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God Will Show Himself Strong

5/5/2023

Today was the deadline day for a writing project I took on. Although different from my usual writing style, I felt the nudging of the Holy Spirit to do it.

My assignment was to prove, from the gospels, that Jesus is trustworthy by expounding on Matthew 26:47-56, Judas and the mob. At first glance, I had no idea how the two were even remotely related.

My attention went immediately to the betrayal aspect. I researched passages referencing betrayal with still, no connection.

I lay late into the night pondering. I started to focus on Jesus instead of Judas and immediately, three words into my mind. They were progressive points AND they rhymed! I was done a day early!

THE MORAL OF THIS STORY:
When in difficult situations, don't focus on the problem or the obvious. Quiet yourself and look to Jesus. Once I switched my focus from the obvious to the Lord of the supernatural, direction came immediately.

Several years ago, I encountered a great trial. The Lord impressed upon me that HE is my ONLY source. I floundered for awhile while exhausting all other options, (i.e. wasted a lot of time/energy trying to "help" the Lord). It wasn't until my self-sufficiency got out of the way and I looked to God only, that everything was resolved, redeemed, and restored just as He had promised. (Ps. 130:7-8)

God doesn't need worldly wisdom or Google to show Himself strong. All He needs is a quiet heart and eyes turned towards Him.

Leaving Anxiety Behind And Arriving At Peace

4/20/2023

Did you ever have a Bible verse lift right off the page and give you a Gibb's slap and you sit there and have a Wow moment?

I was cruising along in Colossians chapter 3 when I got to verse 15 and BOOM, I had a revelation!
"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body: and be thankful."
Peace with God is what we get at salvation. Peace in God is what we have when we are in communion and close fellowship with God, abiding in His promises.

If you spend any amount of time on social media, you see all kinds of avenues that people are traveling trying to find peace in their innermost being. Even Christians struggle for that daily peace as their circumstances ebb and flow. More and more, we see articles geared toward Christians who have anxiety and fear. I'm not judging. I've been there.

I've had those nights when life has overwhelmed me and sleep evades me. I've cried to the Lord and told Him that I didn't care how things turn out, I just have to have peace and it has to be NOW! I've felt the heaviness of burdens so crushing that I didn't think I could last one more day. At that moment, I would have given anything just to have an hour of peace.

So as I looked at Colossians 3:15, I noticed some things I had never pondered before. First of all, as a member of the body of Christ, I am called to peace! It's part of my Kingdom inheritance. It's my birthright! "God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7

Secondly, there is an implied pronoun. If you look at this text, it is actually saying "YOU let the peace of God rule in your hearts." All along, I've been asking for peace, praying for peace, and waiting for peace but according to this verse, it is already mine but I have a part to play in receiving it into my life. I have to "let" it rule in my heart.

God is not going to send a holy lightning bolt and zap me with peace. I have to let, to allow His peace,( my possession, my birthright, His provision already stored up for me), to rule in my heart. I have to open the door and let it in. I have to yield to peace over panic. I have to get "above" the turbulence and into the flow of Heaven. It's up to me!

This is as easy as a simple, yielding prayer.

Let's pray it together.

Father, I thank You that I not only have peace with You through the work of Your Son, Jesus Christ, but I have peace in You as part of what Christ died for me to have. Father, do not let one drop of that precious Blood spilled for me, go to waste in my life.

Therefore, today, instead of panic, instead of fear, instead of anxiety, and instead of worry, I receive what is rightfully mine by your grace. I receive Your peace and I allow it free rule and reign in my heart, in my thoughts, and in my life. I take every thought captive that brings hopelessness, that makes me feel like a victim, or that tries to discourage me, and I replace it with the wonderful promise and provision of Your peace, ruling in my heart today. Thank you that "all of your promises are yes and amen to the glory of God" because I belong to you. 2 Cor. 1:20 Oh thank you, gracious God. In Jesus's name, Amen.

Christ in YOUR Christmas Part 2

12/14/2022

Today we continue our Mary musings. Last time we explored Mary's love and knowledge of God as a reason for God choosing her for perhaps the greatest mission ever completed by a human, outside of the life, death, and ressurection of Jesus.

