Wise Words

 Reading through the Book of Proverbs is always...interesting...I forget how many of them deal with one of the biggest problem areas of most bodies, mine for sure: the mouth.

Some are very profound and deep...others are rather funny.  Chapter 18 has a nice selection of them.  Take Proverbs 18: 6, for instance:

The lips of fools bring them strife,
and their mouths invite a beating.

I chuckle when I read it because I don't know how many times I've told Dylan versions of this. I keep telling him, "one of these days...you are going to get punched on the face, boy!" He doesn't believe me. Actually, people outside our house can't fathom Dylan being a "smart mouthed" kid. He is very careful when he is in public. But at home...ugh! He sure invites a beating on a daily basis!

Dylan is not the only one with a "mouth-malfunction" in this household, though...actually, I'm the reigning queen of that country. Rather, I'm the fool so often mentioned in Proverbs...I'm the fool with "mouth-problems."

The mouths of fools are their undoing,
and their lips are a snare to their very lives. (Proverbs 18: 7)

Totally me.

This one is me too...though, I'm not sure I know what it means?

The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
they go down to the inmost parts. (Proverbs 18: 8)

I keep re-reading it, and the one thing that keeps coming to mind is...LOL..."gossip makes me fat!!" It goes to my thighs! Ha, ha! However, I think it might have something to do with that, after all. See, gossip could be addictive, like M&Ms or Doritos (both "choice morsels" in my pantry). Once I start eating these things, I can't stop! And yes, they go straight to my thighs and other inner parts. Indulging in gossip is like indulging in these items that don't really contribute to anything good in our bodies, except a short delight of the senses. In the end, gossip, like M&Ms turn me into something I don't want to be.

And, of course, there's this one:

To answer before listening—
that is folly and shame. (Proverbs 18: 13)

Anyone in my house: "You don't let me talk. Let me finish!"

Me: "I know what you're going to say...so..."

I'm always ready with the whip of my tongue to slash others even before they have had a chance to say what they wanted to say. I don't listen. I react...then...maybe...I might, perhaps, let them talk...if I feel like it. The folly of a fool.

Proverbs 18: 21 is very convicting,

The tongue has the power of life and death,
and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Once again, the weird association of words with food. It's no wonder one of those popular sayings warns: "watch out! You'll have to eat your words." What are we eating, according to Proverbs? The fruit of the tongue is either life or death. A few choice words, and we can build up, bring life with our words...or.... we can destroy, crush, defeat, kill all the same.

King Solomon, the writer of Proverbs, was known for his riches and for his wisdom. He said that words are deep waters, but wisdom is a rushing stream (Proverbs 18: 4). Deep waters are scary and dangerous. They can engulf a soul and drown a life in seconds. The rushing stream of wisdom, on the contrary, refreshes and brings life, removing death with its constant movement. Only wisdom can turn words into life. Careless words have the power to bring death.

The Holy Spirit is the One Who can turn our deep, scary and dangerous waters into rushing streams of life. May He transform our tongue so only wise words may escape. In the Precious Name of Jesus, The Word in Whom we trust. Amen!

Praying for Consciousness of Our Call

 I'm continuing my journey through the very challenging devotional, My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, and I have to tell you, today's post was very interesting.  It is called, "The Awareness of the Call."  It is based on 1 Corinthians 9:16,

 For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

Chambers' meditations revolve specifically around the last part of the verse: "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!"  This is Paul's statement on his own position as a preacher.  The Apostle explains how he has a drive to proclaim the gospel that doesn't come from himself.  He is "compelled to preach."  In other words, he is forcibly driven to do this by something else or rather, Someone else who is the One applying that force.  That's why he cannot boast.  And that driving force is so powerful and Paul is so dependent on the sustenance from that Force that he calls in damnation upon himself if he does not deliver.

Chambers' perspective is that what Paul is talking about here refers to God's supernatural call to the believer.  He says it is not just an inclination we feel or a desire that may come up out of the gifts we have been endowed with or out of the skills we may possess.  According to Chambers, this call that is causing Paul to say aloud: Woe to me! goes way beyond all that.  It comes from God's deeply spiritual and supernatural touch.  And that's why it is so compelling that we can't say no.

He says it is so supernatural and divine that, "If you are able to tell exactly where you were when you received the call of God and can explain all about it, I question whether you have truly been called."

He says, the type of call Paul is talking about here, is "inexpressible," "incalculable" and "surprising."  It contains God's personal choosing of a specific person, so, of course it is supernatural and unexplainable.  That's why Paul says it is a compulsion that was put upon him by the One to whom nothing can be denied.

Chambers continues saying how Paul "had become aware of the call of God, and his compulsion to “preach the gospel” was so strong that nothing else was any longer even a competitor for his strength."

