet simultaneously the Righteous Judge?   Does He hold you close even when you don’t understand Him (as Gideon asked in Judges 6:13, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us?”) or does He turn His back and leave you alone?   Is your picture black and white or full of color and endless, unfathomable detail?   Is He your friend who is closer than a brother?  Even though you have not seen Him, can you exclaim with your heart as Job did, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.” (42:5)? 

 

Oh friend, what does your picture of God look like?  Is it based on truth from His Word and revelation of the Holy Spirit; or do you rely only on what you occasionally hear or faint recollections from long ago? Do you daily seek to add to your painting?  Do you delight in His revelations of Himself?   Do praise songs flood your heart with images you have painted of Him?   Oh yes, He is indescribable and our artwork never complete!   Truly “He is beautiful beyond description, too marvelous for words, too wonderful for comprehension.  Like nothing ever seen or heard.  Who can grasp His infinite wisdom?  Who can fathom the depth of His love?  He is beautiful beyond description!  Majesty enthroned above!” (Hillsong).    Do you stand in awe of Him?  Do you really? Or have you grown bored with a religion that has never changed your life?   You were created for relationship (real relationship) with the Living God.  Turn your eyes upon Him.   Ask Him to reveal Himself.  Ask Him to open your eyes.  He will turn the darkness into light (Isa 42:16), vibrant, full of color, revealing-Himself light.   He promises if you seek Him with all your heart you will find Him. (Jer 29:13)… get your crayons ready!  The big box!

 

Prayer:  Oh Father, may our hearts never grow cold.  May we desire to daily know you better.  May we pursue you through your Word.  Help me to rise above the distractions of this life and help me to see You in this day.   Open my eyes to your infinite goodness.   Help me to praise you more.   Oh God, I know my picture of you can never contain your marvelous majesty…yet, I want to see you.   You are God with us.  Most High Amazing God with me!  Let me say in this life “my ears had heard of you, but now my eyes see you.”!  Amen.  

 

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What I really want for my kids

 

The fear of the Lord leads to life and he who has it will abide in satisfaction. Prov 19:23

It was that “something else” in others that first drew me to a real relationship with Jesus Christ. Although in church all my life, I had been a slave to up and down emotions; falling apart over trivial things, while I watched others stand strong through tragedies. They had peace that made no sense to me. I wanted that. I finally found lasting peace when Jesus became more than a story to me – when I asked Him to be Lord of my life, and when I stepped out in faith to obey Him even when my emotions said do something else. It was and is a growing process. There are days when I trust Him like the hero He is, and there are other days when I beg Him moment by moment to remind me of His faithfulness and truth. I have found Him to be faithful even when I am faithless (2 Tim 2:13). I know He carries me when I am weak--constantly giving hope and peace sufficient for whatever life brings.

I want this same satisfaction for my kids, yet I cannot simply tell them about it. I know faith is a personal thing to possess that must grow in them just as it grows in me. I also know my faith and my love for Jesus grew the most when it was tested by trial and tragedy….and deep down I know the same is true for them. This is why I know my job is not to rescue my kids from every trial they face, but to point them to the Rock who will be their hope, strength and direction… all the days of their life, and long after I am gone. This hard truth has changed my prayers for my kids. I used to pray “momma prayers” – “keep them safe, help them to do well in school, help them to get along with others” and on and on. Yet, my Holy-Spirit-inspired desire for them to love God more than anything, and be blessed by all that brings, has prompted me to ask Him to take them through whatever it takes to know He is enough when all else seems to fail them. That is a hard prayer to pray and especially hard when I see God answering it. Yet, I know if my kids learn at an early age that He is their rock; they will have a steadfast faith that is not easily shaken by life’s ups and downs. They will have peace, hope and joy which is not dependent on their circumstances. They will rest in the freedom that comes from living their lives to please God rather than chasing all the empty things this life has to offer.

Saying all that is one thing. Living it is entirely another. Every fiber of my momma heart wants to rescue my kids from pain. Sometimes I am to do just that, yet other times my job is to stand back and pray… and the only way I know the difference is by staying at the feet of my Savior who loves my children much more than I ever could. I trust Him so much more than I trust me, not only for my life, but for theirs.

Prayer: Oh Jesus, You are the Rock. Your Word is true. Your presence is peace. I want more than anything for my kids to love You above all else. I pray they will give You glory all the days of their lives. I know You can sustain them when all else seems to fail them. I know You alone can give them real hope, real joy and real peace. May I stay so connected to You that I know moment by moment how to best point them to truth. And give me the courage to ask You to take my children through whatever it takes to love you first… because You love them most. Your plans for them are exceedingly abundantly more than (even their momma) could ask or imagine (Eph 3:20). Please be their abiding satisfaction. Thank you Lord. Amen.