Today, I want to examine her responses to the things that happened in her life. When Mary was first approached by the Angel Gabriel, she was afraid. I would have been too! And the information she received couldn't have been easy to hear. Let's think about this.

She was a virgin, pure in thought and body. She more than likely had a good reputation. She was engaged to be married and life was looking like it was working out pretty well. Then BOOM! She's pregnant and Mary's got some 'splaining to do. Can you even imagine what Joseph thought when she told him what sounded like the most cockamamie story he had ever heard? Seriously, what man would have believed that? It must have seemed that her marriage went right down the tubes.

Then there's the little concern about the law of the land. In Jewish law, audultry was punishable by death. Although not married, engagement was more like marriage is in our culture and she would have been considered an adulteress. So now, she was facing a life of disdain and reproach, if she managed to keep her head. And all of that for being completely innocent.

I don't know about you but that might have made me very angry and tempted to question the love of God. Afterall, she lived a pure life, she loved God and had kept herself according to His law and now God was placing her in the worst possible position that a woman could face in those days.

(Meanwhile, a few months earlier, Mary's cousin Zacharius had also received some rather unbelievable news. He and his wife Elizabeth were going to have a baby after being barren for their entire lives. Zacharius argued with the angel since he and his wife were "old and stricken in years." As a result, the angel shut his mouth and caused him to be mute until the baby was born.)

Now this is what is interesting to me. Both Zacharius and Mary questioned the angel. Zacharius doubted that it COULD happen at all while Mary only questioned only how it WOULD happen. "And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word."

Now, let's bring this home. When your life completely falls apart, when God allows hardship, loss, and devastation to invade your life, when He changes the total trajectery of your plans, goals and dreams, how do you respond? Do you, like Mary automatically respond "behold the handmaid of the Lord" or do you argue with Him trying to convince Him that this is not a welcome change? Do you consider yourself blessed as Mary did or do you begin to grow suspicious of God and His love? Are you so in love with God that your faith in His Divine plan causes you to submit to Him once again in total trust and humility? Are you okay withyour life will looking nothing like you imagined? Are you willing to give up all the blessings you have in order to do what the Lord is calling you to?

Are you a doubter or a questioner? Are you a Zacharius or a Mary?

Christ in YOUR Christmas Part 1

12/9/2022

What do you do to keep Christ in YOUR Christmas? It is so easy to get caught up in all the trappings and responsibilities (some self-imposed) of the season, so to keep Christ in my own personal Christmas, I ponder one aspect of the Christmas account in scripture each year.

In the past I have focused on the miracle and implications of the incarnation, the different Bible characters, how God chose to speak to men throughout that time, the supernatural events that involved nature, and others. This year, I chose Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Although I identify most with the Apostle Peter before Pentecost on a personal level, (sincere but lacking wisdom, impulsive, and generally blundering my way through life), the person I aspire to be like is Mary.

Out of all the women God could have chosen to not only birth the Saviour, but raise Him, God chose Mary. I want to be the kind of woman that God could choose for such an important assignment, don't you?

In the next couple of blogs, I want to take a look at the characteristics that made Mary the kind of woman that God could choose to use!

Mary KNEW and LOVED God.

She attended the synagogue and was educated in the scriptures as much as all the women of her day were. She had heard the prophesies concerning the coming Messiah. She knew that He would be born of a virgin. I'm sure she never imagined that she would be that virgin, yet still, she believed God's Word would come to pass and she was waiting for it. From the words she spoke both to the angel and in a moment of praise, we can see that Mary was a God worshipper. He was no stranger to her.

By the time she reached Elizabeth's house, we see that she had fully comprehended and embraced being God's choice to mother the promised Messiah. In a spontaneous moment, her praise of God burst forth from her spirit as she declared;

Luke 1:46b
“My soul exalts the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has had regard for the humble state of His bond-servant;
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.
49 For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
50 And His mercy is to generation after generation
Toward those who fear Him.
51 He has done mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things,
And sent the rich away empty-handed.
54 He has given help to His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55 Just as He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his descendants forever.”

