Got this email this morning. God speaks to me through email a lot. He knows that I have a tendency to be compulsive about checking my email. Sometimes more compulsive about that than intentionally spending time with Him.
I felt a check in my spirit reading this:
Think back to when you met that man/woman that you just knew would be the one. Remember when you realized/admitted to yourself that you loved him/her. Now remember how much you wanted to act like you were in a movie, and yell to everyone in the football stadium "I love (fill in the name)!" You told family and friends how perfect he/she was; he/she was justwhat you were looking for.
Well, I told THE LORD that I love Him today.
And He said to me, "How much do you love me? You haven't told anyone how good I've been to you. You haven't shared how perfect my love is. You haven't spread the good news that I am always there to listen to your problems. You haven't told your family how I helped you pay your bills when you didn't have a high paying job, or how I got you a better one. You haven't shared with anyone how I took away that addiction that would have cost you not only your job, but also that man/woman that was just what you were looking for. So how much do you really love me?"So, I said I would share with my friends and family (for starters) just how wonderful, perfect, understanding, patient, loving, unselfish, considerate and forgiving GOD really is. He has blessed me with a family that loves me and friends that I can confide in. But even more than that, He has saved me from destruction I couldn't even see coming.He gave to me the peace of knowing Him, and He has never broken a promise. Truly, He is the best thing that has ever happened to me.And I stand in my stadium today to tell to you all, "I LOVE THE LORD!"
Telling folks that I love the Lord and how good He is isn't so much the issue for me. But showing Him that He's Number One in my life: consistently getting up early to spend quiet time with Him in the morning, consistently spending time studying His Word, consistently memorizing scripture so that it's branded on my heart. I do all these things, but my problem is consistency. I blame work, age, hormones, and hectic schedules, for my lack of consistency. But the truth is: I must discipline myself. Regardless of how I feel. Regardless of what time of the month it is. Regardless.
When I was dating Craig, I would go with just a few hours sleep so that we could make plans to be together. Thought about him all day, talked on the phone constantly. Nothing could get in my way. It's really easy to see just how those lame excuses stack up when I am driven by fresh, new, exciting love. (Greek: eros; Hebrew: dode; English: desire, passion, erotic)
What would my husband think if I left for work one single morning without kissing him goodbye and telling him I love him?
What would I think about his love for me if he did the same?
Just one single time. My feelings would be hurt.
God gives me new mercies every morning. He is faithful, even when I'm not. I want and earnestly seek that unquenchable fire in my spirit that drives me to consistency in a deep, intimate, consuming, single-minded relationship with Jesus Christ.
Steven Curtis Chapman's words say it best for me:
So capture my heart again
Take me to depths I’ve never been
Into the riches of Your grace and Your mercy
Return me to the cross
And let me be completely lost
In the wonder of the love
That You’ve shown me
Cut through these chains that tie me down
to so many lesser things
Let all my dreams fall to the ground
Until this one remains
You are everything I want
And You are everything I need Lord,
You are all my heart desires
You are everything to me
You are everything I want
You are everything I need
I want You to be my one consuming passion
Everything my heart desires
Lord, I want it all to be for You
I want it all to be for You, Jesus
Be my magnificent obsession
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
No one ever said faith was fun
We were having dinner with several friends recently. The discussion centered around a particular venture in which several of us are involved. One of the fellows with us is a particularly pragmatic individual who analyzes every nuance of any movement or decision he makes – often to the point of seeming excruciatingly slow. As we discussed our plans, he was busy trying to find holes in our arguments. He refused to be easily convinced of the benefits of this endeavor. We playfully poked fun at him for being overly-analytical and joked that he should just jump out of the boat and walk on the waves. As we laughed together, another fellow looked at the foot dragger and said, “No one ever said faith was fun.”
Coulda heard a pin drop.
I had to think about that rather profound statement. Have I ever walked in faith and been able to say that it was actually fun? Walking in faith is walking into the unknown, the unfamiliar, the uncomfortable.
What about answering God’s call to be a missionary to an uncivilized tribe in the jungles of Africa? Stepping out of the boat in the middle of the sea as the storm churns the water and winds? Telling the king you will not bow down to him – but only to The One True God? What about tithing when there are more bills than money? Witnessing to that arrogant, foul-mouthed, agnostic co-worker? Any of these ventures sound like fun?
If it ain’t just a little bit scary, it probably doesn’t require faith.
God told Abraham to leave his homeland for an unknown land. God instructed Moses to go before Pharoah and demand the release of the Israelites. Joshua was promised the city of Jericho if the Israelites would march around the city walls, shout and blow their trumpets. Gideon went into battle against hundreds of thousands of Midianites with only three hundred men – and with trumpets, torches, and empty jars as their only weapons.
