2015: Year of Prayer, Week 24-25

For it is God's will and intention that by doing right (your good and honest lives) should silence (muzzle, gag) the ignorant charges and ill-informed criticisms of foolish persons. (1 Peter 2:15, AMP)

This morning, I started on Psalm 34:8  (Taste and see the Lord is good!)  But in weeks like the last couple, it gets real easy - too easy - to move from a position of grace to a position of anger (righteous, justified or otherwise).  I ended up in 1 Peter 2 because the Apostle references Psalm 34:8, as he is instructing Christian believers (I tend to think they were probably Messianic Jews; his words apply to us Gentiles too.)  He is helping them understand how to act in a time when their faith was a liability in the eyes of the world.

These last 10 days make me think our faith looks like a liability to some now too.

Between the shooting at Emanuel AME church in Charleston 10 days ago, or the ruling by the Supreme Court on Friday morning making same-sex marriage legal nationwide, it seems more than ever as Christians, we need to not only KNOW the right way to act to please God and draw others to Him......but do it. 

(Of course that means we will apply that to life differently, so grace and love must be the rule in every situation...especially in the family of faith.) 

One of my very good friends got a word from the Lord about 2015: RAPID.  Now is the time, there is probably not many more moments to waste if you are on the fence about making Jesus front and center in your life.  I'm not a harbinger of doom, but based on some of the commentary I've seen on social media....in the United States being a Christian may start doing us more harm than good.

But there is lies the challenge and what Peter was saying.  Jesus is either a stumbling block or a stepping stone (1 Peter 2:8).  He is either going to trip you up or raise you up.  He will either cause you to fall on your face or He will turn His face upon you (Num 6:24). 

In the case of Dylann Roof killing 9 brothers and sisters in Christ during a prayer meeting on 6/17/15, Christ was obviously a stumbling block.  But for those believers left behind, He was a stepping stone to lift them up to show what is possible with Christ.  Last Sunday, our pastor preached the quintessential message on this and in it, showed the video where Roof was confronted by several of the victim's family members...and they forgave him.  The clincher was the last lady to speak.  She was actually there, a witness to his crime....and she only spoke forgiveness.  Here is that video:

What is impossible with man is possible with God.  Forgiving the man who you watched murder 9 of your church family members less than 48 hours afterwards is impossible, short of the indwelling and overflowing of the Holy Spirit.

To the other major event this week, I'm not going to say much about same-sex marriage, other than I don't agree with it.  I have prayed and sought the mind of the Lord repeatedly on this issue and my heart is never changed.  However, I don't have to agree with a lifestyle to love someone.  In that same vein, as children of God, we don't have to be on the same side politically to worship Christ together.  The Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives trumps every human institution and affiliation.

Our cultural system accepting and even promoting the LGBT way doesn't shake me.  What causes me concern is when it starts to affect our ability to freely live our faith.  That's where this is going, in case you didn't realize it.  Christians who support gay marriage will eventually feel the squeeze on their faith, just as those of us who don't agree with the ruling. 

My prayers (and the prayers of others) for the last 2 weeks (even longer really) have been for the Body of Christ.  We have got to put aside our doctrinal, denominational, political and self-serving issues and come together.  Revival is here and if anything gets in the way of you loving a brother or sister in Christ, it is time to sweep that leaven out of the house.  

Peter's words in his nearly-2000 year old letter are so critical to us now.  We must conduct ourselves properly, not according to our own understanding.  We must lean even more heavily into who the Lord has revealed Himself to be.  We must love the brotherhood - the Christian family - taking pains to make sure we don't give unbelievers any more ammunition not to come to Christ.  We have tasted and seen the Lord is good.  We KNOW HE IS.  It is time to demonstrate that to the world so they, too, will see He is good.

I know this doesn't sound much like a record of my prayer journey but it is.  This is a post for me.  This is me pouring out my heart to God.  This is me going vertical.  This is what is on my mind.  I am not perfect, nor will I ever be on this Earth (praise God, I will be in heaven!).  It is convicting to look back on my day yesterday and see how many times I failed to reflect His heart especially when emotions and hot-bed issues are involved.

So, I repent.  I ask for forgiveness.  I ask the Lord to create a right spirit in me, not one of my own making, but right in His eyes.  I don't want to be known for anything other than my faith.  It speaks the loudest, through the actions of my life and my character. 

It is a challenging business being a Christian.  I pray for me.  I pray for you.  I pray for all of us.  We are heading into perilous waters.  But I know the One who walked on the waves.  And so did Peter, which is why he could tell us how to live, even as he was walking it out too (pun intended). 

Let my heart reflect Yours, Oh, Lord.  Help me.  Help us, Your People. Help our nation and our world.  Let us become more aware of Your Presence.  Let us experience....let us taste and see and live for...the glory of Your Goodness.

#PrayforCharleston

I was at a prayer meeting last night.  When I read about what happened in Charleston, a chill went down my spine.  It was happening at the same time 12 of us were praying in the Upper Room at Chapelwood.

I'm not a harbinger of doom, as I don't believe in putting that out there.  I don't know if these are "the birth pangs" before the tribulation or just a terrible, random, act of a man possessed by something evil - himself or otherwise.

But as my friend Cherri and I prayed together and she told me about her connection to the church in Charleston (where she lived for 4 years) - it hit me: what is going on in our church, city and nation is going to continue to meet resistance and it might escalate.  The Revival that is taking place - and has been building for some years - will not go unchallenged.

My heart aches for this church and the families who lost loved ones in such a grisly manner.  My heart aches because they were my family too.  We are blood relations because we shared the Blood of Christ (a mystery of our faith).  Yet, I rejoice in the fact they are home now.  They are now safe, wrapped in white robes and crowned with righteousness.  It is another, difficult mystery of our faith - to be so sad, yet able to not be in despair when we look (any type of) death in the face.  Because I share the same faith and hope they did, there is no longer a sting to death, even if it hurts very much.

I don't know how Body of Christ in Charleston will come back from this but I predict it will be spectacular.  Everything I'm hearing coming out by the public officials and speakers is centered on rebuilding in love.  They will know we are Christians by our love - even especially our love for our enemies.  In the coming weeks, months and years, I pray the Lord will take this event and make it so people will focus on the truth of the Gospel, what they have in common, not what they don't.  Forgiveness makes a way where nothing else will, so I ask the Lord to guide that city and His Church down the narrow road, the more excellent way so His glory will be shown through His people in ridiculously miraculous ways.

I pray for that young man.  I pray he is caught and I also pray for mercy.  He will face the consequences of his actions because the Lord has instituted authority on this earth and there is music to be faced.  But I pray for the Lord to help him, for his soul to be saved and his life to be one of transformation.  I pray those affected by his violence will forgive him.  I pray those heaping coals will drive him to his face before Holy God and he will find salvation and peace.