In order to be used of God, I must know Him! I must love His voice and be responsive to His leadings. I must believe that God is still working in the world and using women to bring about the fulfillment of His plan for this sick and dying world. I must be like Mary.

Oh that God would fine tune my character to the point that He could use me for such a grave and glorious assignment. Oh that He would cause His revelation to be so real in my heart that praise would burst forth from my mouth everytime I meditate on it. Oh, to be used as Mary was for whatever purpose God has planned for my life.

To Know Christ in His Fullness, We Must First be Empty Ourselves

10/13/2022

Charles Spurgeon wrote, “You will never know the fullness of Christ until you know the emptiness of everything else but Christ.”
We ask God to fill us but are we willing to empty ourselves so that He has something to fill? We cannot be full of Christ and full of worldly pleasures.
When our stomach is empty, we hunger for nourishment. When our spirit is empty of self, then we can hunger for Him. And when we hunger for Him, He “…will not allow the righteous to hunger…” He will fill us.
To know His fullness, our eyes must be fixed solely on Him, our ears must be attuned to hear only His voice, our hands must be empty to receive from Him, and our hearts must be set squarely on nothing but Him. We must lay everything else down.
Until we realize that earthly pleasures will ultimately and regularly bring disappointment, that they can disappear as quickly as a puff of smoke, we cannot see the need for the fullness of Christ nor do we have room for Him to fill us. So God will allow disappointments.
Those disappointments of life are God’s way of emptying us so that we can be filled with Him alone.
Until we realize that no relationship, no amount of wealth or fame or influence, can fully satisfy, we cannot know the fullness, the complete and total satisfaction, joy, and peace that can only be found in Christ.
Solomon summed up earthly pleasures and pursuits this way, “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
Jesus said, “I am the true vine….Abide in Me…These things I have spoken so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” (John 15:1-11)

I've Been in the Valley

10/7/2022

Did you ever feel the Lord doing something deep and extensive and revolutionary in your heart but you just can't put your finger on all of what it is? Do you sit in quiet with Him to discover it and feel the giddiness, like a child at Christmas, of waiting to see what He is doing in you? Can you feel it stirring as you go through the day? Does it captivate your thoughts as you lay awake in the early morning hours? That's where I have been these last couple of months. Well, that, and on vacation. (And it was wonderful too! (#40yearshitched)

In my next couple of entries here, I will be sharing where I’ve been, since some of you are asking, and what I've learned of God along the way.

Where have I been? I’ve Been In The Valley
For the choir director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
84How lovely are Your dwelling places,
O Lord of hosts!
2 My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.
3 The bird also has found a house,
And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young,
Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts,
My King and my God.
4 How blessed are those who dwell in Your house!
They are ever praising You. Selah.
5 How blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
In whose heart are the highways to Zion!
6 Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring;
The early rain also covers it with blessings.
7 They go from strength to strength,
Every one of them appears before God in Zion.
8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah.
9 Behold our shield, O God,
And look upon the face of Your anointed.
10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside.
I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord gives grace and glory;
No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
How blessed is the man who trusts in You!

I've been through some very long, deep, dark valleys these last couple of years. I've known fear, shame, heartbreak, loss, anger, and pain so great that I didn't think I would ever recover from it. I've felt as if I was living in an alternate universe and questioned my own thoughts, sanity, and even my faith. I made some of the biggest decisions I've ever had to make with little or no approval from my friends, those I went to for counsel, or family.
I went against "the grain", allowing myself to be in vulnerable positions but holding to the hope and promise that God had spoken to me, in prayer and by other means, about my situation.

When you face life's battles, you will get well-meaning, It-makes-sense, I-can-show-you-in-the-Bible-advice from those who love you and care deeply for your welfare. Even though I loved them for it, I knew that God was leading me in a different direction and that no one but me would have to live with the results of my decisions. Therefore, I had to make sure I obeyed God at all costs.