I think about my own journey with Jesus.  I feel so convicted and guilty for not being obedient and neglecting the great commission to go and make disciples, that often I feel like Woe is coming to me.  I worry I've missed the call entirely because I'm so worldly focused and so concerned about my circumstances.  But, reading and re-reading what Chamber is saying has made me pause and contemplate: am I really conscious or fully aware of God's call to me?  Obviously, Paul had a realization of what his role was supposed to be in the Kingdom of God.  Do I have that realization?  I don't think I do.  I don't know if God has given me that revelation which will activate His driving force in me yet.  I believe He is giving me nudges. Like Chambers says, sometimes , "the realization of the call in a person’s life may come like a clap of thunder or it may dawn gradually. But however quickly or slowly this awareness comes, it is always accompanied with an undercurrent of the supernatural."  I think I might still be on the installment plan...that makes the realization dawn gradually.

Whatever it is, though, I'm feeling encouraged that I might have not totally messed up my chance to fulfill God's call for my life.  After all, I'm still here, right?  And as long as I still have breath in my longs and a beat in my heart, I have hope.  Like Chambers concludes:

"If a man or woman is called of God, it doesn’t matter how difficult the circumstances may be. God orchestrates every force at work for His purpose in the end. If you will agree with God’s purpose, He will bring not only your conscious level but also all the deeper levels of your life, which you yourself cannot reach, into perfect harmony."

So, today, in this beautiful autumn afternoon, I pray the Holy Spirit will give me and you the awareness, the conscious level that we need to reach the perfect harmony that we cannot reach by ourselves, which will allow us to agree with God's purpose for our lives in that supernatural way that will compel us to do His will...no matter what...so there's no Woe to us.  In Jesus' Precious Name.  Amen!

When the Heart is Broken

 Our church family has suffered a couple of losses recently that have left us deeply shocked and profoundly saddened. To me personally, hearing about the unexpected passing of these two dearest members of our church have caused me to pause and reflect...hug my loved ones a little tighter and mourn.  

My first reaction was, however, to cry out in pain...

It was as if the loss of our church family members opened up the floodgates of all the hurt that has its clutches in our surroundings...reminding me of all the pain our world is experiencing in this day in age.  The loss reminded me that sometimes the brokenness is so immeasurable ... the struggles so tough ... the mountains so high ... the storm so strong ... the waters so deep ... the distance so extensive ... the heartache so acute that we wonder whether our heart will ever be whole again...and we wonder and wonder, and wonder some more whether there will be a day when we will be OK.

The thing is, when the heart is broken, nothing seems complete...instead, we see everything through the shattered pieces of what once was a beating rhythm filled with life.  

When the heart is broken, there's a void in the center...an empty space that echoes the memories and sounds of the one who held it together.

When the heart is broken, all the love that was contained spills to the ground, leaving us wondering whether it will be back in us again.

When the heart is broken, it hurts to think, and to smile is not even a possibility...not even a thought.

When the heart is broken the mind goes on strike, the body loses strength and there isn't much to make it worth it to get out of bed.

When the heart is broken, all seems lost...

But also, when the heart is broken, it is the beginning of a journey...a voyage to an unknown place that we've never been to before.

When the heart is broken, there's nothing left, but the promise of the One Who said He'd mend it.

When the heart is broken, the words that tell us to be still and trust linger.

When the heart is broken, our tears are collected in a jar and as we wonder, we begin to remember that He is the God with Us, the fourth person in the fire, the One to whom the winds and the waves obey, the Lord of the storm, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, the One whose breath keep us alive...the One who raised from the grave.

When the heart is broken, we remember...there's no other place to go, but to the foot of the cross.

Welcome Fall

 Well...summer is over, I guess...sigh...

Was it shorter than usual? Did the days run faster than the norm? Did the hours lose some minutes?  I don't know.  All I know is that it's only the first few official days of fall and my bones are already cold.  I'm still hanging on to my flipflops for as long as I can.  But, I have to admit, last night at the soccer game, I had to run to the car right after the last whistle blew because my toes were turning blue.

It's not that I hate fall.  It's just that fall is the threshold to winter...and then, we can talk about hate.

This year, however, I am thinking to have a better attitude about the whole season changing deal.  I'm still brutally melancholic about leaving summer behind.  But...I'm praying for the Holy Spirit to give me the eyes to see and a heart to appreciate the beauty in every day, be it in the winter, spring, summer or fall.

