Enough Already

"Fear God"

Enough with the Christian cliche . Let's not put it on our Christian
t-shirts, on our Christian coffee mugs, on our Christian bumper stickers, on our Christian smart phone covers, on our Christian throw pillows, or on our Christian jewelry.

Instead, let's put it to real use in our Christian lives. Put it into our school work. Put it into our career decisions. Put it into our financia...l decisions. Put it into our friendships. Put it into raising our children. Put it into our marriage vows.

But keep it off our stuff!

It's not a slogan.

It's not a suggestion.

It's a way of life, and it's the only way that we can honestly approach God ready to worship. Please, do not confuse worship with music. Although music does have it's place, the two are not necessarily one and the same.

"Fear God"
It's a way of life.

Ecclesiastes 5:7

A Dusty Faith

     "Once they crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. When the men of that place recognized Him, they alerted the whole vicinity and brought to Him all who were sick. They were begging Him that they might only touch the tassel on His robe. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well."  Matthew 14:34-36

I love how these three verses are quietly and neatly tucked into the very end of this chapter. They follow the well known story of Peter's trek across choppy waters. Everyone is aware of Peter's doubt which caused him to sink and cry out for help, but very few people mention that Peter seemed to have been the only one in the boat with faith enough to take that first step.  Those verses, however, are not the center of focus today.

 After showing the disciples a valuable lesson in faith, Jesus and the disciples docked their boat and headed for shore. As they entered the city the citizens immediately recognized Jesus, and the town gossip spread the word of his arrival. People began to bring their sick loved ones to Jesus. They did not ask for medications or treatments. These people asked for a cure!

"They were begging Him that they might 

only touch the tassel on His robe."

 

Two observations:  First of all the tassels or fringe of his garment was not a decoration on his sleeve or an emblem on his shoulder. This was the fringe that swept the dusty dirt roads as he walked. This fringe had probably dragged a bit on the sea as he had walked out to his disciples. This fringe was the lowest place they could touch.

 

My point is this, the people did not ask, "Please, cure me and let me walk beside you." These people did not ask, " Please, heal me by letting me shake your hand." These people were saying how unworthy they felt in the presence of His holiness, and that they were willing to lay themselves down in order to be healed of their ailments.

 

The second observation is this:

 

  "And as many as touched it were made perfectly well."

 

These people were not only saying what they believed, they were showing it. These people didn't expect Jesus to say, "No, that will not be necessary. I can touch you and you will be healed." These people were willing to go to any length to receive the healing that Jesus offered, even if it meant that they would be required to humble themselves.

 

I wonder sometimes if when we pray, we say, "Jesus, please heal our...", "Jesus, please save our children from...", "Jesus, please provide for our...". And when we pray asking, we really believe that Jesus will and can answer those prayers; yet we never see those answers come to pass, because we are so busy asking for whatever it is that burdens us that we forget that our hearts are to be submitted to His will. I wonder if there is an area of our lives that we are not willing to let go of. I wonder sometimes, if we are not willing to truly humble ourselves in obedience and submission. I wonder if that is the reason we are not "...made perfectly well." I wonder what our prayer lives would look like, if we were willing to get a little dust in our faces, if we would truly lay down our lives for the healing  that Jesus still offers today.





Sufficient

 

"And he said unto me,

 My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength

 is made perfect in weakness.

 Most gladly therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities,

that the power of God may rest upon me."

 

II Corinthians 12:9 NKJV

 

 

 

I hear this little voice in my head that is singing, "Gotta keep swimming, just keep swimming. Swimming. Swimming..." Yeah, it's Dory, the little blue fish from Finding Nemo. A cute little ditty that sometimes I sing to myself when I just want to quit, but what a messed up theology this is!  Since when has it become acceptable to take advice from a fictional scatter-brained sea creature anyway?

 

 

The thing is, I have learned that to just keep moving forward is not enough.

 

 

Maybe instead, my song should be, "Gotta keep praying. Just keep trusting. Praying. Trusting. Reading. Praying."

 

 

This life is too difficult for me to control and too overwhelming for me to just push my way through. I am so thankful for the hope of the gospel which grants me salvation from my sins, the power of the Holy Spirit to keep me and comfort me, and the grace of God which He has proclaimed Himself to be "sufficient."

Why I Did What I Did & Why I Do What I Do

The toys in my back yard no longer serve as play things but as reminders of times gone by.

I remember when picking up toys from the yard and the living room were constant chores in my every day life. I remember deep holes dug in my back yard. But they were more than that, they were trenches, fire pits, swimming pools and canyons.

 

Those days are long gone, yet

as recent as yesterday.

 

The children who played with these toys and romped around in these yards are growing up. They've traded in dolls for prom dresses, Tonka trucks for hunting rifles, board games for college books and felt food for oven mitts.

 

I am so blessed to have been able to be a stay at home mom so that I could be present for every bit of the change. I was honored to kiss boo boos, and wipe snotty noses. Now, I am blessed to watch as the fruits of my labor are ripe for the harvest. I am honored to watch as my children make their own choices and carve out lives of their own.

 

Blessed beyond measure

 

"We must not hide them from their children,

but must tell a future generation

the praises of the Lord,

His might, and the wonderful works

He has performed.

...so that a future generation -

children yet to be born - might know...

so that they might put their confidence in God

and not forget God's works,

but keep His commandments."

- Psalm 78:4-7 (HCSB)

 

 



At What Cost

This morning I read a phrase that caused me to do a little soul searching.

"...has following Jesus cost you anything?"