(In Acts 20, a similar thing happened to Paul. Those who were in the Spirit warned him of the dangers he would be facing if he went to Jerusalem but Paul knew in his spirit that it was the will of God to do so, even though much hardship and even death might await him.)
You see, 39 years ago my heart "found a house...even Your altars, O Lord of hosts." So even in this valley, I sought His voice and He spoke very loudly to me. He truly was my sun and shield in ways I had never known before.

I passed through the valley of Baca (weeping) and my tears became to me a spring. As one translation puts it, I DUG DEEP and found "a pleasant pool where others find only pain." With each step I took, I could say "Jesus is with me. I will not fear. I can trust Him” even though my knees were wobbling and my heart was trembling.

He took me from strength to strength as He gently guided me through the valley and into the light.

When my foot slipped, He caught me.

When my faith waned, He quickened my embattled spirit and refreshed my weary soul.

And when I finally said, "Lord, I'm done, I can't do this one more day", He said, "Ah, finally, I've been waiting on you to get your hands completely off of this situation so that I can do what I promised you." And He did just what He said He would do. Praise His Holy Name!

And that was the lesson that He wanted me so much to get. Although it was the hardest time of my life and one I never want to repeat, I would not now trade it for anything easier.

I learned that there are some things that the Lord can only get to us when we're in the valleys of life. We have to let go of all that we think we possess. I learned to treasure His workings by focusing on His Person instead of the problems. He put every part of my faith to the test. He picked my life apart. I didn't always pass the tests the first time, but fortunately, the Lord allows re-takes and He's a great study partner.

I learned that God is TRULY GOOD. HE IS! It was a process. I had to get to the revelation that 1. God is good. 2. God is good to me. 3. God is good at being God. (Thank you, Lysa Terkeurst)

No longer do I say it but in the back of my mind think, "Well then, why is this happening to me?" He's always up to something good even in the midst of the turmoil of life and the attacks of the devil.

As a Christian, you might be saying "DUH, I already know that." But for me, I found out that profession is not possession. It's not until life implodes that we truly find out what we possess as Christians. I thank God for all that I can possess in Him and that when I needed it, He got it to me. I'm not the easiest of students, but He is patient and LONGsuffering and eventually, the light came on in my stubborn heart and joy flooded my life.

I no longer fear valleys nor do I see them as I once did. He will always give "grace and glory" to those who walk with Him, no matter what path He has chosen for you to walk.

God's Tracks

5/6/2022

Does God leave tracks? According to Psalm 23, He does. In verse 3 it says, "He guides me in the paths of righteousness." That word, paths, can be translated tracks.

Tracks vs paths, what's the difference? Tracks indicate that something or someone has has already walked the way that you are going lately. They aren't very far ahead of you. They've already been where you are headed. God, Jehovah Jireh, the one who provides, sees and provides every provision that we will need as He goes before us. When we get to where He's already been, we lack nothing!

In this Psalm, the tracks lead us straight into the Valley of the Shadow of death. We need not fear, God walks WITH us! He comforts us, protects us, and feeds us there. We aren't in the Valley of Death, we're in the valley of the shadow of death. The thing about shadows is that they often cast a much bigger image than the actual object that is causing them, distorting their actual size and shape.

A few years ago, I was mowing and a shadow the size of a 747 jet swooped over my head. It surprised me so much that I ducked! I thought a plane must be flying too low or in trouble. When I looked up, I saw a Blue Heron soaring along the woods edge. The Heron's shadow was much larger than the actual bird. I thought a jet was crashing. I wonder if he laughed when he saw me duck in fear at his shadow?

Satan loves it when we look at the shadows and fear. In that valley, things loom large and dark. We must remember that behind every shadow is the light. Goodness, mercy, and the faithfulness of God will follow us all the days of our lives if we belong to Him, even if we are in a valley. David also said, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom should I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life: Whom should I dread? (Ps. 118:27) In Psalm 139:12, He said "Even darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and Light are alike to you." Why? Because God is above it all! He sees what we cannot see. He knows what we will only find out as we walk though.

Are you in a valley? What should you do? Dig a well!