Each one of these men was probably labeled as crazy for their actions. And the scripture says nothing about them running ahead with the plan, all the while laughing, whooping it up and having a grand old time.
When I think of fun, none of these instances come to mind. Fun things are light-hearted, carefree activities. Fun takes no courage, commitment, or discipline. But acts of faith require all of these characteristics. Acts of faith are what books are written about – one particular Book comes to mind. Acts of faith warm our hearts and encourage us in our journey with Christ. Faith results in joy and peace.
Fun is momentary. Joy is eternal.
Look at Hebrews 12:2: Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
His trip to Golgotha wasn’t fun. But He completed our faith for all eternity by allowing Himself to be crucified. For us. Why? Because our release from the clutches of Satan was the JOY that He had His eyes fixed upon. His JOY is eternal and He shares it with us.
You know what? I’ll bet that spending eternity in heaven with The Father, Son and Holy Spirit will be a little bit fun. What do you think?
Coulda heard a pin drop.
I had to think about that rather profound statement. Have I ever walked in faith and been able to say that it was actually fun? Walking in faith is walking into the unknown, the unfamiliar, the uncomfortable.
What about answering God’s call to be a missionary to an uncivilized tribe in the jungles of Africa? Stepping out of the boat in the middle of the sea as the storm churns the water and winds? Telling the king you will not bow down to him – but only to The One True God? What about tithing when there are more bills than money? Witnessing to that arrogant, foul-mouthed, agnostic co-worker? Any of these ventures sound like fun?
If it ain’t just a little bit scary, it probably doesn’t require faith.
God told Abraham to leave his homeland for an unknown land. God instructed Moses to go before Pharoah and demand the release of the Israelites. Joshua was promised the city of Jericho if the Israelites would march around the city walls, shout and blow their trumpets. Gideon went into battle against hundreds of thousands of Midianites with only three hundred men – and with trumpets, torches, and empty jars as their only weapons.
Each one of these men was probably labeled as crazy for their actions. And the scripture says nothing about them running ahead with the plan, all the while laughing, whooping it up and having a grand old time.
When I think of fun, none of these instances come to mind. Fun things are light-hearted, carefree activities. Fun takes no courage, commitment, or discipline. But acts of faith require all of these characteristics. Acts of faith are what books are written about – one particular Book comes to mind. Acts of faith warm our hearts and encourage us in our journey with Christ. Faith results in joy and peace.
Fun is momentary. Joy is eternal.
Look at Hebrews 12:2: Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
His trip to Golgotha wasn’t fun. But He completed our faith for all eternity by allowing Himself to be crucified. For us. Why? Because our release from the clutches of Satan was the JOY that He had His eyes fixed upon. His JOY is eternal and He shares it with us.
You know what? I’ll bet that spending eternity in heaven with The Father, Son and Holy Spirit will be a little bit fun. What do you think?
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
The Protective Hand of God
I was going through my old journals and found this entry from July, 2007. As I relived the event in my mind while I read, the smile just stretched across my face - from ear to ear. Enjoy!
July 12, 2007
Let me just tell you how awesome God is!
You know how we get up and go about our business everyday. We pray for guidance and protection as a habit everyday. But we don’t really have any concept of exactly what God shields us from on a daily basis. Today, He reminded me of just how much He loves me and how much junk He protects me from.
Driving to work southbound on I-75. Suddenly I felt something strike the back of my car and instinctively put my foot on the brake. A violent vibration took over and I could not control the wheel. I was holding on for dear life, with my foot on the brake, saying over and over … “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus”. The car veered to the left and into the grassy median, I wrestled the steering wheel back toward the road. Once back on the pavement, the car veered toward the other side of the road. I felt the G-force pushing the car to my left, and felt that the car would flip at any second. All the while, I’m crying out, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus”. Suddenly the car came to a stop cross-ways in the middle of three lanes of the interstate. I drew in a breath and said “Thank you Jesus.” I looked to my right and saw two pickup trucks sitting inches from my vehicle. The female driver of one of the trucks was staring at me with eyes wide and mouth gaping. I started my vehicle again, and it thumped to the right shoulder of the road.
I got out of the car with my hands in the air, praising God, thanking Jesus. One of the occupants in one of the pickup trucks got out and asked me if I was ok, to which I responded, “Yes! Yes! I am just fine!” He said “that was amazing! The way you controlled that vehicle … that was amazing!” I smiled and said “No sir, I had nothing to do with that. That was all God! God controlled it; He had hold of the wheel.” After assuring him that I was calling my husband to help me with the tire and that I was indeed ok, he left.
