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"The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing.  He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul."  

Delightful bites from the Word of God.

Players, Ponderings,and the Possibilities of Prayer/Red-Letter Journey Stop #1

7/30/2020

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Picture
I’ve been doing a lot of pondering lately. As I thought about the account of Moses and the children of Israel in the desert, I pondered how the Israelites, having just been delivered from the oppression of Egypt, having just come through the Red Sea on dry land, and after spending 3 days sanctifying themselves in anticipation and preparation for meeting God Himself, could so quickly get to the place of worshipping a pagan image. How could they dance under the shadow of Mt. Sinai at the same time God was meeting with Moses, celebrating amidst the noise, smoke, fire and thunder of God's very presence? And why are we so prone to forget and wander from God, forgetting all that He has done and putting our trust in everything but Him? 

I pondered on what true conversion and salvation looks like, how the Bible defines it, and how it is necessary for citizenship in the Kingdom of God (but not necessarily the modern definition of church). This was after reading a question posed by my Pastor when he raised the question of the difference between being a follower of Jesus and being a fan of Jesus. I pondered the difference between the church of God and the Kingdom of God.  (More to come on that too!)

But today, after reading just the red letters of my Bible, I want to begin to broach the topic of prayer answers, or lack thereof, of asking and receiving, of faith and doubt, of the role players in prayer, and the possibilities in prayer. 

Haven’t we all asked the “Whys?” of unanswered prayer and hard circumstances? Why God? Why this? Why now? Why me? I know I have. I don’t particularly think that it’s wrong to ask God questions, however, I do think it’s wrong to question God, to question His ability, motives and His methods. That only leads to bitterness, doubt and unbelief and is a dangerous place. Yet, at times, things happen that cause us to grow suspicious of what God is doing. His ways are higher than ours, His thoughts massively deeper than ours, and are done with an eternal purpose (a Kingdom purpose) in mind which may tax our ability to understand His eternal idea in the temporal. And although I do believe that God is sovereign, I don’t use that excuse to neglect my investigation of why things happen to me and what God wants me to learn, grow in, or change as a result. I don’t allow myself to think that I have no control of my own life because it is obvious from scripture that our lives are planned by God, but we have some input, the scripts can be altered. Prayer changes things.  

I worked with a young lady whose life motto was “Everything happens for a reason.” It was a glib expression that she used everytime something bad happened to her. What I never understood was why she never took it one step further. She never tried to find out what the reason was. Seriously, I could have helped her out so many times if she would have asked but she continued in her self-imposed ignorance, rendering herself a particle in the chaotic cosmos of life, floating along as helplessly as a dried leaf floats down a fast moving stream. I am someone who wants to understand the “Whys?” of life, even if it proves me to be at fault. Even if it hurts. That’s called growth! That doesn’t mean that God has explained every bad thing that has ever happened to me, because He hasn’t (yet), but He has shown me many times when I was partially, or totally ignorant or complicit in them and I was able to make adjustments so that they could be avoided in the future. I’ve also found that the understanding the truth helps ease some of the angst that comes with hard times and gives me hope for the future. 

I’m sure that Zacharius, after questioning God’s ability while ministering in the temple, never did that again. After being rendered mute for his wife’s entire pregnancy, I bet he learned his lesson. Just think of it. When Elizabeth wanted pickles and ice cream, he just had to go get them because he couldn’t tell her to go get them herself. Can you imagine having to go through the first pregnancy, at their age, without being able to say one word? Just having to listen to her complain of back pain, swollen feet, stretch marks and not being able to tell his buddies how much he was suffering too? Wow! What a predicament! LOL! While Elizabeth was telling everyone what a miracle her baby was, Zacharius was prevented from saying one word of his experience in the temple and boy, what a story he had to tell. 

Meanwhile, in another town, after hearing even more incredible news from the angel, Mary, fully believing what the angel said was possible and would happen, simply questioned the “Hows?” of his message. I have to admit, I would probably have the same questions as she did because let’s face it, she was going to be asking people to believe the unbelievable when most would just believe that she got caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Afterall, there had been no miracles in Israel for 400 years, unless you believe the legends of people like Honi who slept for 70 years in an old tree trunk and who drew a circle around himself in the dust and vowed not to leave it until God answered his prayer. And that story is what got me to thinking about prayer and answers to prayer. 