Psalm 84 says, "Blessed is the person whose strength is in You, In whose heart are the roads to Zion! Passing through the Valley of Baca, they make it a spring; The early rain also covers it with blessings. They go from strength to strength, Every one of them appears before God in Zion."

One version I read says, "Even when their paths wind through the dark valley of tears, they dig deep to find a pleasant pool where other find only pain. He gives to them a brook of blessing filled from the rain of an outpouring." I love this!

Imagine finding the Brook of Blessing in the Valley of Tears, outpoured from the very hand of God! All we need to do is dig deep, hold tight, and keep walking. At the end of every dark valley, there is light. At the end of every shadow, there is the warmth of the sun. In and through and out of everything, there is God! Follow His tracks!

In Just One Moment

4/2/2022

Psalms 6-10

These verses reminded me of how quickly things can change in just a moment of time. In 2017, a prophecy was given to me telling me that my life was going to completely change. At the time, I doubted the words. I even feared the words, but as the years following unfolded, the truth of those words brought me comfort and hope because I found them in God's Word.

In these Psalms, David had suffered from the actions of his enemies for many nights. He laments in Ps. 6: 6-7 to the point of soaking his pillow in tears but then, He remembers the promises of God. He remembers that when the Lord hears, He responds and things change.

In Just One Moment...
-a dead soul lives
-rebellion becomes submission
-what was lost is found
-what was stolen is returned
-strangling fear becomes perfect peace

In Just One Moment...
-Everything changes
-Evil is returned to whence it came
-A hard heart is softened
-Lying words are exposed
-Righteousness is exalted
-Integrity is rewarded
-Patience becomes provision
-Light dispels darkness
-Faith becomes sight

Pray! We must always pray and never give up! Righteousness and integrity will be rewarded. Vindication will come. God answers and saves the upright in heart. Wickedness will not go unpunished. Justice will prevail. God pushes back the enemies of our soul and their end is shame and dismay, for that is the wage of rebellion. Our reward is goodness forevermore.

We will give thanks and tell of His wonders for He maintains every just cause. He will be a stronghold in trouble and oppression to those who trust Him completely and seek Him with a whole heart. He will not fail or disappoint. His ear is not deaf to our cry. His arm is not too short to reach out and help.

Our enemies are no match for our God. He fights in our place while we rest in His promise. We must pray, believe, trust, wait, and worship.

From the moment we cry, "Father, I am outnumbered and overpowered. HELP!", He moves. And when that answer reaches us where we are, everything changes in just one moment.

In Just One Moment...
-Jesus will stand in the clouds and call us home
-In the twinkling of an eye, we will be changed
-Time will be no more
-Sorrows will cease
-Fears will vanish
-Questions will be answered
-Wounds will be healed, pain forgotten
-We will see clearly, understand fully, comprehend completely
-We will be clothed with the righteousness of Christ
-We will be perfect
-Never again to know the pain of evil
-Never again to bear the stain of sin
-Never again to regret our past or fear the future
-Never again to worry, or question, or doubt
-All wrongs will be righted
-All injustice corrected
-All evil defeated
-All wickedness rewarded
-All promises fulfilled
-All will be well

In Just one Moment

Peace In Tumultuous Times

10/12/2021

I was listening to a song this morning called "I Give You Jesus". A line in the chorus is "He's the peace that passes all understanding." This verse became special to me back in 1999. We were involved in a devastating car accident that put 3 of my four children in ICU. Two of them experienced life altering injuries so the future was very uncertain. We were fortunate to be surrounded by praying, faith-filled friends who supported us. One thing that I remember specifically about that time is the inner peace that I experienced. As we watched monitors rise and fall, infections come and go, and hurdles try to hinder our race, it was as if those prayers were like a steel rod that went through my hips and supported me on either end. I literally felt the prayers. Never once was I afraid for my children. I was not fearful of how their lives might change or how all our lives might change as a result of their injuries. I even acknowledged that if we got to the hospital to find out they had died, God would see us through it. But you see, God had spoken to me about their futures when I prayed over them during naptimes. So there was this deep seated, lasting peace way down in my spirit. At first I thought I might be going crazy because common sense and what I saw other mothers experiencing that were in my same situation, told me that I should be panicked and devastated. But I wasn't. This I felt was what the Bible was talking about when it spoke of "peace that passes all understanding." It is that deep seated peace that is the foundation of your life and it won't make sense in your mind outside of the belief that it is God given.