I also pray this will embolden Christians everywhere across the nation to stand up IN LOVE.  I pray this will galvanize the Body of Christ to preach, teach, baptize, heal, exorcise and serve just as Jesus did.  I pray we will see the need to take our calling, our mission seriously and GET TO IT.  Time is of the essence, whether Jesus comes back in our lifetime or not.

There are no easy answers here.  I do not claim to have any.

But I know the weapons of our warfare.  They are: 

• love
• truth
• joy
• hope
• peace
• patience
• kindness
• goodness
• gentleness
• faithfulness
• self-control
• mercy
• graciousness
• life-giving speech
• forgiveness
• trust
• prayer
• praise
• worship
• service
• giving
• witness
• testimony

We need everybody.  We have room for everybody.  Everyone is called and will be equipped for their part in what the Lord is doing right now.

Pray for Charleston.  Pray for the Body of Christ.  Pray for your neighbor.  Pray.  Hosanna in the Highest - MARANATHA, COME QUICKLY LORD!

Write this to Smyrna, to the Angel of the church. The Beginning and Ending, the First and Final One, the Once Dead and Then Come Alive, speaks:  

I can see your pain and poverty—constant pain, dire poverty—but I also see your wealth. And I hear the lie in the claims of those who pretend to be good Jews, who in fact belong to Satan’s crowd. Fear nothing in the things you’re about to suffer—but stay on guard! Fear nothing! The Devil is about to throw you in jail for a time of testing—ten days. It won’t last forever.  Don’t quit, even if it costs you your life. Stay there believing. I have a Life-Crown sized and ready for you. Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. Christ-conquerors are safe from Devil-death. (Revelation 2:8-11, MSG)

God appeared to Solomon that very night and said,  

I accept your prayer; yes, I have chosen this place as a temple for sacrifice, a house of worship. If I ever shut off the supply of rain from the skies or order the locusts to eat the crops or send a plague on my people, and my people, my God-defined people, respond by humbling themselves, praying, seeking my presence, and turning their backs on their wicked lives, I’ll be there ready for you: I’ll listen from heaven, forgive their sins, and restore their land to health. From now on I’m alert day and night to the prayers offered at this place. Believe me, I’ve chosen and sanctified this Temple that you have built: My Name is stamped on it forever; my eyes are on it and my heart in it always. (2 Chron 7:12-16, MSG)

2015: The Year of Prayer - Week 17

Come Away with Me.
Come Away with Me.
It's never too late.
It's not too late.
It's not too late for you.

I have a plan for you.
I have a plan for you. It's gonna be wild.
It's gonna be great.
It's going to be full of Me.  - "Come Away," Jesus Culture

How do you document faith?  How do you write up miracles?  How do you describe when the air of the room is so thick with the Presence of God you have a hard time breathing, walking, thinking?

I am tasked with documenting this last week in my prayer life but I'm not really sure I can because the eternal magnitude is too big to understand much less communicate.  I want to revert back to the old saying - you just had to be there.  I can say, though, that I was and you can be too.  These promises, these experiences, these moments when the light of the Son of God is so bright, your eyes hurt, can be yours too.  Open up your heart and let Me in.

This year has been the start of a ground-breaking project to build a new family - for me, for my church, for the Body of Christ in Houston.  Not because what we had before was bad - it was very good.  Still, as I said last week, God isn't in the "good" business.  He is constantly working for OUR BEST.  When Jesus' family came to get Him because they thought He was a whack-job and finally lost it completely - He said, Who do you think my mother and brothers are?...Look closely. These are my mother and brothers. Obedience is thicker than blood. The person who obeys my heavenly Father’s will is my brother and sister and mother.

I look back and laugh at what I thought was BEST but not in derision.  I thank God for where I came from.  I know my parents prayed for me in my Prodigal phase (no doubt before then).  I know 2 faithful women's prayers availed much because I came back to Christ.  I know the ladies Bible Study in Trinidad expanded my mind about faith and life in a way no Bible Study in the States ever could.  I got my calling as a writer, as "scribe" there.  The power of the prayers by the global church for Sophia's healing unlocked the door and let it in. 

As I testified last night, though, He didn't just heal her, though that would have been more than enough.  He healed me of anxiety disorder and PTSD too.  That's what happens to caregivers, we carry emotional wounds too deep to explain.  But I'm free of those.  By the miraculous grace of God - I AM FREE!  

The Lord is currently honoring the prayers of the generations before us and we get to be the torch-bearers.  Revival isn't just coming, it is here.  I can prove it.  You go to my Facebook account and it is there.  You come to my church and it is there.  You come to Monday night prayer at The Source for Women, it is there.  It is in so many places and the Lord is connecting all the little campfires into one big blazing beacon for the lost, lonely, hurting.

The fruit and the gifts of the Spirit are in abundance.  Only 2 weeks ago, I participated in the deliverance of a young man who is now so precious to me (and others).  That's what happens when you watch someone resurrected from spiritual, emotional, mental and in some respects, physical death.  Then last week, his mother was set free from 28 years of bitterness.

Sunday it was my turn.  My pastor and dearest friend used me as a sermon prop, speaking my love language, recognizing the callouses on my knees and heart for this community of faith.  Then Monday night, I worked in prayer with others to pray in the full magnitude of the Lord unleashing Himself on this city.

Then there was Wednesday - yesterday - last night.  The Release.  A City-wide prayer and praise service that we all knew was going to be huge.  After lunch, I spent 90 minutes walking the quiet, darkened room while Ella took a nap in the back.  Before she fell asleep, she (of course) saw an angel.  She said his name was "Christian," so I can only assume he was about 6'1", 215 and had Hershey's Kiss colored skin.  It's been awhile since she'd told me she was seeing an angel, and if you have time, go back on this blog and read the other accounts.  They are hair-raising.

While she slept, I got "undignified" before the Lord.  I danced like a fiend.  Good thing no one was around and I truly hope the cameras were off.  I've NEVER been like that, but I was so free, totally uninhibited.  No loincloths were used, but I was sweating like I ran a few miles - and I might have.

Left to get The Olders from school and then went back to the church with Sophia at 6-ish pm (David took Natalie to her softball game....pray for her, her team is struggling!).  Ella stayed with a wonderful babysitter the Lord provided at the last minute.  Sophia reminded me at 10:15 pm when we got home, we never ate dinner.  

I told her that was ok, because we'd just feasted at the Lord's Table.  (She was not impressed.)

The room/the service was primed ("fertile" as my friend Moseka said) and from the very beginning we knew it was going to be another level.  The music built, the praise began.  Confession was made and then 3 people got up to testify.

One of the most precious moments of my life will be Sophia and I standing there on stage.  All I said was, "She is healed and whole from cancer," and the room erupted.  It was as if the Heavenly Host came down, the noise was deafening.  A wall of praise hit us in the face.

I'm crying about it right now as I write the words.   I'm pretty sure she will remember it for the rest of her life too.  