When you can't believe they did that...

 

 

You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth

Psalm 31:5

 

Disappointed and sad could only begin to describe the way I felt after learning one of my kids had made a really stupid, sinful decision.   Something happened that I wish had never happened, yet God was at work.  He brought conviction, confession and repentance.   Yet, true to form, the enemy was also at work.  He is called the accuser (Rom 12:10), but I believe he is also the reminder.   While our merciful Father tells us our sins are removed as far as the east is from the west (Ps 103:12), the enemy continually tries to remind us where we have fallen; and, if we aren’t careful, we as parents can aid him in this devious task.   

 

While I knew my child was forgiven, my disappointment lingered; and I had to give this to God, and ask Him to help me not remind my child of the sin.   Of course, I don’t want my child to repeat the sin.   But God helped me see the enemy wants my child to believe he/she is “repeater” (so they will repeat the sin); but God wants us to focus on the fact that we are forgiven and redeemed.   The Bible says as “a man thinks so he is”(Prov 23:7); and if we aren’t careful we will allow the accuser, the father of all lies, to walk us right back to old sin by telling us: “since you messed up once you always will” or, “since you fell to this temptation once already you can’t resist again” and on and on.  

 

For my children, for me, and for you--truth is freedom.   When we confess and turn from sin our chains are gone.  Really gone.  We have been set free.  There is no need to once again be yoked to the chain of slavery.   We have to take every (yes every) thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and know there is power in what Jesus did for us on that cross!   So, when the enemy, the reminder, brings thoughts of old sins to our minds (those of ourselves or those of others) – we have to do spiritual battle. We will find strength and cause the enemy to flee when the thought of confessed sin only reminds us to praise God for His deliverance.   Because of our Savior, we are not what we have done!  Because of His great mercy, He remembers our sin no more and neither should we… except to praise Him.  As a man thinks so he is…as our children think so they will be.   Forgiven means forgiven and the opportunity to walk forward with a clean slate.  Does that not cause you to praise our LORD? 

 

I don’t know about you, but I know my sins have been many.  Those I love have sinned as well, but God’s Word says let no man call unclean what God has called clean (Acts 10:15).   I know the enemy would have me believe I am a sinner who will always mess up, and repeat the same sins over and over.   But God tells me a different story- the enemy has only the power that I give him; and I don’t want to give him any.  So when the thoughts of my sins or the sins of others come to my mind… I will praise the One who set me free, who calls me clean, who died for me!!!

 

Prayer:  Oh Father, my mind cannot conceive the depths of your mercy and grace.  I know I do not deserve your forgiveness, but you freely offer it because of the blood of your precious Son.   May the remembrance of my confessed, repented sins and the sins of others only cause me to praise you more.  May the enemy, the accuser, the reminder, flee because of the power of your blood.   I love you Lord.  May I love you more tomorrow than I love you today.  Amen.

Sell all that you have!

Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.

Luke 18:22

 

 

I’ve pondered over that verse for years.   Certainly, God has called us to give monetarily to the poor.  But today my eyes seemed to come to a screeching halt when I read the phrase, “all that you have”.   The word “all” seemed to blink like a neon sign.  Could it be that God gives us permission to own things but simultaneously asks us to possess nothing?  I wonder if He is asking us to regularly evaluate our lives to make sure we are not clinging too tightly to the things we have and, quite possibly, even throws tests our way on occasion.

 

Just this morning, as I went about my routine of straightening up my house, God gave me the opportunity for self evaluation as I discovered that one of my children had left a glass on my beautiful dining room table overnight.  Now, an ugly water ring has permanently scarred my lovely table.  Just as I rubbed my fingers over the damage, the offending child walked into the room.  Choking back a verbal assault, I instead mumbled, “Give Mom just a minute”.  In that moment, God reminded me that I cherish my child much more than any wooden object.   God comforted my heart and calmed my fury.  He offered me an opportunity to show grace.   He reminded me that life is full of scars, but it is also full of joy that comes from relationships with people and not from possessing things that will one day be destroyed by moth and rust (Matt 6:19).   Matthew 6:21 goes on to say, “Where your treasure is there will your heart be also.”   I talked to my child about being more careful, but by God’s grace, I didn’t explode.  Remembering, God’s precious Word “in the moment” prevented a different kind of scar because I would never want my kids to doubt they are my treasure and mean more to me than any earthly possession ever could. 