Since the accident, I've been through some circumstances that did devastate me. I struggled and fought to find peace and in that struggle I felt that if I could just understand the "Why's" and "How's" of what was happening, then I could make some sense of them and have peace. Subconsciously, our humanness tells us that if we understand something, then we can, through cognitive means, affect or change it which in my case would mean I could get through it, come to terms with it, maybe even affect it in some way and find peace.

But understanding did not come. And peace was nowhere to be found. My life was totally out of control and there was nothing I could do about it except to remind myself to keep breathing. So I did the only thing I could do. I ran to Jesus. I ran hard and fast and plastered myself against Him and He wrapped His loving arms around me and told me something that was hard for me to accept. He told me that it wasn't necessary for me to understand right then. I just needed to listen, obey and trust Him. I just needed to believe what He had spoken to me and what I had spoken to others from the very beginning of all of the craziness. I just needed to believe that He would bring me through and that my life would be happy and fulfilled again and all that Satan had stolen from me would be returned. I realized that understanding what was going on in the natural was not going to change anything. Satan is the author of confusion. You can't make sense out of his insanity. I realized that only God could change things and I believed that He would.

He taught me to focus on and pray about the real source of my struggle. In reality what I was experiencing in my life was the result of a spiritual battle that was raging in the heavenlies. Ephesians 6:12 plainly tells us:

"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."

That is a hard thing to remember when you are caught right smack in the middle of it and evil is lurking all around you. We tend to focus on people or circumstances. That's when we get into trouble. But if we discipline ourselves to look at things from God's perspective, there is always hope. He is always up to something good, even in the midst of the chaos. And we are never alone or left without direction and comfort. And He is ALL-mighty! Knowing that I stood on the side of righteousness and truth brought me great comfort and confidence.

At the scene of the accident I heard the doctor say that two of my children were unresponsive. At that time, I was being dragged out of my vehicle and was completely weak and wobbly. But when I heard that, all the days I had prayed for them flashed before my eyes. All the things God had shown me about His desires for them ran across my field of vision and a voice that was deep inside of me screamed in my ear, "that can't be!" Immediately I was in full control and I ran to them and prayed and rebuked the spirit of death hanging over my children. Of all the people that witnessed it, I was the most surprised.

This also happened to me just a few years ago as I was confronting someone about a situation that was clearly out of my control. Just as it had been at the scene of the accident, all the prayers I had prayed, all the work and sacrifice I had willingly given for the Lord, flashed across my mind and although I was seemingly just as helpless as I was in the field where I crashed with my children, I boldly declared that God would intervene on my behalf and change would come.

But as the situation went on and grew increasingly worse, I began to seek understanding above just standing in faith out of a need to relieve my own pain and to try to un-wedge myself from a situation where I felt that my life was being held hostage. I was stuck somewhere that I didn't want to be. I forgot that it's more important to focus on what's happening in me, what God is saying to me, than what was happening outside of me that I could not control.

From the very beginning, the Lord had given me Psalm 130:7-8 which says:

Israel, wait for the Lord; For with the Lord there is mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption. 8 And He will redeem Israel From all his guilty deeds."

The phrase "abundant redemption" resonated in my soul. There were other things too. A prophetic word given to me about my life and how the Lord would provide. At the time, it didn't make sense but it all came flooding back in amazing accuracy as things unfolded before me. And also a prophecy that was given in church where the Lord assured me that He would breathe life into something that was dead, that HE alone was my source and only solution. These things, although they brought little understanding, sustained me when I focused on them instead of what was going on around me. There were many, many times of sweet fellowship with Jesus where I felt Him hiding me in the cleft of the rock as the storm and the battle raged all around me. Many nights I felt Him wrap me in Himself as I slept under the weighted blanket of His love. And each and every day, the Lord gave me promises from His Word instructing me in my prayers, comforting me in my sorrow and fear, and giving me courage to believe for what seemed impossible.