Following all the testimonies, the real work began.  All over the room, people were being freed, delivered, healed.  After prayer, a lady who came in on crutches was able to put weight on her foot that, to that point, wasn't healing properly.  And her caregiver sister was freed too.  Prayed for lots of people, including the husband of my long-time Bible Study leader and mentor in faith.  He is in treatment for cancer and he had tears on his face when we finished.  He and everyone there received the life-changing touch of Holy Spirit power.

At one point I sat down with another precious new brother in faith, Oliver.  He put his arm around me and we took stock of what was going on...taking inventory of the Holy Spirit (important for a scribe to do but a wonderful moment for me because Oliver is one who experienced his own freedom only 2 months ago, at the February Release.)

It didn't stop, more work.  The picture is me praying and speaking into a little girl who is in Natalie's class.  The Lord broke her, her brother and her Mama of generations of cursing in this very moment.  (The young man in the red is the one I mentioned being delivered 2 weeks ago...he is already going to the mat with the enemy for others...that's what family does for each other and now he knows what it means to be in the family of God.)  

We worked, labored, travailed and PREVAILED in prayer for another 90 minutes.  Moseka said it was "the afterglow." Pretty sure we all had a very difficult time falling asleep.  You don't really feel like you need it after a night like that.  Oh sure, later today it will catch up with me, especially as I was woken before 5 from a dream about where things are and where they are going.

I know this is a really long post, but I can't help it.  I'll try and sum this week up in 3 words....

Tender - the tender mercies that are new every morning are no joke.

Extravagant - the Love of God is truly four-dimensional; wider, deeper, higher and longer than we can understand.  I will spend the rest of my life trying to touch the borders but I know I'll never get close.

Real - I ended a Facebook post with this statement last night (when I couldn't sleep):
"Prove God exists and still does the stuff in the Bible, you say. I can. Come see for yourself, May 27th, 7 pm, 11140 Greenbay, Houston, 77024. ‪#‎iamlivingproof‬"

 Open up your heart and let Me in.

Prayer, praise, is to invite the Lord God, the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of the UNIVERSE into your life.  When you really go there with Him, you will never be the same.  Ever.  I am not. And I'll never stop being thankful for it.

Christmas Hypocrite (No More)

We "Church Regulars" tend to make fun of those who only go to church on "Big" Days.  I know  because I'm one of those who's done it.  The ridiculous fact of the matter is I'm a hypocrite because I only used to go on Christmas and Easter.  But now I judge people for it.  Sad.

It's only been 11 years since that change.  Ironically, my re-salvation came from the lips of someone calling me a hypocrite.  My boss at the time, in a moment of frustration over my behavior in a meeting, pointed the proverbial finger at me and called me a hypocrite for claiming the name of of Christ and having none of His character.  This was truly a case of, when accused of being a Christian, there was no evidence to convict me.

I thank God He removed that identity a few painful hours later.  I felt (more than heard) Jesus ask me if I wanted to stop being a hypocrite and live up to the name I claimed.  I said yes and all I can tell you is something shifted in me - down to the very core of my being.  I got a new life, a new identity...His.  It hasn't been easy to figure out what that looks like, but it is a reality, as imperfectly as I sometimes demonstrate it to be.

Reflecting on that, my heart is stirred this morning by a Facebook post from my pastor, Christian Washington.  He shared out the original post by our "Big" Church, Chapelwood UMC.  It is a prayer from the perspective of those who don't go to church very often.  I included it at the end.

It makes no difference how many times you come to church because families aren't built on quantity.  They are built on the quality of love and blood-ties.  In the Church, we have both: the love of Christ and His shed blood makes us one with Him and His Father.  It is similar to this: I don't see my brother, Craig, every week, but that doesn't change the fact that he is MY BROTHER AND I LOVE HIM.

You are no less family even if we see you once or twice a year.

In the Body of Christ, we should be the MOST grateful for those we don't see often.  We should treat them like we miss them, so maybe they will want to come more often!  Yet, what usually happens is, we judge those visitors the harshest (even if, like me, we were once like them.)  We have all been prodigals - traveling towards a moment of realization that home is better than our present circumstances.  But us "older, more responsible brothers" tend to get our noses in a twist.  (See Luke 15:28-29 here.)

In the craziness of this world, the times we live in, the confluence of events happening in our nation and world, you never know what is going to motivate someone to enter (or re-enter) a relationship with Christ.  The best rule of thumb is always to pour the love on thick.  That is what Jesus would do.  It is what He has always done.  If we are to accurately celebrate His birth and future return, we best do it with love in our hearts for fellow man, not hatred because they don't live up to our standards.

To those who don't go to church often - if you have ever felt judged by stares, glares or even a nasty comment or two, please forgive us "regulars." I include myself in that plea.  We are imperfect people, obviously in need grace because we don't have it right yet, even if we think we do.  Forgive us our trespasses against you.

To those who do go to church often - do some heart-house-cleaning if you tend to judge others.  It hurts you more than them.  It hurts them too and it is not God's best for anyone.  Scoot to the middle of aisle, smile at everyone and bask in the glory of Your God.  He knows you well and He loves you more than you can imagine.

I prayed this back in November, but I hope the Lord makes this holiday season....different.  I hope He changes us in ways that leave us different for the rest of the year.  I hope His Presence is tangible in every Christmas Eve service, in every candle lit, in every song sung and in every word prayed or preached.

You are loved.  You are family.  And we are glad to see you.  Hosanna in the Highest! 

A Christmas Eve Prayer for Those Who Don't Attend Church - by Bishop Ken Carter
I don’t go to church very often, Lord.
I don’t go at all…well, I am here at Christmas.
I’m home then. I feel drawn to it.
I like the Christmas Eve service.
The coolness of the air,
the aroma of the candles,
the familiarity of gathering with strangers.
I feel like a kid again.
It’s surreal.

I know it’s common to make fun of people like me.
What can I say? I’ve drifted…
But something pulls me back
Are You speaking to me?

I connect with something in the sermon, sometimes,
but mostly it’s the music and the candles.
What is it about the candles?
Darkness and light.
Light and darkness.

I know about light and darkness. I live in both.
I’ve got some of both in me.
And yet there is an impulse,
a movement to be closer to the light.
And so the flame of a stranger touches mine
and I sing the chorus,

Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from thy holy face…

That is the light, the face, the life I seek,
and in this moment, I am touching it.
And then a voice reminds me,
in the echo of ancient words
that are always needed,

the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not overcome it.

I am speaking to you, Lord,
but on this night, from every conceivable direction,
you are speaking to me.

And I am listening.

To See the Glory of God

Didn't I tell you that if you keep trusting, you will see the glory of God?

I think my favorite section of Scripture, my #1 (from a long list of favorites), is John 11.  This morning, I added John 12 to it.  I never realized they were concurrent - Mary's anointing of Jesus' feet with her dowry (a jar of very expensive perfume); then wiping it off with her hair following Lazarus' raising from the dead.

