Sacrificial Praise

It hadn’t been something I’d just thought of in an instant.  In fact it was something that had been percolating in my brain for some time.  This thought of praise as a sacrifice.

The writer of Hebrews would tell us, “Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to His name.”

And sometimes it feels like that, doesn’t it?
Like praise is a sacrifice.

Sacrifice can be defined as this, “to surrender or give up, or permit injury or disadvantage to, for the sake of something else; to relinquish, forgo, or renounce.”

Praise often feels like sacrifice.

And praise doesn’t always mean singing worship songs.
We praise Him in other ways too.
We praise Him when we share the Gospel message to those who don’t know Him for themselves.
We praise Him when we choose to forgive the one who speaks ill of us or blames us for something for which we aren’t guilty of.
We praise Him when the path of duty is painful, and when the method of His workings are mysterious and unknown.

And I would send it in a text to a friend early on a Monday morning.  The one who’s also wrestled with this sense of discouragement in the midst of the trial.

And I would say to her this: “just as our trials aren’t permanent, neither are our opportunities to give Him sacrifices permanent… like praise in pain, and forgiveness in faultfinding.  Just like the tribulation we face is fleeting, so are our opportunities to give sacrificially that which we can only give this side of heaven.”
Because there is no pain there.  There is no suffering there.  There are no trials there.  And so in heaven there will be no availability to do this. 

We only have HERE and NOW to offer something of worth and value to Him that only sacrifice can provide.

Today…we get to choose.

I will be like the Psalmist who said, “I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.” 

And my life will become a living praise.

I have only here and now to make it a sacrifice.  One He lovingly and graciously accepts. 

A Well-Documented Life

I was watching an interview recently with Kanye West.  He was explaining, in great depth, about his transformation, and discussing some of the effects that the words of naysayers were having on him.  The interviewer listened with great intensity and asked Kanye the difficult question, “Don’t you think this just comes with the territory?”  Kanye certainly agreed that it did… and does.  But it was what the reporter said next that caught my attention.  He said this, “You, for sure, have lived a well-documented life.”

What he meant by it, as he would go on to expound, is that Kanye has been no stranger to scrutiny, judgement, harassment, and scandal.  He, indeed, most certainly, has lived a life well-documented.  I think the word for “well” in this instance could be likened to fully, thoroughly, or greatly.  His life has been well-documented by the masses.  By people who know him, and even more so, I would guess, by people who’ve never meant him, let alone carried on a conversation with him.

And it got me thinking.

I am no one famous.
My name is not well known.
I am no celebrity.
And my life will likely never be “dinner conversation” for the multitude.

But I, too, can live a well-documented life.
“Well”, here, is used to denote something, “in a good or satisfactory manner; strong, flourishing, wholesome, excellently.”

My life, too, can be well-documented as a life having exhausted everything for Jesus.
A life that points to Him.
A life, as one pastor put it recently, that “leaks Jesus.”

I want to live a well-documented life… not just for a good legacy, but to live representing a godly lifestyle.

I want to be like Peter who said in Acts 3:6, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you…”  He goes on to say is Jesus, to the lame man who couldn’t walk.

I want to be like Paul who said in 2 Timothy 4:6, “As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God.”

And I want to be like David who said in Psalm 25:1, “O Lord, I give my life to You.”

The highest desire of my whole life is to live a well-documented life that shows Him off.  A life that points to His goodness, and extends His loving grace to everyone around me.

Let’s live well-documented lives!

I Will Be With You

I have been thinking about those 5 words of promise spoken by God so many times throughout scripture.  The words He spoke to the heroes of faith - Moses, Joshua, and Gideon... just to name a few.

“I will be with you.”

A little investigation into the word “with” brings clarity and insight we might otherwise miss.  The word “with”, according to the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary, means this, “on the side of, noting friendship or favor; in company; in society; in connection; noting confidence; in partnership; among; upon.”

Is this beautiful or what?

“I will be WITH you.”

And just as God was with those biblical characters in ancient days, He is, too, WITH you and me.  Those of us who are disciples of Jesus... those of us who desire to follow in His ways and are serious about the assignment given to "pick up your cross daily and follow Me"... He says, "I will be with you."

"I will be WITH you."
I will be on your side.
I will be your friend.
I will give you My favor.
I will be in your company.
I will be in society with you.
I will be in connection with you.
I will be the confidence you need.
I will be in partnership with you.
I will be among you.
I will be upon you.

Wow... friend!  LOOK!  Just LOOK at these promises He has for you and I today!