So today, as I listened to that song, I realized that peace is something I can have even when I don't understand. God's peace is higher and beyond all understanding. It is superior to understanding. Paul and Silas experienced this in prison. The three Hebrew children experienced it in the fiery furnace. Stephen experienced it as he was being stoned to death. The early church experienced it in the midst of the coliseum while lions tore away at their bodies as their spirits went on to Glory. Peace is God's provision, to be obtained through faith, in the most horrible times of life. Not only did Jesus die on the cross to bring about peace with God but also to give us peace IN God through the power of His Holy Spirit living inside us.

True peace comes through Christ alone. Hebrews talks of a sabbath rest. When Christ died on the cross, He stated, "It is finished." Everything that we need to have peace and rest in this life no matter our circumstances, was purchased there for us in that moment of His torment. Therefore, we can live in tumultuous times and have constant, deep peace within.

I feel peaceful at times without the Lord like when I settle in on the back porch with a good book, when I turn off my cell phone for a few hours, or when I walk in the woods and sit by a stream, but feelings of peacefulness are not true peace because feelings are fleeting, temporary, variable, and sporadic. They are dictated by our surroundings. They provide a provisional relief, but do not have the longevity nor depth of everlasting, constant peace that only comes from God.

True peace, God's peace, can only be found in a living, loving relationship with Jesus Christ and when you have that, peace is ever-present because the Prince of Peace now lives in you. His peace truly does pass all understanding, no matter what you are going through. It's a peace that doesn't make sense but it doesn't have to. It is far above the need to understand. Understanding resides in the mind of God and if we seek Him will come to us in His time and in His way, but until that time, there is peace.

If you do not have this peace in your life and would like to, comment below. I would love to talk to you about a personal relationship with the Prince of Peace. He said that "ye must be born again" to enter into His Kingdom of Peace. Would you like to join me there?

Squirrels, Sin and Psalm 51

9/10/2021

Squirrels, Sin and Psalm 51

The Squirrels
We have an overabundance of bird feeders at our house. Consequently we have an overabundance of squirrels. Now, if the squirrels ate like birds, I wouldn’t mind, but they don’t. They eat like squirrels. The term “squirrel proof” is an oxymoron. You see, squirrels are smart, patient and tenacious. There has not been a feeder invented that they can’t crack! I’m pretty sure that our house is known to the squirrel population as the Penn Hills buffet-where every day is free if you have a bushy tail. The staple finch feed provides a variety of delicacies. The suet packs a protein punch, and the fruit and nut adds just the right amount of sweet for dessert. The weekend special also includes the added delight of whole roasted peanuts in the shell, perfect for eating or hoarding.

So, to remedy this problem we put out a trap to catch the little guys for relocation to a less gluttonous environment-for their own good, of course. At first, they were leery of the trap sitting on the deck but they did notice the BIG…FAT…roasted nuts that were at the very back of the weird wire box. For the first day, they circled the trap, sniffing and examining. It seems that somehow they knew that going inside wasn’t a good idea. The second day, they sat and watched as the blue jays flew in and out, each time grabbing a nut and eating it right in front of them. Eventually, they got braver, (Hey, if the blue jays can do it, why can’t we?), and put a paw or two just inside the door. Finally, one of them took the dare and went all the way in, grabbed a nut and ran back out. You see, the pressure plate is a little bent so it sometimes takes repeated pressure to spring it.

One day, it happened. Two squirrels, who were hanging out together, came by the trap. One of them went in, grabbed the nut and BAM!, the door slammed shut. Panic ensued! The trapped squirrel was all over the 6 sides of that cage. The free one ran around the outside and over the top trying to find a way to open the door. Eventually, everyone calmed down a bit, and the two squirrels sat nudging each other through the cage wire, appearing to try to comfort each other and distressed because there was no escape. It was almost heartbreaking to watch.

We drove the captured squirrel out of the neighborhood, across the interstate and into the nearby game lands and let it go. Several days later, we caught his friend and some others and reunited them. I’m pretty sure it’s them that wave to me each morning from the walnut trees that grow by the creek where I walk.