That makes sense, of course.  You would throw a party, too, if your brother was raised from the dead.  At the very least, host a dinner party.  But I never saw it before.  Just goes to show you how fresh and exciting Scripture is.  Keep reading it!  

What got me started in John 11 was the verse I quoted above (v. 40), which is one of the Scriptures from today's Jesus Calling.  I've read that chapter a hundred times, but this verse jumped out at me because of a particular issue I've been praying over for my church.

I've been praying against unbelief.  I've been asking the Lord to remove any unbelief from the room, so we could see His glory, His work, His miraculous power clearly.  That we, as a congregation, wouldn't be party to any blocking of the Holy Spirit.  Because that is what unbelief does - it blocks us from seeing God at work.

Lack of belief not only blocks our vision of God's Handiwork, Scripture makes it clear that when unbelief is too thick, it can also keep God from doing His work.  Matthew 13:58 makes that clear.  Jesus could/would only do so much in His hometown because they couldn't/wouldn't believe His miracles meant He was Messiah.  Unbelief doesn't remove God's power - far from it.  I can say, though, it removes His willingness to display His power.  Unbelief displeases Him.  It saddens Him.  I would even go so far as to say it makes Him steaming mad.

Matthew Henry said this: "Unbelief is the great hinderance to Christ's favours."  And Pulpit Commentary echoes that thought: "Our Lord was hindered, not by lack of power, but by lack of those moral conditions which would alone have made his miracles really tend to the spiritual advantage of the inhabitants of Nazareth."

Here, in John 11, Jesus reminds Martha of the power of trust in Him.  This chapter is so rich and I especially love the radically different interactions with both sisters.  Both ladies are mourning the loss of their beloved brother (who, in verse 5, Scripture says Jesus also loved).  Yet, knowing the conditions of their hearts, He engages with them differently.  He gives Martha a chance to display her great faith in Him (redeeming her earlier upbraiding in Luke 10).  Then, when He sees Mary, we see Him break down.  He met them both where they were and it is so touching.  He is, in this chapter, fully man and fully God.

Jesus, the Lord, is not unmoved by darkness and death.  He is right in the thick of it.  Yet, He calls us to look beyond those present circumstances - really beyond the present, to eternity.  Through interactions with both sisters, He makes the same point: Believe in Me and you will Receive from Me.

How many times in our lives, in our church families, do we pull back from full belief in God and His power?

I know I have been there.  I have prayed BIG prayers, only to have them seemingly go unanswered.  I understand now, those prayers were on hold until I could receive the answer.  It isn't that I doubted His power, my heart just wasn't ready.  The answer was blocked from view because my heart still held onto a natural view, versus stepping into a supernatural view.

Some of us flat out don't believe miracles are possible anymore.  We can't even go there - it is too painful, too out of reach.  It is certainly too ridiculous, miracles are beyond the pale.  Those kinds of things happened in Jesus' time, in the Book of Acts, but not now....right?*

It is so hard when we don't see the evidence of our prayers.  They don't always come how we can or want to see them.  The details of the answers to our prayers are not our part.  Our part is to know, to believe and then to receive. 

http://www.thebricktestament.com/jn11_39.html

Martha knew Jesus was the Messiah.  Still, she balked at the idea of opening the tomb.  I get that. But then, she consented to receive when she consented to removing the stone.  She removed the barrier of seeing the Lord's wonders even when I am sure she didn't fully understand how He was going to work. But I feel sure her heart lept in anticipation when the men started to roll away the stone.  Her heart; then the tomb were opened. 

When you dare to believe, your heart opens wide in anticipation.  You may know.  You may believe.  So, the question is: Do you want to receive?

It is a small shift, with enormous consequences.  Martha put all her eggs, whatever remained following the death of her brother, in Christ's basket.  She gave Him all she had and He delivered, above and beyond what she could imagine.  She believed Jesus could have healed Lazarus from his sickness, while he was still alive.  And it isn't that raising the dead was beyond the realm of possibility.  Still, that stretches the limits of our senses, our knowledge.  Dead people don't come back, better than before.  Do they?

Clearly they did then, and they still do.  I was a dead-woman-walking for 15 years and yet, Jesus called me out of the tomb of myself and I came.  Raising a physically dead person is just as great a miracle as raising a spiritually dead person. 

Our current church season of Advent is meant to make room in our hearts to receive.

Christmas and Advent are preludes to Easter, just as the raising of Lazarus is a prelude to Jesus' Resurrection.  We are meant, especially in this time, to want more - more of God; to see His works, His Goodness in the land of the living.  It is right to want and expect this.  The Lord is the Great (and perfect) Gift Giver.  We should expect He wants to give us more.  It is our part to make room in our hearts for Him to pour more in. 

I will continue to ask the Lord to clear my church, the very air of the room - of unbelief.  I want Him to remove any barriers, misconceptions, preconceptions and biases.  I want to see the Glory of God - on a regular basis.  I don't just want the spiritual candy of miracles and wonders, although those results of faith are awesome.  

More than that, I want the people in my community, as the great evangelist and miracle-worker Smith Wigglesworth once counseled a woman, to see Jesus and takes Jesus.

It really isn't any more complicated than that.  When the Lord wants to give, we are to believe and we will receive.  And He always wants to give.  Therefore, we are to always want to receive: Him, His promises, His blessings and His works.

I hope you would pray for belief in your own church family.  I hope you would pray that now, in the season of the Great Miracle of God coming to earth.  I hope you would pray that for yourself.  Let's look to see more of God and we will then see more of His workings in the world.  Keep your eyes open.  He is coming!

*Eric Metaxas' new book is called Miracles.  It is an excellent dissertation on what miracles are, why they happen and he gives some great examples from his own circle of friends.  I highly recommend it, for those who believe in miracles already - and for those who don't.

Questions vs. Questioning - An Christmas Meditation

It's funny how things in my life often line up with things happening in the Church Season.  Usually, that means "Ordinary Time," (the majority of the Church Year).  I would say that best reflects our to-and-fro life - Ordinary. Not in a bad way, just regular ol' life.

But every once and awhile, dots connect and stars align.

My sweet Sophia is in a tough year.  It's called Year 8.  On top of that, she is in 3rd Grade.  I've gone through this once, so I knew it was coming, but it is still tough.  You aren't a little kid anymore but you aren't completely a big kid yet either.  Still, you are required to think like a big kid, which your brain and body are not always ready for.  On top of that, Sophia is a July birthday, so she is one of the youngest in her class.  It can be frustrating for her to figure out what is really expected of her.

That translate into a lot of training and discipline in our house right now.  Discipline specifically for things like back talk, little white lies and "omission" type offenses where you were just not motivated enough to get done what Momma asked you to do (in the time she asked you to do it).  There is always the middle sister factor, too, with a big sister on one side, who is generally Johnny-on-the-spot; and the little sister on the other, who gets away with a lot more than you do.  It's rough.