Write them down!
Remember them daily!
Recite them out loud if you have to!

Do whatever it takes to remember, recall, and repeat!
Remember what He’s said.
Recall it to memory as often as you can.
Repeat it as often as you can to whomever will listen!

It matters more than we could ever know.

He's WITH you today, friend!
You face no thing alone!

Good Use of Trouble

Psalm 91:14-16 in the KJV says this, “Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known My name.  He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him My salvation.”

The word that appears twice here is the word DELIVER, both in verse 14 AND 15.  However, there is different meaning of each word.
In verse 14 the word “deliver” means, “to step out; escape.”
In verse 15 the word “deliver” means, “to pull off, equip, strengthen.”

The promise is, “I will deliver.”

Yet how many of us know that often times it doesn’t quite feel as though we have escaped or been helped to “step out of” any hard circumstance?

The second word “deliver” can be likened to being lifted out of a pit, or dragging up out of the midst of anything that surrounds a person, and then settling him in some place of safety.

Sometimes God chooses to deliver us by taking the burden off our backs, and yet other times He makes us strong enough to carry it.

My commentary says, “The serpent may still wound our heel, but if God be with us He will give us strength to press the wounded heel on the malignant head, and we can squeeze all the poison out of it.”

I cannot think of anything better than God’s promise of presence and of deliverance.
“I will be with Him in trouble… I will deliver him.”

And so I pray to see things differently.
His promise for deliverance may be found in the strength He provides.  That even in the trials, though escape may not be my experience, fruitful endurance will be the result if I set my “love upon Him” and “call on Him” for help.

The promises I can hold on to are:

• We have access to God by way of prayer.
• We have the availability of His presence and the promise to never be alone.
• We have Him as a Deliver for all the evil we will ever face.
• Not only will He deliver us from evil, He will turn it to good.
• Troubles are purposed to refine us and make us more like Him!

We have a Purifier… a Refiner… One who cleanses and purges and transforms us into His likeness by-and-by.  (Heb 12:10, “…He {is} for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness.”

I make good use of trouble when it brings me closer to the Father.

His Entrusted Strength

In Joshua 1:5, God says to Joshua, “No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live.  For I will be with you as I was with Moses.  I will not fail you or abandon you.”

“Be strong and courageous" seems to be a pattern recited by God to Joshua a lot.  And Joshua was a warrior.  He was no stranger to battle and conflict.  So there must've been something lacking in his nature that God saw that needed this kind of encouragement.

And courage would especially be needed to carry out this conquest to Canaan.  He was called to be the one who would move the Israelites from their position of lack into the promise of abundance.

Joshua is to encourage himself with the Promise AND the Presence of God.

My commentary says it was like God was saying to Joshua, "I have commanded, called, and commissioned thee to do it, son, and will sure bear thee out of it." 
Ahh, yes… when we are in the way of duty, we have reason to be strong and very bold!

God had been with Moses and so this became the experience for which Joshua could believe Him in His word.  Oh how important it is that we employ our mind to remember the things of God!

Canaan was Joshua's - and it had been promised through Divine grant.  However, God causes Joshua, still, to depend on Himself for the victory that would come.

"Be strong" is a command.
And so strength is a duty.
It is our duty as Christ followers to keep ourselves in continual touch with God.. who is the Fountain of all power. Being strong and courageous might not look the way the world says it should look.  But Christian success in strength and courage is carrying out the conscientious convictions of God's will into practice.

God asks us to go... often times before He tells us where to go.  He asks us to trust and have courage in the midst of what might seem like impossible situations.  But it's important to remember that it is the person who succeeds in obedience and imitation of Jesus that is the true victor.

Just earlier in that same chapter God had promised this to the protege of Moses, ”I will give you every place where you set your foot..." (Joshua 1:3), HOWEVER, only as much as they would tread upon it, occupy it, and possess it.  This was a co-laboring.  He gives us the title-deed to the land... the motive, the power, the strength, and the excitement to enter in and then says, "Enter and possess." 

We, like the Israelites, will own only as much of the promise in our lives as we actually step on it with the sole of our feet!  We, too, have large promises, but they are to be made good by our own exertions.  We must GO in and POSSESS.

My commentary says this, "How little have the greatest saints been able to fill up the grand outline which God sketched out at first when He made man in His own image!  How far short have you all come from God's design for you, and even of your own ideal!  You have contracted the bounds of your being and bounds of your world to the smallest dimensions by your devotion to the petty and passing things of earth."