Sin
Sin is very similar to the squirrel trap. The devil will bring something or someone along. It may not start out as sinful but over time and given too much attention can become enticing in a wrong way. The devil is smart. It looks real good but that inner voice warning us of actually stepping into the trap keeps us at bay and out of harm’s way. But given time and right circumstances, we begin to see others doing it without consequence and eventually we just give in and enter the trap worn down by the temptation and our time-weakened resolve. We may even get away with it for a little while, but once the Devil knows that we are all in, BAM!, the door shuts and we are trapped in our sin almost before we realize what is happening. The Devil is patient.

Sin is deceitful. It weakens our conscience by slowly deluding us into thinking that wrong is right. We are warned to not be ignorant of the devil’s schemes, to be on the alert, and to not be fooled over and over again in scripture but our enemy is a formidable one. Today especially, we must realize that our culture lends itself to this kind of a morally eroding environment and we must guard our hearts against it at all costs. The devil does not have a moral compass.

Psalm 51
David had this very same experience in his sin with Bathsheba. Then he committed murder to cover up his sin! Does it get any worse? And yet, David was a man after God’s own heart who had faithfully served and loved the Lord up until that time and who still loved the Lord. We don’t know for sure why David was in the palace instead of out on the field with his troops. Was he tired or battle weary? Was he ill? Was he burdened with the responsibilities of being King or knowing that the Messiah would come through Israel? Or perhaps he had grown comfortable with having the comforts of life. Whatever the reason, David got himself into quite a pickle. This did not surprise the Lord. He appointed David knowing beforehand that this would happen. He did not take his throne from him afterwards either. And in fact, David will have a prominent position in the new heavens and the new earth. However, David lived with some of the consequences of his fall for the rest of his life. Consequences are good deterrents when the Devil decides to give it another go in your life.

(As a side note, interestingly enough, Saul’s sin DID cost him the throne, even though in today’s world, his sin was much less awful and was even done appearing to be service to the Lord. Hmmm… food for thought and study. Perhaps God judges sinfulness according to what’s in our hearts and not just by the things that happen in the weakness of our flesh or the arrogance of our own thoughts.)

But thank God, HE is tenacious! He does not let go of His own easily. He is a God of redemption. Like he did with the prodigal son, who was left with nothing but his sin and a dung heap, God waited until the appointed time to confront David. And from Psalm 51, we know he repented.

In verse 10, he asks the Lord to “Create in me a clean heart, God, and renew a steadfast spirit in me.” David realized that without a clean heart and a steadfast spirit, he would likely sin again. Actually, that verse can be translated “Create for me a new heart.”

Sins of the flesh and presumptuous sin are two different things. Willingly sinning is presumptuous sin, evidence of an unregenerate heart, and it separates us from God . Sins of the flesh are stronger than our own resolve, no matter how sincere it may be. Addicts of any kind know this all too well. So why did everything work out for David and cost Saul his life?

David realized that his heart was dirty. He regretted sinning against God by sinning with Bathsheba. He knew he needed a heart change in order to bring about a behavior change.
He realized that he couldn’t do what was needed by his own resolve, a 12 step program, or an accountability partner. This is simply works and works cannot change a heart.
He went to the only one who could give him a new heart and humbly submitted himself to God’s will and way. God did not disappoint. He forgave, cleansed and restored David to his rightful place in the kingdom.

David also realized that in order to continue in his re-instated position in God’s family, he would need a steadfast spirit. A new heart and steadfast spirit speak of the salvation and sanctification that we receive through Calvary. It is then that the Holy Spirit has latitude in our lives to keep us and change us. If our faith is in any other thing-our past successes or callings, our knowledge of the Word of God, our lengthy prayer times, our reputation in the Christian community, our spiritual activities, our work for the church, our character, any other thing-we are doomed to fail. Even the Baptism in the Holy Spirit will not save us or keep us from sin. Only the cross of Christ can do that. If our faith is in what Christ accomplished, and what He pronounced as finished on the cross, then it will come to fruition in our lives. Faith is the victory!