In the midst of this, the Lord is working on growing one fruit of the Spirit in particular in me: gentleness.  This is not my natural state of being when my kids disobey or are disrespectful.  I'm much more likely to bring down the hammer than be merciful and forgiving. 

Which is no doubt why the Lord is testing and proving me on this particular virtue, especially with Sophia.  We have so much history of me having to push, cajole and flat out make her do stuff - from my days as her caregiver.  The Lord redeemed that, but the reality is still working itself out in my parenting style.

Plus, out of all 3 daughters, Sophia is most like me.  There is a lot of iron sharpening iron going on right now and the sparks tend to fly..

Most of my grievances come in the form of her questioning my authority.  She asks a lot of questions, to be sure, but it's gone to a new level.  Lately, when she asks me a question, her whole attitude towards me (which I can read on her face) is: "Mother, you have no idea what you are talking about!"

On Sunday, I was inspired to ask her if she knew the difference between asking for information and questioning me.

She didn't, so I explained like this: It comes down to heart.  Question asking is ok, because you are looking for clarity and understanding.  Questioning means you doubt the authority/credibility/integrity of the person you are interacting with.  One is purely for information (question asking).  The other is an effort to stand your ground because you feel you are right and the other person is wrong (questioning).

It just so happened, on Monday at Ms. Janice's house for prayer, we read the Christmas story, including Luke's account.  It was then I saw the Biblical illustration of this principle of doubt of intention (questioning) vs. confirmation of action (questions).

It plays out with 2 people: Zechariah and Mary. 

In summary: in Luke 1:5-25, Zechariah loses his voice because he questioned the plan of God, told to him by the angel Gabriel.  Even though he and his wife were old enough to be grandparents, they
would have a son who would declare the Messiah's arrival.  That son ended up being John the Baptist, the last prophet to the Jews.  However, even in the middle of the Temple, on the Jewish high-holiest day of the year, Zechariah didn't believe what this messenger from on high was saying.  He doubted, he balked.  Zechariah flat out did not believe God!

In contrast, from Luke 1:26-38, there is Mary, the mother of Jesus, also being visited by Gabriel.  He brings her some outrageous news too.  He says, "You, my dear, you teenage virgin, are going to get pregnant and that child is going to be the Son of God."  Mary had questions, good ones, in fact.  But she didn't lose her voice because Gabriel was able to see the intention behind those questions.  Unlike Zechariah, who asked with doubt, fear and rebellion in his heart; Mary asked from a heart just wanted to know how all this was going to work, so she could respond appropriately.

This is not the revelation for me, although this has been communicated to the people of God down through the ages: Zechariah doubted, Mary didn't.

What hit me was: despite the initial questions, even in doubt and disbelief, Zechariah came around.  He and Mary, both, ended up acting in faith.  They obeyed the Lord becoming major contributors in the plans and purposes of the Almighty Savior, come to earth. 

It's true, Jesus would come regardless of their participation.  God could have found other vessels, but He saw past Zechariah's doubt.  God stayed with him, even as He disciplined him for his unbelief.  Mary was blessed because she believed outright.  Zechariah, even in his reluctance obedience, ended up being blessed too.

Our God is that faithful.  He is that merciful.  

Even when eternity is on the line, He doesn't forsake us.  His Promises were fulfilled and the people He asked to be involved were willing - even if the process of getting them there was different.

That gives me a lot of hope for Sophia and myself.  It renews my faith in our Great God, who is more than capable of handling our doubts, our rejection, our disbelief - and yes, even our disobedience...and still doing wonderful things in and through our lives.

Because of this awareness now, I can be more gentle with Sophia in her questioning and patient with her questions.  I don't have to be fed up with it.  I can (and will) remember this stage isn't the last one, or the last time, we will face doubt, disbelief and disobedience with our kids.

This, too, shall pass.
 
Because the church season of Advent is when we remember God's first incarnation and look ahead in anticipation of His Second Coming, I am reassured.  Zechariah and Mary remind me of a singular truth.  It proves without a doubt, the God of Heaven is involved here on Earth.  Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow....even when we have to be convinced to receive them....in faith, eventually, we will.

The How: The Simple Disciplines of Gratitude & Praise (Growing in Faith Series)

A couple of weeks ago, I started a series and this continues the thread.  This is the How of the Who, What, When, Where, Why of faith.  I like that is happens to fall in Thanksgiving Week.  It fits.  (In the first post, I covered the What, you can read that here.)

I'm a personal believer in the power of gratitude, especially as commanded in Scripture.*  But as I grow in faith, I've discovered something remarkable.  Gratitude is the root of the fruit of the Spirit we think of as Joy.  Have you ever met a sour-faced joyful person?  No way!  Grateful people are smiling.  They freely sing, dance, give, serve, study and all those other things we should do as Christians.  Freely being the keyword here.

In fact, the people you know who have the deepest well of joy have learned, through literal trial and much error, to be thankful in all situations.  Giving thanks and praising God has set them free from the weight of sin, from death.  They know these two simple practices have immense power, and are perhaps our greatest weaponry on the spiritual battlefield.**

It might seem a bit shallow to say gratitude and praise are the biggest guns in our arsenal.  We've been taught to go deep in study, prayer, service, giving.  We feel we must start an orphanage across the globe.  These are all very good things, and I wish we all did more of them.  But there is a fundamental problem - we often don't have the purest intentions when we do them.  They tend to be about us and what we do for God, rather than freely (again that word) giving without expectation of anything in return.

That issue hits home in a a book I'm writing called The Jesus Rule, based on Christ's answer to the question: what is the greatest commandment?  He answers pretty simply, quoting Deuteronomy 6 and tacking on Leviticus 19, to create the be-all-end-all commandment to please the Lord.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.

Christ says that 3 times in 3 Gospels: Matthew 22:37-39, Mark 12:28-31 and Luke 10:25-28.  You know if God repeats something three times, we better listen.  Those red-letter words support my point: Jesus was never about what we do for God.  He was about experiencing God by letting He Who is love transform you and those around you.  I submit to you now: the shortest distance between God's love and experiencing it is gratitude and praise.

That's why I call them disciplines because they should be practiced daily, if not hourly.  That looks like saying "Thank You, Lord;" like saying grace before a meal, but not only then.  We should be saying grace over everything.  We should be declaring (out loud) Who God is and What He has done/is doing/will do.  Stormie Omartian, in The Prayer That Changes Everything, writes these wros on the very first page of the introduction,

If prayer is communicating with God, then the purest form of prayer is worship and praise.  That's because it focuses our minds and hearts entirely away from ourselves and onto Him.

If praise is our vertical beam of the Cross, then gratitude is our horizontal.  Gratitude is how we demonstrate His power and work in our lives.  They are two halves of the whole.  In them, we meet the Lord, coming to a greater, fuller understanding of Who He is.  Our love for Him will grow wildly as a result.