And so the the question becomes for you and me, “What promise has God made you that He's you to take possession of?’

A new way to see His charge of duty is to see it through the lens of, “He trusts me.”  This assignment has been issued to me because there’s something He sees in me.  There’s something He’s planted within me for success.

And the whole of my life is to live not only fully aware of this provision and trust, but to live in full response to His entrusted strength.

God says, “Here is My entrusted strength, use it well!”

Invisible Potential for Impossible Postions

In Judges, chapter 6, we read an incredible story about a man named Gideon.

After a season of disobedience, the Lord took the Israelites and put them under the care of the cruel Midianites.  Israel, in their oppression, cried out to God for rescue and He answered.

God first uses an angel of the Lord to send a message to Gideon saying the words that somehow pierce my heart.  Seven simple, yet powerful words, “Mighty here, the Lord is with you!”  (verse 12)

And yet this would-be great warrior of God didn’t feel much like a hero at all.  At the time he was found threashing wheat at the bottom of a winepress in an effort to hide away himself and his grain from the brutal Midianites.

In fact, his response is one that likens more to a fear-filed, doubtful and embittered coward, than that of a “mighty hero.”  He says this in verse 13, “If the Lord is with us why has all this happened to us?  And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about?  Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us out of Egypt?’  But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.”

He’s frustrated.
He’s exhausted from the running and hiding.
He’s feeling resentful.

And then God shows up.

Verse 14 is the sweetest in all the story.  “Then the Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites.  I am sending you!’”

The KJV says it this way, “And the Lord looked upon him.” 

He looked at him.

And it changed everything.

“Go with the strength you have.”  God said.

And I wonder how “strong” he actually felt.
Because we see it in his response.  “How can I rescue Israel?  My tribe is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family.”  (verse 16)

But the Lord said in reply, “I will be with you.”

I will be with you.  That’s how you’ll do it.

Because it’s not really about your strength at all, Gideon.
It’s MY strength.

So you go with whatever little amount you have, and I will supply the rest.
In other words God has given a small supply of strength, but it’s going to take Gideon’s “yes” to initiate the “more” God longs to supply.  He calls Gideon a “Mighty hero”, and then He makes him so.  He was advancing him before Gideon was in true possession of the actual character trait.

Gideon possessed the qualities already, but they lay dormant.  He was mighty, however he had not yet received an opportunity to exercise it, so it went unrecognized.

Gideon, imprisoned with his untapped potential, was skeptical, but God aroused within him the very skill set that was necessary to carry out a seemingly impossible task.

And I think about the times He’s called me to carry out impossibilities too powerful for my potential… too difficult for my deftness.  And yet in His call He doesn’t consider our present deficiency… He looks to our future capability.  And He calls what’s impossible.. probable.

Because we go with His strength… not out own.

And that is all we will ever need to accomplish all He’s set before us.

You've Never Been This Way Before

And I wonder about it often… because the paths He’s taken me over the last few years have been anything but predictable.  In fact, they seemed to appear as setbacks at first.  Discouragements at times.  Derailments even.  And more times than I can count I have silently uttered the question in my heart, “What are You doing here, God?”

And yet, in His kindness, He prepares us in advance for all that we’ll ever face.  His Presence goes before us - to the places we’ve yet to trod our feet upon - and makes what seems impassible… possible.

It would be a bright sunny day in early May nearly 2 years ago when I’d come across it almost accidentally.  In my effort to feel His Presence more tangibly, and commune with Him more deeply, I would retreat to one of my favorite parks in a city nearby my hometown.  Sitting in the grass on the breezy spring day, I’d open my bible and the wind, catching it just right, would unveil the story that would continue it’s ripple effect in my life almost 22 months later!

Joshua 3.
One of the most powerful stories in all of the Old Testament.

Joshua.
A warrior.
The successor to Moses.
Charged with the task of leading the Israelites into the Promise Land.

And he would find himself relaying to his people through his officers the very same message God was conveying to him, “Since you have never been this way before, they will guide you.”  (Josh 3:4)

And it would leap from the pages this week just as much, if not more, as it did then.  “You’ve never traveled this way before.” 
This is new territory.
And you’re going to need new strength.
The old has gone and the new has come.
What carried you through the last season, won’t carry you into this new one. 
You’re going to need new strength and what’s going to be required will be new obedience.

You’ve never traveled this way before.