Honestly, at first, I read the question and went right on to the next sentence without really stopping to contemplate how I would answer. Then just three sentences later the author asked this question.

"Take a moment and jot down what following Jesus has cost you. How has following Jesus interfered with your life?"

The blank space on that page stared up at me begging to be filled, yet, I could not put any thoughts into words. Mostly this was due to the fact that no thoughts came to mind.  What cost? What price? What interference?

These are not questions that I would normally contemplate because I grew up in church. Church is what I do. The Bible is what I live by (as much as humanly possible). I am learning that this is my problem. I so often find myself  "doing church" because it's my routine and "living the Bible" because that is what I was taught and "living the Bible" in my own human power because I feel pretty confident in my own power.

I wonder, if I have this type of Christian life, how many others have the same lifestyle as I have? Yet, I digress. Like the old spiritual song, I need to say, "It's me. It's me. It's me, Oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer." My focus should be inward, not comparing my relationship with Christ to anything or anyone except Jesus himself. 

So, HAS following Jesus cost you anything? Has following Jesus interfered with your life? Are you giving up your own desires to conform your life to the desires that Jesus has for you?

Quotes from not a fan.  by Kyle Idleman

Another New Year's Resolution

We all make them and break them, the promises we make on the first day of the New Year. Yet, make them we do, and I am no different.

Yesterday, the first day of January, I announced my New Year's resolution to my husband. "This year I am going to get dressed - every day!"

His response was a puzzled and unimpressed, "OK?"

Yes, I am going to get dressed, everyday this year. Big deal, right? Well, actually, for me, it is. You see, I have been a Stay at Home Mom for 13 years now. I do not get dressed everyday to go to work outside of our home. Instead, I begin my work as soon as my feet hit the floor. I brush my teeth and begin my day. In my opinion, I often "do not have time to stop for a shower and I definitely do not have time to apply a little makeup and fix my hair". I can shower when the kids go to bed. Yes, I have become the sweatpants wearing mama that everyone tries to make over.

People, it's time for that make over!

My resolution is 2 parts. Shower and dress at the beginning of the day. Sweat pants are fine occasionally; after all, my husband finds me attractive in a casual yoga pants and tennis shoes with tousled hair. But I should not let this be my normal dress. It is true that I do not need to wear a power suit and heels but getting dressed helps me to minister to my family with more life and awareness. Getting dressed allows me the freedom to drop what I am doing when my husband comes home early for lunch. Getting dressed prepares me to take on my day and minister to the needs of my family, neighbors and friends.

Which brings me to the second part of my New Years Resolution.

I will get dressed spiritually, everyday. In Exodus28 we find God giving Moses very specific instructions as to the clothing that the priests would wear while ministering to the people of Israel. He delegated their clothing from the "bonnet" on their head down to the "britches" that they wore beneath their clothing. Have you ever wondered why all the detail? It was to set the priests apart from every body else, to sanctify them for the work of the office of the priesthood.

As a wife and mother, as a Christian woman, I too need to be "clothed" in a way that sets me apart and prepares me for the work I am called to do. On the outside, that means that I will be dressed for work, no power suits required just something appropriate for answering the door - you know, in case the UPS guy shows up or something. But on the inside, that means something different. Galatians 3:7 and Romans 13:14 admonish the disciples to "Put on Christ". While Colossians 3 gives us more of an idea of what that looks like. Here, we are told to "put on" various spiritual adornments. These include knowledge of Christ, mercy, compassion, humbleness, meekness, patience and forgiveness. These things can only be "put on" by a daily reading of the Word of God and by a daily submission and obedience to the things we learn there.

So in keeping with my New Years Resolution...it's time to "Get Dressed"



Dear Lord,
Thank you for the people that you will place in my life to minister to and be a blessing to. Help me to be dressed for success. Help my clothing to honor you and to keep me always prepared to be a blessing to others, especially my husband and family. Help me not to neglect my spiritual clothing. Help me to be spiritually dressed in the attributes of you. Allow me to wear your Holy Spirit today, so that others will see mercy and compassion, forgiveness and patience, humbleness and meekness. May I be beautiful in the eyes of my husband and beautiful to you, My Savior.

Of Mary and Martha

I was on our church campus one morning to work on yet another project. Just the week before I had redecorated my Sunday school room to prepare for the new season. Now there were props to create for the children's musical and supplies to gather for Sunday's lesson. Add to all this the fact that I am a mother of four, yes, I was very busy. My steps were a full on trot. My day had begun.

As I opened the door to the sanctuary, the quiet of the dimly lit building was broken by a faint voice. Until then, I was unaware that I was not the only person in the building. The sound was a quiet muffled sing song, almost a chant. The tune was unfamiliar and just as suddenly as it began, it ended. I was drawn to the sound. I waited for it to return. It did.

As I turned toward the front of our auditorium I saw it. A dear woman, kneeling before God, her arms outstretched - silent. For the next 25 minutes, projects were completed while she read from her open Bible, raised her hands to God and sang to Him.
"Adoration to you only Jesus."
"Jesus we love you."

I was Martha.
She was Mary.

I do not know how long she stayed there but I do know that my heart was stirred. Her simple act of worship reminded me of my need to spend time alone with my Savior - The Lover of my Soul - My Redeemer - My Strong Tower.


Matthew 10:38-42

Dear Jesus,
Today, I thank you for reminding me that you desire to spend time with me. Thank you that you are all I need. Thank you for hearing my prayers. Please, forgive me for being busy about your work without first kneeling at your feet to learn and worship.
Amen