Trust me when I tell you this because I've been practicing it for awhile: When you truly praise God; when you are truly thankful for Him - you will find what you've been missing in your faith walk.  If you are struggling to get closer to God, to feel His Presence more, these two active truths are the keys to opening the door of your heart to Him.  Maybe you are struggling with sin, with a diagnosis, with money problems, with your kids (whatever).....it is time to bust out your big guns of thanksgiving and worship.

Jesus told the Samaritan Woman at the Well in John 4, there will come a day when the place we worship doesn't matter, but instead the position of our hearts.  We will worship in spirit AND in truth.

For it’s not where we worship that counts, but how we worship—is our worship spiritual and real? Do we have the Holy Spirit’s help? For God is Spirit, and we must have his help to worship as we should. The Father wants this kind of worship from us. (v. 22-23, TLB)

The fastest way to have the kind of relationship the Father wants is to praise and thank His Son through His Spirit.  

Quote from Watchman Nee

This are very simple practices, truly.  No theology degrees required.  Yet, when we practice them, they will become our greatest witness to the world of the love and power of Christ: to save, heal, deliver, provide and set free.  They usher in the Kingdom of God right in our own hearts, right here at our desks or where we are on our phones.  Gratitude and Praise bring the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth: in your house, car, workplace, school, neighborhood, gym and especially in your church.

We have such a tendency to be what the Bible calls "double-minded."  We think about God on one half of our brain, but the other half is all about ourselves: what we are feeling; what we think is right; what others are doing/have done to us; what we will eat next; what we will wear next, etc.  The Lord wants us to be singularly focused on Him, which is why The Jesus Rule makes sense.  Jesus always started with God, so we must start there. 

A.W. Tozer called Psalm 103 "God's Pitch Pipe."***  If you know anything about music, a pitch pipe is used to get a choir in tune.  Psalm 103 is a great place to start, but you can just keep going through Psalm 109 (or just go through most of the Psalms, if not all).  Worship and Thanksgiving will not only build your faith, in them you will get eyes and ears to experience the Lord in real-time. There is no better easier week in America, no more acceptable time in our calendar year, to be grateful for the vast blessings we have.  

Take Thanksgiving Week one more step further.  Call it Thanks & Praise Week.  Be grateful and praise God for it.  Let Him get your spirit in tune with His.  Let this holiday season be different because it is marked by what really pleases the Lord: Not good works, not giving, not getting along with your relatives, but gratitude and praise of His name.

*For your study, here are some references to commands from Scripture to be grateful: Psalm 50:14; Psalm 100:4; Psalm 107:22; Psalm 116:17; Isaiah 51:3; Mark 8:6; Luke 22:17; Romans 1:21; 1 Corinthians 15:57; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; Philippians 4:4,6,8-9; Revelation 7:12

**So you know, the enemy can't get to you when you are thankful and full of praise.  It expels him from the area because you are submitting to the Lord.  He has to flee.  So, if you are experience some spiritual warfare, break out your shofar (that's a reference to a horn the Hebrews often used going into battle and it's purpose is to praise God).  You've got one, right there in your throat.  Shout your praise to God - thank Him with all your might.  Then you will see the very atmosphere of the room change.  I know this for a fact too.

***Thank you to my precious, dearest friend and mentor, Janice Heffer Wright, for telling me A.W. Tozer's comment during a sermon she heard him preach (in person!) so long ago.  I have never forgotten it!

What Limits Your Faith?

The Lord gave me an idea for a post series, I'm calling "Questions of Faith."  Some of them are questions we have of God, but some of them are questions God has of us.  Today's entry is the What.  The When, Where, How, Why and Who come a little later.

It's right to start with this question though: What limits our faith?  With all that is possible with God, proved in Scripture and being proved around the world in other nations (especially for those Christians under terrible persecution), why aren't we seeing more of that here in the United States?  Why aren't miracles happening on mass scale and wonders beyond belief part of our every day lives?

Let me address that first: we are.  The United States has as many miracles and wonders happening as in Africa or Asia.  I truly believe that.  I can't accept the notion miracles aren't happening here because I see them every day.  I'm not delusional.  Truly, I see what God is doing, I pay attention and it is the truth.  I have a miracle living in my house in the body of an 8 year old girl.  The fact that I'm sitting in this chair, with the faith to write this post is a miracle.

The lie, the illusion is that the American Church is dying or already dead.  The news is that we are so broken, so hopeless, we can't ever grow again.  We won't ever experience revival here in the States because we are too far gone down the road of division and submission to culture, rather than Christ.  Wouldn't the enemy love us to just keep promoting that slime, like it's the truth?

In the natural, I see what is happening.  I see the decline, I see the wrong motives we've had for the last hundred years.  I see that our seminaries no longer teach the inerrancy of Scripture and major denominations are splitting over issues whether we should follow the clear commands of Scripture.  Yet, I also I see (and am part of) the most spiritually rich information era ever on planet Earth.  And I don't think the Lord plans to waste this time, when people have unlimited resources to come to Him.

Yes, it's bad in the natural and will get worse.  But that doesn't mean it's all over.  His mercies are new every morning.  

Sunrise means another chance

The Bible clearly outlines a principle called The Remnant, in both the Old and New Testaments.  Here is the Apostle Paul calling it out in Romans 11:5,

But what is the divine response to him? "I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL." In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.…

Point being: it isn't up to us who is part of that remnant.  We don't get to determine who is right and who is wrong - God does.  And He does it based on His revealed Word and in the Person of Jesus Christ.  What gets us all twisted is we think a remnant means a tiny number.  I don't.  I think a few million would do just fine.  IF....what?

If we would take the governors off our hearts.

A governor is something used to limit speed on a car.  The car would go much, much faster, if the engine were allowed to do so.  I most recently saw this in Abu Dhabi, where the governors kept the taxis from going over a certain speed - I'm sure to promote safe driving.  

Governors are good, they can promote order.  But in a life of faith, they create a dependency on what is, what we already know, instead of what can be.  We don't experience more of God's miraculous workings here in the American Church because we've been living with speed limitors on our faith.  Those things put in place, to create order, but instead have held us back.

Don't get me wrong, order is a good thing, but not when it comes at the expense of quenching the Spirit's work.

If we would only take off the governors of our faith, we would see a speed explosion of revival.  This victory is only going to be won when we praise God, not just for what He has done or what we know of Him, but Who He says He is and all the spiritual, emotional, mental and physical implications of that revelation.  

The lack of praise of His name is one of the major reasons - if not THE major reason - for the decline of the American Church.

But friends, we are making a comeback.  There is an awakening happening, in the Baby Boomers, in Generation X, Y, the Millennials. People of over age, race, ethnic orientation - they are all looking for authenticity of faith and are coming together to make it happen.  They are coming together for the purpose of praise, to be overcomers by the Blood of the Lamb and their testimony of what God has done....which leads us to think out of the box of what God will do when we trust Him more fully.  

The walls are coming down because they have to.  Those walls of long held tradition and separatism are being unmasked for what they are: division created by the enemy. Our part is to want to be a part of what God is doing; to not miss out on this great chance to be apart of something, not only bigger than us, but a revival more intense and immense than any ever seen.