And I would whisper it to a friend facing insurmountable challenges this week.  Mountains that seem impossible to climb.
I would tell her these words that my heart is still learning to embrace:
“He allows things because He trusts us and He enables us with His strength because He entrusts us with it.  The question is now: ‘Okay God, this is hard, what do I do with it?’  He’s taking you into new territory.  A place you’ve never been before... so He can do the work that’s never been done before.  He’s trusting the character He’s established within you to take the people you have influence over to go where they need to go!  Oh that we would count it joy to be used in this way for Him!  He’s guiding you!  And goes before! He makes your difficulties stepping-stones to glory!  His glory!  We are never truly in danger when we can see Him!  Keep beholding His face!”

The Ark was positioned in front of the people, representing the Lord’s Presence.  And when it moved… they were to move.  But it was going to require a “beholding” on their part.  They were going to have to keep the Ark (Presence) in full view in order to be accurately guided into the Promise.

Why?

Because they’d never been that way before.

New territory requires new strength and that strength in found in Him alone.

In this new year I encourage you to joyfully accept the challenge to enter into new places with Him.  Count it a privilege and an honor that He not only chooses to co-labor with you to fulfill His purposes in the earth,  but that He graciously gives us opportunities in which to give Him more glory.

You’ve never been this way before.
But know that where He’s calling you to holds in it a promise for presence… if you keep beholding His face and do not grow weary or lose heart in the process.

He’s crazy, madly, deeply in love with you and He’s beckoning you from the distance, “Come, child, trust Me, it’s beautiful here where I am.”

He Trusts Me

As of late I have been thinking about this word, trust.

I remember when I first started my ministry, almost 10 years ago now, how zealous I was.  How confident I was that what the Lord had given me was a big call and how anxious I was to begin.

I was zealous = anxious; intensely enthusiastic; one who possesses ardent; fervent

And I wonder, now, if those early days had less to do with the message and more to do with my need for purpose.

I remember having a conversation with God very early on and telling Him, “God, I am ready for whatever you give!”  And yet in my spirit I sensed… even then… the Lord in His kindness saying, “Wendy, you think you’re ready,  but you’re really not.”

And I wasn’t.
The Lord had so much work to do in me.
He still does.
But every day I try to come as a willing vessel.
And every day I beg Him to reveal to me those things in which He has prepared me for.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
Because it’s gotta be in His timing.

And the more He gives now… the more I realize how desperately I need Him and His strength to do what He’s called me to do.  Because often, now, as the relationship deepens, His assignment intensifies.  And the more challenging the duty becomes.

And I think about that now.  In almost everything I face.  In every obstacle I encounter.  In every setback I experience.
Sometimes I look at the impossibilities and I wonder.. “How will I do this?” 
In the years of ego-reduction I have come to realize how much I still need to learn and how far I have yet to come in my spiritual advancement.
And in the the midst of what seems too difficult I now tell myself this, “You have been given this assignment because He trusts you.”

He gives us impossible assignments because He trusts us.
He believes in the strength He’s placed within us to overcome the challenges we face.
He believes in the resurrection power He’s supplanted within us to be victorious in every hardship we encounter.

And while it is my strong conviction that He is not the administrator of destruction, He is the Author of deliverance and He is working - even this - for my good and His glory!

Your assignment… this difficulty you’re up against… has been assigned to you because He trusts you.  Will you prove to Him today that you can be trusted with all He has to give?

Blemish On Your Record

One of my favorite Old Testament stories is found in 1 Samuel chapter 25, and it includes one of my favorite “unsung heroes” whose name was Abigail.  I have preached about her and taught about her many times, and she proves to have something to say to us too profound to go unnoticed.

David had been long promised the kingship, but it hadn't yet happened.  And as he awaited the position of great power, God used many distractions to prepare him for all that lay ahead.

One of those distractions is found here in our text.
David was on his way into the wilderness of Maon during sheep-shearing time and was coming upon a wealthy man named Nabal.  Nabal, who was a descendant of Caleb, was crude and mean in all his dealings.
David sent some of his men up ahead to talk with Nabal and remind him of the time his shepherds were spared in their presence and the provision that David and his men provided for them under their care.  Since David and his troops were arriving during celebration time, they were now asking Nabal and his men to return the favor by sharing with them any provisions they had to spare.

But Nabal’s response was full of hate and disrespect.  Disgusted and irritated that David would be so bold as to ask this, Nabal denies his request for provision.

At this, David’s men do only what they know to do and respond in the only way they’ve have been conditioned to, and that is warfare.  “Get your swords!”  was David’s response (verse 12).