Honi, a Jewish scholar of the first century and a supposed miracle worker, petitioned God for rain when the rainy season was late in coming and vowed not to step outside the circle until God sent it. According to the legend, he stayed in the circle until God sent rain and when God did send rain, then he complained that it was too hard of a rain, so God changed it to a nice, soaking rain. (Boy could we use this man in Centre County these days!  Instead, we have Moses living somewhere incognito in the area and he parts the waters of every rain storm that heads our way! Sorry, I got a little distracted by the drought!) Some people felt that Honi was irreverent in his prayer, making demands upon the Lord. Who did he think he was? But if the legend is true, it worked! And that is when my mind began to ponder. I began to think about desperate prayer, something our Pastor speaks of frequently. I began to think about making requests in prayer vs. making a demand in prayer. Obviously, this man put a demand on God, and God answered. He didn’t pray some flowery prayer softening God up with some praise and worship and meekly asking if God wouldn’t please send some rain, not too much, not too little, piously praying Proverbs 30:7-9, and adding at the end, “if it be Thy Will.” Of course, this is a legend and not Biblical truth. So I began to look in scripture at the prayers people have prayed and at the times when prayers were answered. I began to think about our position as children of the Kingdom and what rights, responsibilities and privileges that affords us. I began to remember the times I have been desperate in prayer, when I’ve taken authority over the works of the devil in prayer, when I’ve seen instantaneous miracles in prayer, and of all the answers to prayer I’ve received through the years. But mostly, I pondered who it is that I prayed to and what He has said about prayer and frankly, I think Honi was on to something. 

So, if this has piqued your interest, stay tuned. In the next couple of weeks, I will be sharing more on this and the other things I have been pondering as well because if I know anything about my Pappa God, they all fit together for a reason that is going to change my life! 

What from God's Word have you been pondering lately? I hope you have a place as lovely as the pond in the photo to do your "pondering." My husband and I often walk these grounds and discuss what God is showing us from His Word, inbetween photos, of course. My hubs is so patient with me. I just can't "see a photo" without at least trying to capture it with my camera. Oh, the life of an artsy-fartsy girl but you have to admit, God puts some beautiful art out there for us to enjoy and I want to remember every single piece of it.


Until next blog, could I suggest spending some time in God’s Word? Maybe you too, could read just the red letters of the New Testament. Or perhaps look up every reference to asking, seeking, knocking, prayer. Read the new testament and record every prayer answer and every request that was answered by Jesus. Find out if Jesus ever refused to answer when faith was present. Find out if Jesus ever refused to heal. Find out what Jesus said about faith. What He said about prayer. What He said IN prayer. Put a demand on the Holy Spirit to do what He does best, teaching and revealing the Word of God to your heart. I would be so bold to say that when He’s done, your life won’t be the same either.

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The Lamplight Life

7/11/2020

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Did you ever feel like you are in limbo? Like your whole life is up in the air and you dont know how it's going to shake out? Like you're in a waiting room and everyone else's name has been called but yours? Like you're just doing nothing for God because alot the ways you served Him before are no longer part of your life's routine? Like you've lost your sphere of influence? Do you worry that you're wasting time while you struggle and pray to find a new normal because nothing in life feels normal anymore?
I've been feeling that way lately. But then I realize that time spent seeking God is never wasted time. He's heard and answered every prayer even if I don't see it yet. He does not see time as I do. What's 60 years to an eternal God? In His economy, I might not have waited very long at all.
Perhaps He is just enjoying having my undivided attention, where I'm just with Him instead of being busy doing things for Him. He has not let a single word I've spoken to Him go unheard. He has not let a single tear fall to the ground. He has kept every one and they are precious to Him.
Starting over or heading a different direction is daunting. There's so much that doesn't feel comfortable because it's new and different and unfamiliar.
I am full of desire to be busy about His business. In my heart, I want to be salt to the whole earth and light to the entire world and as I ponder how to do this, its almost overwhelming. But the key to re-starting is to start small, in my own home, to continue being light to all who enter there. That is more challenging than it sounds because home is where the real me is revealed but it's also where I can have the most impact.
So for today, I will shine as brightly as I can as the oil of His grace fuels my flame. I will surrender my tomorrow into His loving, capable hands and I will follow one day at a time even though I dont know where I'm headed. "But I do know who I have believed and I am persuaded that He is able to keep what I've committed into Him until the day of His return."