 

Since the beginning of time, mankind has clung to worthless idols.   Oh, we may have stopped carving little men to worship, but we can quickly fall into treasuring things that don’t really matter.  A long time ago, my kids sang a song at VBS.   The lyrics said, “Don’t bow down to idols.  Idols don’t love you.”  How true.   Instead, may we store up real treasures in Heaven.  May we live our lives focusing on eternal things and not confuse real treasures with empty material possessions that can never love us back.   May we daily remember God’s precious Word; and submit to His will in the trials, the tests, and the triumphs.  

 

Prayer:  Father, help me see those things in my life that I am tempted to let possess me.   Help me to see the eternal and care less about the temporal.  Please keep me from allowing worthless idols to steal my joy or cause others pain.  Help me to possess nothing.   Help me to love others deeply and show grace as You have shown me.  Thank you Lord for your precious Word.  Help me to follow you in all things.  Amen.

 

Party to be held--later

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

 John 16:33

 

 

Seventy years ago, he eloped with the preacher’s daughter.   With only a few dollars, my grandparents began their life together.  They have stuck it out through seventy years of good times, some really tough times, and taught us all what commitment looks like.   Now 92 and 89, they celebrated their 70^th anniversary quietly at home.   As I spoke to my grandmother that night she told me, “We were going to have a party, but most all of our friends are already home.”   Already home….already home….what a sweet perspective on Heaven, and what a lesson on how to view this life--no matter what our age.

 

Most of us know we live in a “fallen world” where we have trouble.  Daily, we see evidence in the news and in our own lives.  Yet, we long for perfect don’t we?   We long to have everything comfortable and fixed around us.   I often look at my home and think, “The world may be messed up, but surely I can get this place just right”.  But try as we may, our earthly homes will never be perfect will they?   I can’t even seem to keep mine clean for two hours!   And, to be honest, it isn’t just my home I find myself trying to “fix”.   Often, my efforts to fix things turn to every unappealing circumstance that affects my family-- especially my children.   Yet, I find a crazy, precious peace when I manage to stop, and rest in the fact that Jesus told us we would have trouble in this world; but also that He can work that trouble into good (Rom 8:28) if we just give it to Him instead of trying to run from it or fix it ourselves.  How much time have I wasted (not praying), but trying to fix difficult things for my kids--when it is often those very hard things (when given to God) that bring the biggest, best lessons in this world that will never be perfect.

 

What if every day we would remember this is not our home?  What if we prayerfully looked at trouble as part of living, learning and growing in God-- instead of killing ourselves worrying about it, trying to fix it, or run from it?   What if we viewed each day as a day to store up treasures in Heaven; instead of spending countless hours trying to make perfect a temporary, earthly house?  What if we kept our eye on our Savior, strengthened ourselves with His Word every day, and remembered, with sweet anticipation, that this world is not our home?  Yes, we may occasionally feel like aliens and strangers by not keeping up with what everyone else is doing… but our perspective on our very temporary problems will change, and we will have peace.  

 

When we think about eternity with our King, the problems of this life don’t seem so big.  One day dust bunnies and smudges on my walls won’t matter at all.   Do they need to matter so much now?   But “this–is-not-our home” thinking is bigger than dust bunnies.  When we remember this life is but a breath (Job 7:7), and this world not our home (Heb 11:13); even hard things, like the death of those we dearly love who know the Lord, can be seen as a temporary moment where we are here and they are already “home”--party to be held there later.

 

Prayer:  Father, this is not easy stuff.   I want to keep my eyes on You and remember this life is not my home.   Will You help me to be filled daily with truth in Your Word?  Will You have the Holy Spirit remind me to focus on what is really important?   Will You help me to care about what You care about, and remember that you allow hard things often to teach me and those I love?  Will You bless me with the peace that comes from knowing You and remembering this world is not my home?  Thank You Lord.  I love you.  Amen.

 

And a request from me – Will you pray for this devotional?  Please pray that every word would be only what God would have me to write?  This e-devotional has been requested from women  all across the United States, and even in Kenya, South Africa, Canada, New Zealand, India, Taiwan, UK, Malaysia, Brazil and the Dominican Republic.   It is my desire that God alone be glorified, and that I would handle His precious Word carefully.   I am now posting this devotional on my blog- www.kimjaggers.blogspot.com and on my facebook page – “Kim Jaggers Christian Speaker”.   Thank you for your prayers --what a wonderful God we serve!