Meanwhile one of Nabal’s servants finds Nabal’s wife, Abigail, and explains to her what’s going on, and she wastes no time in providing a solution.

A redemptive solution.

She gathers food, packs and loads it onto donkeys, and tells her servants to go up ahead and that she’ll meet up with them later.  Her only conviction was to not tell her husband what she was doing.

When Abigail saw David coming, in a battle position and bloodthirsty, she quickly dismounts from her donkey, bows low before him, offers food to he and his warriors, and contends for peace.  She says in verse 25, “I know Nabal is a wicked and ill-tempered man, but please don’t pay any attention to him.  He is a fool… but I never even saw the young men [messengers] you sent.”

She continues by reminding David of who he is and what he has been called to.  She says, “The Lord will surely reward you with a lasting dynasty, for you are fighting the Lord’s battles.  And you have not done wrong throughout your entire life.”  (verse 28)

Oh but something even more powerful is revealed in verse 31.  She says, simply, “… don’t let the be a blemish on your record.”

Perhaps it’s the 9 most powerful and life-changing words in all of the Old Testament.

“Don’t let this be a blemish on your record.”

I would whisper it to a girlfriend weeks ago when she was facing an ugly and debilitating situation in her family.  The temptation was to speak ill of the circumstance, and retaliate against the person causing and enormous amount of pain.  I would convey it to a friend who was tempted to use retribution as a means for “settling the score” with an ill-tempered co-worker because, after all, this isn’t “fair.”  I would even put before myself the challenge when mercy and grace feel more like burden than benefit.

Because we can’t afford to have THIS be a blemish on our record.

God has called you and I to so much more.
He has invited us into a life of holiness and He’s conditioning us for heaven.
Heaven on earth… here… now… because this is where the work is done.  This is where lives are forever changed. 
Right here… right now… is our only chance to offer sacrifices to the One who paid it all.

We have work to do.
We have a Gospel message to share.
We have been summoned to live a life in response to His nature and goodness.

And when we allow ourselves to be distracted by the evilness that exists around us, it becomes a blemish on our record.  One that forever influences our impact and usefulness.  Our spiritual growth suffers and the light of our witness is compromised.

I encourage you today… and I encourage myself to think before you act.  Think before you do something that will only serve as a set-back to the places you know God is taking you into.  The mission is too important and your call is too significant to allow THIS to be a blemish on your record.

How Soon Can You Get Here?

I read recently a story about a woman who, several years ago was going through a really rough season.  The obstacles she was facing felt like giant mountains and she was having a hard time coping with the reality of her challenging circumstances.

In an effort to try to encourage her and restore hope in her, her dear husband reached out to friends of theirs who lived on the opposite side of the country as them for prayer support and maybe even some recommendations for strengthening her weary spirit.  But more than anything what they knew they needed was the influence of community.

When they phoned their friend who is a very busy traveling pastor with an intense speaking schedule, and many demanding responsibilities, his response was gracious, loving, automatic and more like Jesus than almost anything I’ve heard compared by human reasoning.  Six words that she would say altered the course of the rest of her days.  His words?  “How soon can you get here?”

When all the others were satisfying their obligation with kind words… necessary words even… like, “I will pray for you.” and “You should go talk to someone.”, there was one who extended something more.  Community.  Companionship.  Camaraderie.

Because He knew something about the power of tribe and of finding your people and loving them well.  Even when it’s hard.  Even when it’s challenging.  Even in distance.

Because we need each other.
And sometimes closeness offers more than condolences ever will.

And so I challenge myself… and you too… to find your “How soon can you get here” friends.  To BE the “How soon can you get here” friend.  I am MORE than blessed to have many of them.  Ones who love relentlessly, pray without ceasing, and know when getting you to them or them to you is a simple, yet powerful prescription to the virus that threatens and the illness that sometimes invades.

Find your people.
Run with them hard.
And when they get weary in the race, ask them one of the most life-changing questions you could ever ask… “How soon can you get here?”

Remember, Recall, and Repeat

The writer of Hebrews encourages us in chapter 10, verse 32 to, “Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ.  Remember how you remained even though it meant terrible suffering.”

The writer is reminding us of our early days - the ones shortly after we accepted Christ and embraced His redemptive work on the cross.  He’s reminding us of the times in our lives when our faith was tested and we came through victorious in our endurance, and triumphant in our suffering.

While conflict and adversity are normal conditions for human life, and certainly no exception for the Christ follower, we are called to a higher standard of living.  We are commissioned AND empowered to live our lives with the constant awareness of His goodness, living in full response to His grace and mercy.  We are entrusted with the ability to Remember, Recall, and Repeat.