I briefly assessed the damage to the rear of the vehicle, got back in the car and called Craig to come help me change the tire. Then I sat to wait. I picked up my Bible and turned to the Psalms. My eyes fell on Psalm 139:5-6. “You hem me in – behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; too lofty for me to attain.” Never before have I so powerfully felt the presence of the Lord. As I sat and went over every detail of the past few minutes in my mind, I wondered, “what was I doing at the moment that the tire began to separate? I wasn’t drinking my coffee, because both hands were on the wheel.” Then I remembered. I was praying. And how easy it was to just start calling out His Name when I realized I was in trouble, because I was already talking to Him.
My husband was unable to change the tire, so we called a wrecker service (I had managed to lose the thingymabob that drops the spare tire from under the vehicle). The wrecker driver went to retrieve my spare tire and told me it was flat (can you see a pattern here?). So we had to have the car towed back to Lake City to get two new tires. As the wrecker driver pulled the car up on his flatbed, he called me over to look at the left front tire … there was metal showing on the inside of the tire! Another reason to praise God! He allowed the rear tire to blow rather than the front tire. We all know what happens when a front tire blows on an SUV at a high rate of speed!
Talking to Craig on the way back to the shop, I told him that I ask God every morning during my drive/prayer time to keep my vehicle safe and functioning properly, to keep the tires intact and firmly on the pavement, and to get me to work on time and safely. But this morning, I hadn’t gotten to that part of my prayer yet. It kinda tickled me as I imagined God chuckling … “Well, you didn’t ask that of me this morning…”
July 12, 2007
Let me just tell you how awesome God is!
You know how we get up and go about our business everyday. We pray for guidance and protection as a habit everyday. But we don’t really have any concept of exactly what God shields us from on a daily basis. Today, He reminded me of just how much He loves me and how much junk He protects me from.
Driving to work southbound on I-75. Suddenly I felt something strike the back of my car and instinctively put my foot on the brake. A violent vibration took over and I could not control the wheel. I was holding on for dear life, with my foot on the brake, saying over and over … “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus”. The car veered to the left and into the grassy median, I wrestled the steering wheel back toward the road. Once back on the pavement, the car veered toward the other side of the road. I felt the G-force pushing the car to my left, and felt that the car would flip at any second. All the while, I’m crying out, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus”. Suddenly the car came to a stop cross-ways in the middle of three lanes of the interstate. I drew in a breath and said “Thank you Jesus.” I looked to my right and saw two pickup trucks sitting inches from my vehicle. The female driver of one of the trucks was staring at me with eyes wide and mouth gaping. I started my vehicle again, and it thumped to the right shoulder of the road.
I got out of the car with my hands in the air, praising God, thanking Jesus. One of the occupants in one of the pickup trucks got out and asked me if I was ok, to which I responded, “Yes! Yes! I am just fine!” He said “that was amazing! The way you controlled that vehicle … that was amazing!” I smiled and said “No sir, I had nothing to do with that. That was all God! God controlled it; He had hold of the wheel.” After assuring him that I was calling my husband to help me with the tire and that I was indeed ok, he left.
I briefly assessed the damage to the rear of the vehicle, got back in the car and called Craig to come help me change the tire. Then I sat to wait. I picked up my Bible and turned to the Psalms. My eyes fell on Psalm 139:5-6. “You hem me in – behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; too lofty for me to attain.” Never before have I so powerfully felt the presence of the Lord. As I sat and went over every detail of the past few minutes in my mind, I wondered, “what was I doing at the moment that the tire began to separate? I wasn’t drinking my coffee, because both hands were on the wheel.” Then I remembered. I was praying. And how easy it was to just start calling out His Name when I realized I was in trouble, because I was already talking to Him.
My husband was unable to change the tire, so we called a wrecker service (I had managed to lose the thingymabob that drops the spare tire from under the vehicle). The wrecker driver went to retrieve my spare tire and told me it was flat (can you see a pattern here?). So we had to have the car towed back to Lake City to get two new tires. As the wrecker driver pulled the car up on his flatbed, he called me over to look at the left front tire … there was metal showing on the inside of the tire! Another reason to praise God! He allowed the rear tire to blow rather than the front tire. We all know what happens when a front tire blows on an SUV at a high rate of speed!
Talking to Craig on the way back to the shop, I told him that I ask God every morning during my drive/prayer time to keep my vehicle safe and functioning properly, to keep the tires intact and firmly on the pavement, and to get me to work on time and safely. But this morning, I hadn’t gotten to that part of my prayer yet. It kinda tickled me as I imagined God chuckling … “Well, you didn’t ask that of me this morning…”
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