I want to be in the moment and enjoy all that this new season has to offer.  I want to dive into all things pumpkin this year.  I had my first pumpkin-spice English muffins yesterday and they were a delight! I'm looking out my window and admiring the gorgeous blue sky and puffy clouds, and how they frame the first evidence of the turning leaves.  I'm breathing in the cool breeze and remembering how when autumn comes you can feel it in the air right away.  And most of all, I'm praising the Lord for giving me this time to be with my loved ones near and far.  There is so much loss and pain around...I must cherish what I have still in my arms.

I'm not going to make a, "how sad it's fall" post.  Instead, I'm celebrating the season and welcoming it.  The stress of work. The memories of what I've lost. The melancholic feeling of summer days gone.  May all that makes me sad about fall be replaced with the joy of the gift of life.  May songs of praises fill my soul with rejoicing, ushering the colors and aromas of autumn this year...and may Our Heavenly Father grant us His presence as we witness the wonders of fall.  In Christ Name.  Amen!

Staying with Jesus as Circumstances Tempt Us to Walk Away

 There is so much pain in this world.  There is so much I don't understand.  Actually, there is so little I do understand.  Wisdom and knowledge escape me.  I feel lost more often that I'd like to admit.  The fear and the worry sometimes become unbearable. My eyes become clouded with the anxiety of what's to come. And...to what avail?  Worry, fear, anxiety never changed anything.  The only thing these emotions accomplish is the disruption of my peace...the distancing from what really matters...the breaking of my relationship with Christ.

Today's post in the devotional My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers posed an intriguing question:  Are we remaining faithful to the Son of God in everything that attacks His life in us?

At first glance I misunderstood the question.  I took it as to mean whether I stay faithful to Jesus in my trials.  Then, I re-read it, as it often happens...and I realized the question is whether I'll stay by Jesus when the world attacks Him and His Presence in my life...That is precisely what's as stake here: Jesus' life in us is being attacked by the things of this world.  The world attacks Jesus' presence in the heart of believers.  The agony of devastating circumstances, the fear of instability, the disappointment of shattered hopes, the loneliness of loss, the panic of death...all these and many, many more situations threaten Jesus' life in us.  They attack the most precious thing we possess: Jesus Presence in our hearts.

Sometimes the knife cuts so deep that our bodily reaction is to want to walk away from the torment of the blade.  But, in doing so...are we walking away from Our Lord too?

I think that's what Chambers meant when he wrote:  

We have the idea that we ought to shield ourselves from some of the things God brings around us. May it never be! It is God who engineers our circumstances, and whatever they may be we must see that we face them while continually abiding with Him in His temptations. They are His temptations, not temptations to us, but temptations to the life of the Son of God in us.

This is how Chambers interprets Luke 22: 28: You are those who have stood by me in my trials. I never saw it that way.  to be honest...I don't think I ever paid much attention to this verse until now.  Jesus uttered these words at the Last Supper.  He tucked them in between Judas and Peter's betrayals...I wonder if He did that, knowing we might be facing chances for betrayal as well.

I am so very weak.  How will I ever be able to stand by Him in His trials, when I can't even recognize them?  I don't know.  All I know is that I must cling to Him with all I've got.  I must stay with Him no matter what.  Even when I have to fight myself and my instincts that push me to walk away, I must remain.  The only place to be is on the Way with Jesus.  Chamber puts it best:

Are you going on with Jesus? The way goes through Gethsemane, through the city gate, and on “outside the camp” (Hebrews 13:13). The way is lonely and goes on until there is no longer even a trace of a footprint to follow— but only the voice saying, “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19).

May the Holy Spirit give us the stamina to go on with Christ all the days of our lives.  Amen!

The Source of Living Water

 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4: 14

Are you a mountain or a beach person?

If you ask me, my answer, without hesitation would be, I am a beach person 100%. I'd take the ocean any time. But after discovering the amazing Great Lakes...I have to say, I'm good with them too. I'm even OK with small, man-made lakes. I'm telling you, I'm becoming soft in my old age, but as long as there's water as far as the eye can see, I'm good! The only problem with the Great Lakes, like Erie, for example, is that the water never warms up like the ocean water in a place like Panama. But...when the option is between a lake or nothing...I take the lake...no contest.

The mountains are OK, if there is a lake there. If there isn't any water...I'd probably not choose that location. I'm not much of a woodsy person. I'm definitely a beach bum. The thought of having to wear anything but sandals terrifies me...and talking from experience, flip flops are a total flop in the mud.  

Happiness to me is staring at the sea with my feet up...can't do that real well deep in the woods.

I guess that might be one of the reasons why I'm drawn to Bible passages that mention water, like John 4: 14. The image of Jesus going to the well, having a divine appointment with the Samaritan woman and then telling us, through that conversation with her that He will give us a water that will become a spring in us is just magnificent to me. It is fascinating to think that I could do more than just stare at the water and marvel at its power and beauty...I could actually have a spring of water in me! WOW! Simply mindboggling.