It is God's grace that seals the deal, but He is not going to turn anyone away who seeks His face.  2 Chronicles 16:9 promises, The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

You just have to be brave enough to ask yourself - what is holding me back from more of God?

Are you too busy?

Are you too tired or sick?

Are you too anger (and bitter) because your prayers haven't been answered the way you wanted?

Do you carry a grudge against someone?

Do you want more than you need?

Do you have problems too big for Him to solve?

Has everyone let you down, including God?

Has your family always been bad, so you can't be any different?

Has it just always been this way? 

If we want to be released, as individuals and the Church at large, we have to be willing to be adjusted.  We don't make these adjustments, God shows them to us...when we ask the question.  Even if it is a doctrinal issue or teaching which could be holding you back; it must be tested in light of Scripture.  If it is truly from God, it will hold up under the microscope of His truth.  If not?  Well, then welcome to the new.

There are two reasons why we aren't seeing more of God: fear and pride.  Those are the deepest roots and the hardest to pull up.  And Fear and Pride are the enemy's favorite weapons, the evil twins of Goodness and Mercy, meant to be our companions.  (See Psalm 23).

Our constant pursuit of God is not only about what we think is right (pride) or what we can handle (fear).  There is a much deeper work the Lord seeks to do in us, through His very own character, forming us into His Son.  Praise does that - it radically changes who we are on the inside to line up with who God is on the outside.  

All of the New Testament was written to redefine what we think is possible.  Christ's whole mission was to prove what is possible with God - and the possibilities are limitless, just as He is.  He came to set us free, restore our sight, deliver us from the pit (Psalm 103:3-5).

Is there any reason to limit our faith, to keep the governors on?

We can see an explosion of the speed of transformation.  We have to be willing to let Him take the blinders off by asking the question.  Regardless of whether it is our expectations, experience, knowledge - or anything else - those don't matter to God.  He can and will show us - when we are willing - what is possible.  He did it during His life, after His ascension, over the last 2,000 years.  He is still doing it today.  

He isn't going to let our Church perish, even if He has to prune us down to a size He can work with.  

But that is His business.  Our business is to desire Him, to desire our eyes to be opened to His work.

If your life is rough or if it lacks a certain luster, it maybe time to have a serious conversation with your God, to ask Him what is keeping you from experiencing all He has for you.  I ask that question nearly every day.  I want to see the goodness of God in the land of the living (Psalm 27:13).

You will never feel more alive when you step off the cliff of what you know into the wide, opens spaces of God's love, mercy and grace.  You may feel like you are falling, or sinking, at times, but trust me - He will pick you up - raise your head up to see His face.  Just keep focused on Him. It is so much better than staying comfortable and (seemingly) safe in what you know.

Let this song sink into your soul.  Then ask Holy Spirit to take the limits off and release your faith.   No limits.  Release Me, Lord.

Operating from God's Abundance over My Own Lack

A friend of mine asked me today how often I blog.  Well.....

Let's just say I'd like to post more.  I've got a lot to say, but not enough time to write, especially as I've been working on my book, revamped and retitled The Jesus Rule.  Plus, there was that little jaunt to the Middle East for a week with my husband and then I had to recover from jet lag....

At this moment, I'm eating a lean cuisine snack I found buried in the back of my freezer (because I need to go to the grocery store) amidst a desk cluttered with papers crying out to be organized, bills needing to be paid and Girl Scout forms to be completed.  The baby is asleep before school pick up (and we go to said grocery store) so instead of all that, I decided I would rather write this post, time or no. 

It's that, but I've also been processing this new/not new precept the Lord has been trying to teach me.  I guess you could say I've learned it some measure in my own life, but the Holy Spirit is trying to teach me how to live it, by faith, for others.  It isn't new, truly, it is the foundation for every abundant life in Christ.  It is the principle the Apostle Paul calls out in Philippians 4:19,

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.  - Philippians 4:19

In 5 very different, very active scenarios, I've had the opportunity to very actively apply my faith.  It is that faith that believes He is the God Who supplies all my needs, so He can do it for others if I ask Him to.  As I've stayed with those the Lord brought into my life, I've seen the Hand of God, sometimes before I've even asked for it.

It has proven out two things:
1. The Lord knows what we need better than we do.
2. His methods are far more specific to meet those needs then what we know to ask for.

Before the most recent situations came to my attention and involvement, I had a dream I got pregnant, had the baby and immediately got pregnant again.  Meaning I would have five children!  In the dream, I bawled when I found out I was pregnant with the fifth.  I kept saying,

I can't handle any more, Lord!

That I'm now engaged in 5 different ministry activities is not lost on me.  It was a prophetic dream because that's the way I've felt a lot of times in the few weeks since these "God Assignments" have been offered.  When you step out in faith, you get more than you can handle because Jesus wants you to give it back to Him to handle.  He ALWAYS gives you more for the purpose of teaching you absolute dependence on Him and His resources.  I.E.: You are not supposed to do it by yourself!

This all started after Labor Day.  I was challenged by a friend at church to notice, engage and pray for the "invisible" people in our lives.  So one Tuesday, I pulled over (sans children) to talk with and pray for an older man who was panhandling. His name is John Lindsey and the sign he carries tells a lot of his story.  His need was/is money.  Social Security covers only half of what he needs to live, plus he has major medical issues.  We talked for awhile and I prayed for him, including claiming Philippians 4:19 for him.  In addition to the money I had in my wallet, I gave him my card.

During our conversation, I told him my church could help and I was confident we could.  The funny thing is, as I walked back to my car, I had a desperate, empty feeling in my gut.  I'd given him what I had, including my access to the Lord, including asking boldly for the Lord to meet his needs.  Now what?

I was confronted in that moment by my utter lack of ability to help John.  I was not in a position to support him beyond what I already had done.  I was very discouraged, when I expected the opposite to be true.  Aren't you supposed to feel good when you help someone?  I thought so, but I was mistaken.  Sometimes, a situation is too big, too complex for you to solve.  Here was the lesson to be learned.  I was so used to being able to help people out of my own resources and make a difference.

But, in this assignment, I was not going to be the one who made the difference.  I had to let Jesus be out in front on this one - not Amy.  If it was truly to be about Him, He had to do the work.  I had to ask and then I had to let go and let Him do it.  I had to acknowledge my very real lack of supply and to call on God's.

I had to trust the Lord would care for him.  So, when I got back to my car, that's what I prayed for. Ultimately, that is what happened, as after a few weeks later, he called me.

To make a long story short, My church did help him.  I've been keeping in touch and able to put him with a few other resources.  It's not anything earth-shattering, but it is helping, praise God.  I'm finding being an usher for the Kingdom of God is most often in the small details.  It is in being willing to be used by God for the betterment of someone else, so they will see His glory.

It is about trusting God, not myself.