Disciples and the World - “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor d...

BIBLEGATEWAY.COM
Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 5:13-16 - New American Standard Bible
Disciples and the World - “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for…
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Is He Enough?

7/6/2020

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In his sermon a few weeks ago, our Pastor asked the question, "Is Jesus enough?" If the only thing that God offered us was the knowledge of the Savior, would that be enough for us to be willing to give everything that we have to obtain it? Would we be willing to give up all the other blessings that we currently enjoy to just have Jesus? Would we be willing to sell our houses and go into the unknown just to have Him in His fullness or is He just something we have added to our lives to enhance them? Is He more than fire insurance? Would He be enough? That is a compelling question. Corrie Ten Boom said that "You can never learn that Christ is all you need until Christ is all you have." She certainly knew this truth in her life's deepest experience. What is my experience? Have I ever really been to the place where Christ was all I had? Have I found Christ to be all that I need in the darkest, deepest valleys of life? More importantly, do the mountaintop blessings and the comforts and acquisitions of life that He has so graciously provided for me pale in comparison to knowing Him? If it was all taken away, would I find that He is all that I want? Am I in love with the Blesser or the blessings? In 1999, after a devastating car accident that left two of my 4 children brain injured, I went to an appointment at the school district office to review test results for my daughter who was starting kindergarten just 3 months after being released from the hospital. They were devastating. My formerly bright, engaging, athletic, witty 5-year-old was barely functioning on the level of a two-year-old. To add to my distress, they informed me that they didn’t know much about working with brain injuries so they were sending a counselor to take a class so that they could better meet her needs. No brain injury is the same. Even the doctors can’t give you any definitive promises concerning them. Their efforts did little to reassure me. As I left the meeting, I was distraught so I headed for my church building and sat down at the piano and began to play and worship because at that moment, Jesus was the only one that could help me and the only one that could help my daughter. As I worshipped, the Spirit of God began to minister to my heart and this chorus flowed out of me. I love to worship You
Worship at Your feet, Lord
Bow down to Your Name
And tell You that I love You
If the seas would turn to dust
And all time would pass away
I’d still be at Your feet
Worshipping You Lord Even though I wrote that chorus 20 years ago, it still ministers to me and in more recent times, it has been more of a declaration at times as I have had to let go of things that have long been blessings in my life, as I find my new normal. It has been my battle cry when I’ve felt like I just can’t go one more step. It’s been a song of resolution when hope seems far away from my situation, when it seems God’s ear is deaf to my pleas and my emotions are trying to convince me that He doesn’t care. Deep down, I know that He is enough. He is more than enough. He truly is all that I need. In Habakkuk 3, the prophet knows that tragedy is coming to Judah because they have forgotten God. He was no longer enough for them. They were distracted by other things and leaning on their own strength and not honoring the Word of God. And so God was raising up the Chaldean army to come and carry them away captive. After hearing the vision, as scripture says, Habakkuk’s response was this: Though the fig tree should not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive tree should fail, and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold, and there be no cattle in the stalls, YET I WILL EXULT IN THE LORD, I WILL REJOICE IN THE GOD OF MY SALVATION. THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH AND HE HAS MADE MY FEET LIKE HINDS’ FEET, AND MAKES ME WALK ON MY HIGH PLACES. For Habakkuk, for Corrie Ten Boom, for Elizabeth Elliot, for Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail, for the Apostle Peter, for Dietrich Bonhoeffer, for all those who have been imprisoned and martyred for Christ, HE IS ENOUGH. HE IS ALL THEY NEED. HE IS EVERYTHING. And the secret is found in the last part of verse 19. “The Lord is my strength, and HE HAS MADE my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places.” So when I find myself feeling unsettled, discontent, weak, wallowing in self-pity, and pondering on doubts in my mind, it is then I know that I must rely on His strength to pull me out of where I am and up to the place of being seated in heavenly places with Him because from there I can see more clearly the whole picture. It's there that I know that Jesus is all that matters and everything that I need is found in what only He can provide. He is supreme and the center of everything. It’s then I know that the only important thing I have to do with my life is to be at His feet, worshipping and allowing His life to flow to me and then through me to a world that needs to know that He is enough.

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