I say this often to my students… because so often times we forget.

And it’s the most dangerous to us just after a significant breakthrough.  We saw it with Elijah in first Kings after the success he had defeating enemies at Mount Carmel, and the the supernatural awareness he experienced of God’s provision by way of his prayers for rain answered in the midst of a three year drought.

If anything, this breakthrough should've had sustaining power within it to encourage Elijah for His next assignment, but instead it brought discouragement, doubt, and derailment to his progress.

And the truth really is that there is pain and suffering to be expected in various seasons of our lives.  But calling to our memory the times we’ve been carried in the midst of heartbreak and loss, are what will help to establish us and restore us for greater Kingdom impact.

My commentary suggests that by refusing to remember His goodness and provision, we are risking to, “lose the fruit of all these sufferings.”

And so fair questions in painful circumstances become, “God, what can I learn from this loss?”  “What fruit am I gaining as a result of this pain?”

The expectation for the follower of Jesus should be that we would possess gladness, peace, and power in difficulty, but in order to obtain these character traits we must also expect a battle.  Light is best experienced in dark places.  Thus light is stimulated in the presence of opposition.

And when I consider my assignment is ultimately to bring His world to my world until my world looks like His world… I am suddenly positioned, then, to Remember, Recall, and Repeat.

Remember all He has done for me.  Remember who He has been for me.  Remember the times He carried me and provided for me in the past.

Recall it to my memory as often as I can.  Write them down, list them out.  Document His favor and the evidence of His delight in me.

Repeat it to myself and to anyone else who will listen.  There is power in our tongue and we verbally express the world we’re most aware of to those we come into contact with every day.  Whatever is in the heart gets expressed in speech, and repeating our testimony to the world around us invites the Lord to “do it again” (which is actually a meaning of the root word found in testimony.)

I may not know what He’s doing, but I can trust what He has done.  And if He doesn’t do one more thing for me, He’s already done enough.

I am committed to Remember, Recall, and Repeat.

Because it matters!

I Believe... So I Speak.

In 2 Corinthians, chapter 4, Paul is sharing his felt privilege of possessing a ministry of sharing the Good News.  He talks about the seriousness in which he takes his calling to spread the Gospel message, the persecution he experienced as a result, the danger of death that had become a reality for the servant of Christ, and of the endurance he was determined to live with in light of all of this.

In verse 13 he says this, “But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the Psalmist had when he said, ‘I believed in God, so I spoke.’”
He is quoting Psalm 116:10 here that says this, “I believed in You, so I said, ‘I am deeply troubled, Lord.’”

Check it out in The Passion Translation, “Even when it seems I’m surrounded by many liars and my own fears, and though I’m hurting in my suffering and trauma, I still stay faithful to God and speak words of faith.”

Ahh.. that which proceeds from the mouth is more powerful than we could ever imagine!

Paul says, “I believed… so I spoke.”

To speak means this = “to express or make known with the voice; to recommend; speak on behalf of; express openly and unreservedly.”

It is natural for the tongue to express what the soul knows and the heart feels.
When we, who belong to Jesus, speak out an expression of our relationship with Jesus, faith is stirred up and a new-found enthusiasm is uncovered.

But note here that Paul’s speech on behalf of belief was made more effective by the fact that he was doing so in the midst of suffering.  It could easily have been concluded by onlookers as “merely words”, but when backed by an awareness of the adversity that accompanied it, his witness became most impressive.

Paul’s sincere focus was on the advancement of the Gospel - regardless of the price it would cost.  His aim was on the full conversion of sin-filled communities, and he gave the entirety of his life to make Christ known.

He trusted in God, therefore there was a song in his mouth.  And he allowed himself no other option than to praise.  Fueled by faith and activated by the power of the resurrected Christ who lived on the inside of him, Paul knew his purpose and lived every breath so that the glory of God could be seen in Him.

“I believe… and so I speak.”

But my distinguished speech regarding my faith and my God has value and proves powerful ONLY so far as it can point to the practical results of it’s affect in me.

Do they see Him in me?  Is the change He has made in my life evident for all to see?  Lord, I don’t want empty words coming from mouth… I want speech that is backed by action.  I want the power of Your work in me to be so evident that when others look at me - You are all they see!

Amen?

Response To Your Rescue

It started in my prayer time early on Thursday morning.  This reoccurring thought that I HAVE BEEN RESCUED.

I HAVE BEEN RESCUED.