In the other scenarios, I almost feel I am wearing my old recruiting hat - trying to match people up with the right Kingdom resource to help them get better and closer to Christ.  It is laughable, but enjoyable too.  We often think of ministry as focused, to one particular group of people.  I'm learning about all sorts of different resources, building up my knowledge and preparing for the future.  I know the Lord will use that at some point, but for now, my job is to learn.

Sometimes He gives me what to pray about and do.  Sometimes that discernment doesn't come so I rely on Peter's words from Acts 3:6, I have no silver or gold, but what I have, I give you.

In those moments, I give what I know - my access to Christ in prayer.   It doesn't seem like much - when we pray for someone.  But in those moments, I have to trust it is what the Lord would have me do - to introduce them and their needs, so He can take over providing.  And if we stop reading there, we might miss the enormous impact of that supernatural introduction.

That's not the end of the story though.

After Peter speaks those words, he heals a man crippled from birth.  Peter presented his power in Christ, to heal and restore, and that is what happened.  It happens still.  I believe the Lord is gently preparing me, you and the American Church at large to witness and perform those types of miracles.  It is already happening everywhere else around the world.  When we give what we have, when we rely on Him, trust Him to fill in what feel like gaping chasms of need, He will and miracles abound!

I'm not sure how, I'm not sure when but I believe He will meet your deepest need.  He has more than enough for all of us, so I pray we start asking for it.  We don't receive because we don't ask - as the Apostle James so wisely pointed out.  And don't just ask for the obvious, not just for the safe.  Ask for the big stuff, for the miraculous.  Ask for His perfect and pleasing will of healing, redemption, restoration and salvation in the lives of people you know.  

Let's see what happens when we start, asking in faith, not hedging our bets.  God loves it when His people go out on a limb.  He loves to shower blessing when His people seek it from Him, from His overflowing stores houses of Heaven.  Let's not just pray

If it is Your will....

But rather

We want Your will, Lord!

Ask Him to supply our needs and do His will in us and around us in remarkable ways and watch what starts to happen!

Too Legit to Quit

My friend Leslie made a statement, while we were on the phone today, that rung inside me like the Liberty Bell.  We were talking about the obstacles I've been dealing with for the past couple of weeks, namely, two of my kids being sick at any given time.  This following a month long battle with lice during the summer that began right after Natalie broke her arm.

My prayer circle and I have been calling sickness off my house for awhile.  Well, I should say, first it was pestilence (with the lice) and now it's illness.  (I hope the other 2 horsemen of the Apocalypse are busy elsewhere at the moment.)  Still, it's lingering and crops up at fairly inconvenient times, although getting sick is never convenient.  On slower weeks, it is easier to handle, but we haven't had a "slow week," since well before school started.

The crux of the conversation was to restate the reason I've known all this to be happening.  The enemy has been nipping at my heels since I took on more prayer and a role to lead others in prayer at my church.  My spiritual Achilles heels are pretty sore.  We were discussing how the enemy certainly does not like it when we pray, especially when we are praying for big changes, big movements of God.

I told her that's what I've been doing. And that's when she said it.

We think sometimes Satan is trying to sneak up on us, but in reality, he often distracts us with what is already there, that we just haven't noticed.  Sometimes he provides legitimate distractions.

My kids being sick definitely falls in that category.

I didn't stumble, I didn't fall.  I didn't leave myself open for his attack by entertaining the idea of some besetting sin.  No, Satan is using something generally acceptable in life as a reason for me to check out.  All this care for my kids is a concerted effort to keep me out of the game, off the spiritual battlefield.  He has given me a legitimate excuse for hanging back from the responsibilities I've taken on and the growth in the Lord I'm pursuing.

He has given me legitimate reasons to quit.  I could check out and "everyone would understand."

I put that last part in quotes because they would.  They know my bandwidth and family situation.  They would give me a pass to take a breather and be really gracious about it.  Except that is a critical time: for me, our family, our community of faith - even for the world at large.

I'm not saying humanity depends on me.  But Jesus is depending on me.  He's given me a task and if I'm to witness Him in the work of it, I need to keep going.  If I don't, He will raise up someone else and they will get what was to be my crown, my blessings; now and in eternity.

The best reasons to quit always present themselves at the most critical time.  If making you fail is not an option, making you quit becomes the devil's greatest weapon.  If he can discourage you, make you tired and give you lots of good reasons to stay at home, rather than be out with God's people, praying, serving, learning and loving; He will do it.  Make no mistake, He will do it!  He is doing it right now....to me. 

The beauty of all the reasons, distractions, excuses is....the Lord is giving me the chance to learn to see them as opportunities for the acceleration His work.

The ringed rainbow moon at 3:30 am

As I was driving back from the 24 hour Walgreen's at 3:30 am this morning (because we didn't have any infant Advil for Ella), the Lord put something on my heart.  He's been working, steadily and for a long time, to teach me to depend on Him moment-by-moment.  That's the essence of a victorious life in Christ - not the number of souls you save but the number of minutes a day you choose to trust Jesus over everything else.

In one second, He turned my head to see things His way.  He said,

You could keep doing laps around this mountain you want to climb, frustrated by all the interruptions.  Or, you could see this as my throwing you a rope, out of the muck and mire of irritation.  You can depend on me to pull you up, to do this My way and in My time; secure in the fact I know best and eventually this mountain will move, or I will move you around it.

So, there it is, once again: my choice, my challenge.  Believe God or be frustrated His plan (and my day) isn't going the way I envisioned.  Give into these legitimate opportunities to quit, or just take a break from working for the Lord.

OR

(As the modern poet MC Hammer puts it)

I can be too legit to quit.

I am legitimately in Christ.  I am a blood bought purchase and I am every day called His Beloved.  I choose to live in that place, that identity.  I reject the thought I have to feel inconvenienced or this work for God is not worth all the shrapnel I'm being hit with.  I refuse to give Satan any more glory, to let him try and take back any more ground in my life.

It's a process and this preparation will not go to waste.  How and when He will use the character He is forming in me is up to Him,  My part is to let Him do the work.  My part is to let Him teach me how to handle the interruptions and distractions without malice, anger, frustration, irritation - but rather in joy, peace, patience, faithfulness kindness, goodness, and yes....even self-control.

That's what's really legit.

P.S. Don't forget you are just as legit.  Keep going, it will be worth it.

P. P.S. I asked the Lord to show me He can use me, even if I am legitimately distracted with concerns at home.  My best friend Lynn just experienced this phenomena, after being laid up with some health issues.  The Lord literally brought people into her house she could serve and witness to, so I asked for the same opportunity.

It happened!  I got confirmation late this afternoon someone I'm recently acquainted with reads this blog and shares my love for Jesus Calling.  She is encouraged by our story, especially Sophia's victory of cancer.  This confirmation is a reminder to keep doing what I'm doing, whether it feels like I'm making a big impact or not.


It doesn't matter where or who you are, God will make the best of it, when you let Him.

#Straight up #legit