But...could this possibly be? Could I...me... a wreck of a woman...be worthy of not only drinking His water so I could not thirst anymore, but also of being someone from whom a well of water can spring out? I am so not worthy.

However, Jesus is saying it. Who am I to disbelieve?

Sometimes our insecurities and lack of self-value can take us into roads we really shouldn't travel. I don't want to fall for the trap of the enemy that incites me to a false sense of humility that only leads to not trusting the very words of My Lord and Savior. I don't want to go there.

I really like what Oswald Chambers had to say about this passage in his devotional, My Utmost for His Highest yesterday.  He said that we can, indeed, be people from whom the waters of eternal life spring out. He wrote,

Stay at the Source, closely guarding your faith in Jesus Christ and your relationship to Him, and there will be a steady flow into the lives of others with no dryness or deadness whatsoever.

Is it excessive to say that rivers will flow out of one individual believer? Do you look at yourself and say, “But I don’t see the rivers”? Through the history of God’s work you will usually find that He has started with the obscure, the unknown, the ignored, but those who have been steadfastly true to Jesus Christ.

And that's the key...

It's not about who we are, whether you are a beach person or a mountain person, a cat person or a dog person, an accomplished person or a wreck...it is about staying close to Jesus, the Divine Source of Living Water.  If we stay near Christ, we carry the water with us everywhere!

It's about staying steadily true to Him.

I don't want to be thirsty anymore.  I don't want to be exhausted in my pursuit of what really doesn't matter.  I want to stay close to Jesus...and stay true to Him through it all.  May the Power of the Holy Spirit lead us to a state of nearness to Our Lord where we can be assured the Living Waters will just flow from within us as we put our feet up and contemplate His Mighty work in total awe.  Amen!

 

Temple Builders

 In today's message at Church, Pastor Dan presented us with a great challenge: to become Temple Builders no matter the risk. As He wraps up this sermon series, I feel as if the Lord has been working on His own sermon series in me as well.  I feel the Holy Spirit challenging me to join the work of Christianity in what has become the arid soil of this great nation...to become a Temple Builder in whatever capacity I can perform that job.  But I also feel intense wrestling inside of me to try to reconcile the many opposing arguments that form in my mind when I contemplate the work ahead.

My biggest problem with this challenge is that I'm afraid...I'm afraid I've wrapped myself in heavy chains that keep me from moving forward...that enslave me...that restrain me.  They are mostly chains I've put on myself.  I can almost name the heavier ones: safety, security, financial stability, family, work.  The way these chains work is by limiting my ability to do my part in the Great Commission that Jesus, Himself gave us:

When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28: 17-20

My chains keep me scared.  My chains choke me if I try to move.  My chains keep me in the faith closet. My chains keep me quiet.  My chains keep me from Praising the Lord in certain circles.  My chains keep me from standing firm on my faith at work. My chains make me a hypocrite.  My chains make me weak.  My chains keep me hidden.  My chains keep me from trusting Jesus' promise that He is with me always, to the very end of the age.

The good news is, Hope is here, even for someone like me.  The good news is, like the song says: "There is power in the Name of Jesus to break every chain."  Jesus breaks every single chain...even mine.

I need to stop being like those who doubted, and be more like the disciples who were ready to do what they had been commissioned to do...in spite of the risks involved.  And I believe, the first step for someone like me is to direct my sight away from myself and onto Jesus.  This is the secret of that state of Jesus-Consciousness which Oswald Chambers wrote about in his devotional My Utmost for His Highest that I so inarticulately tried to comment on a few days ago.  It is that change of perspective what can cause a transcendental change in my faith walk: from me to Him.  Being Jesus-Conscious is to know that what He promised is true: surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.  

He is with me always...to the very end of my own age...and that should be enough to give me courage...and that is enough to break my chains.  I will continue to fail...but I cannot allow my failure to add to the restraints.  On the contrary, with each failure, the power of Jesus grows stronger because my failures prove that it is not by my own strength or ability that the Kingdom of God is revealed, but by His Mighty Hand working through me...

Every one of my failures elevates Jesus because it demonstrates that it is not my doing but His.  Therefore, every failure of mine breaks a link in my chains...every failure of mine is a new fracture which allows His power and presence to pour out through every crack on my jar of clay...until there is nothing and I'm fully spilled.

  Brake my chains, Lord so I can be free to go be a temple builder! Make me conscious of You and Your constant presence in me so I can make the transition from self-conscious to Jesus-conscious. May each crack on my jar bring more of You into the world I'm in until there is nothing left of me, and it is only You who everyone can see.  In the Precious Name of Jesus who breaks every chain...even mine. Amen!