And sometimes God gives revelation to the things my head knows… and HAS known for years and years… and reveals it to me in a brand new way.  A way that pierces my heart and moves me to tears.

I HAVE BEEN RESCUED.

And the truth is that you have been too!
And if you belong to Jesus… If you have received Him into your heart… YOU TOO, have been rescued.

The word RESCUE by definition is this = "to be free or delivered from any confinement, violence, danger, or evil; to be liberated from actual restraint or to be removed or withdrawn from a state of exposure to evil; deliverance from a restraint.”

Oh this is such good news!

I HAVE BEEN RESCUED.
I have been delivered from confinements.
I have delivered from danger.
I have delivered from evil.
No longer are those realities which I must allow myself to be consumed with fear about.

I have been liberated from restraint.
I have been removed from exposure to evil that can do any harm to me.

I HAVE BEEN RESCUED.

I have been made free from all the hindrances to advancement in my spiritual life.
I have been given a new way of thinking.
I have been purposed with a new perspective.

And so often our human default is a live in reaction to all the evil that’s happening around us.
Political disorder.
National conflict.
Criminal intentions.

Bitterness.
Suffering.
Illness.

It’s all part of what the human eye has been conditioned to see.

But I HAVE BEEN RESCUED.

And while it certainly doesn’t permit me to ignore the storms, it does authorize me to refuse to accept and embrace the wind and waves assigned to throw me off course.  It does encourage and empower me to live the way Jesus lived - sleeping in the boat while the others were stirred by fear, panic, anxiety, doubt, and apprehension.

Because He doesn’t see storms the same way we see them.
And He lived a life I must learn to model.

I HAVE BEEN RESCUED.

I would write it in my journal: “Thank you for YOUR RESCUE in the mire and the muck and the ugliness of this place.”

And so I resolve again: Every day of my life is a rescuing.  And so… my life will be in full response to Your rescue.

We can no longer allow ourselves to live reactionary to the evil, but insist on living in response to His nature and His goodness.  To live in FULL RESPONSE to the rescue we’ve been granted and yet never once deserved.

May I forever respond well to Your rescue.

It really, really, really matters!

But God Said...

One of the greatest stories in all of scripture is the story of the Israelites taking possession of the Promise Land.

I review it often.

Because I need encouragement.  I need to remember what God has done, recall it to memory so that my faith is strengthened, and repeat it to my weary soul in times of what feels like defeat and discouragement.

Under their new leader, Joshua, the wilderness survivors would soon be entering into new territory.  They would soon be taking possession of the land that was long-promised by a gracious and faithful Father.

Looking at the header in my bible for Joshua 6 it says this, “God’s Strategy for Taking Jericho.”

The Israelites were assigned one last conquest before accessing the promise.  Jericho was a city that guarded two important entrances into the heart of the hill country.  It has been said that if the Israelites did not conquer this first city victoriously, they would leave a well-armed enemy at their back that would have served as a derailment in their advancement into new terrain.  The order: they had to conquer Jericho first.

But take a look at verse 1 of chapter 6: “Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites.  Not one was allowed out or in.”

Just before this we read about a “commander in the Lord’s army” who tells Joshua to, “take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”  And Joshua does what he asks.  (5:14-15)  But now.. it would appear, at first, like maybe this wasn’t holy ground.  Perhaps Joshua had it wrong?

After all… wouldn’t it have been so much easier if the doors to the city were unlocked?  Wouldn’t it have served more purposeful if the Lord, who had, after all, called them here and promised them victory, had created an easier route for them to take?  He’s God.  He could have made the provision more effortless.

But we read something in verse 2 that might confuse us even more.  “But the Lord said to Joshua, ‘I have given you Jericho, it’s king, and it’s strong warriors.’”

Umm… what? 
Okay.  You’ve given them to me, maybe, but you see, God, the doors are locked up and there’s no getting in or getting out.  How is this possible?

And I wonder how many times He’s promised something to me, and yet there seems to be a canyon between what He promises and what looks possible. 

Oh how my feeble heart knows this dichotomy well.

And maybe it’s because God doesn’t see a problem the same way I do.
Remember the storm that the disciples were in?  Jesus was found sleeping in the boat.
Remember Gideon and the fear he had for the assignment God had given him?  The order was, “If you’re afraid, go down into the enemy’s camp.”

Could it be that what seems impossible is not so with the living, breathing, miracle-working Father?

And so I ask myself the hard questions in a season where doubt has once-again reared it’s ugly head.
Who told you what God has promised is inaccessible?  Who told you that your season of provision was finished?  Who told you victory over this challenging mission was impossible?

You and I have the privilege of an entire written Word filled with promises for provision by a God who never leaves us or forsakes us.  We just have to be willing and able to see a problem the way God sees a problem.  Using the promises as the lens for which all difficulties must be observed.

He is good.  He is faithful.  And if He has called you to it - know beyond a shadow of a doubt - that He will see it to completion.

Be patient as you wait to occupy your promise land.  God is a God of perfect timing and what He is merciful to promise, He is faithful to perform.

Who told you that?
Ahh… BUT GOD said….

Disappointment

And I said it just a couple weeks ago to a dear friend.  The words that would come back to pierce this wounded heart of mine.

“One of the greatest hindrances to our spiritual growth is disappointment.”

And I would aim to better… resolve to make better choices… and yet on a Saturday morning, faced with a disappointment… a disturbance to our preconceived plans… I felt the overwhelmingness of disappointment rear it’s ugly head once again.

Because the truth really is that we will all face discouragement and disappointment at one point or another.  We’ve all been grossly affected by failure, defeat, and frustration in our lives.

But disappointment doesn’t have to define us.  We are living in danger of disappointment, yes, however, we do not need to live with the danger that disappointment produces.

As believers in Jesus, we are called to a higher standard of living.  And not only have we been called for a more significant assignment than disappointment produces, we have been equipped to live victoriously in the afflictions that disappointment proposes.

1 John 5:4, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”

Gal 2:20, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”

Sometimes it’s a matter of repeating the words my heart can’t feel yet, but my head knows to be true, “… overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”  Romans 8:37

Let’s not allow disappointment to derail us.  Let’s not let it fester into a paralysis that leaves us in a state of immobilization.  We have work to do - and disappointment is only holding us back from the full live Jesus died for us to have.

May I be like Habakkuk when disappointments come… those things designed as hindrances to my faith… those obstacles deviously devised to cause enough frustration in me to want to quit: “Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.”  Habakkuk 3:17-18

YET I will REJOICE.

Look For What God Can Do!

In John, chapter 9, we read a story about Jesus healing a blind man.  Scripture tells us that this man had been “blind from birth.” (verse 1)

And the disciples seemed quite inquisitive and even a bit concerned with the predicament of this man.  They asked Jesus, whom they called, “Rabbi”, “Why was this man born blind?  Was it because of his own sins, or his parents’ sins?”  (verse 2)

And isn’t that just like us?  Always looking for a cause for condition?  Because for it to “make sense” from a human perspective, we must find a reasonable explanation for deficiency. 

And, still, God in His kindness allows us space to wrestle with these kinds of human thoughts.

And likely one of my favorite verses in all of scripture is found in verse 3.  It’s Jesus’ response.  He says this, “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins… This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.”

Take a look at it in the Message version.  “Jesus said, ‘You’re asking the wrong question.  You’re looking for someone to blame.  There is no such cause-effect here.  Look, instead, for what God can do.”

Our temptation in hard situations is to look for blame.
“They left because…”
“I got sick because…”
“She didn’t stay because..”
And we look for something to blame.
Sometimes we look for someONE to blame.

But the ways of Jesus are different.
And we’ve got to begin aligning our thoughts to His.

Could it be that this happened SO THAT that power of God could be seen in me?
That job loss, that relationship failure, that illness.
That major setback, that misfortune, that stumbling block?

Could it be that what the enemy meant for harm, God actually meant for good?
And He’s looking for ways to return the glory to Himself through our difficulties?

Stop looking for blame, and start looking, instead, for what God can do.
How can I take this disadvantage and use it for good?
How can I improve upon this deficiency?
How can I develop beyond this defect?

If I am constantly exercising my renewed mind to see from a heavenly perspective… preoccupying my thoughts with God possibilities… then I leave no room for doubt, fear, and accusation.

Look instead for what God can do!!

Living Unreasonably

Sometimes we get stuck in our deception of what we consider to be reasonable behavior.

We get mad at the person who cuts us off in traffic - because it’s a reasonable and even manageable behavior.  One would EXPECT to get angry and even retaliate against the offender.
We get irritated at our spouse for not fulfilling an expectation or for not serving us in a way we feel entitled to - because it’s a reasonable behavior.
I would even go as far to say that we, in church, have incorporated so much “worldliness” into our worship services in an effort to cater to the masses and be more “palatable” to those far from Him - because it’s a reasonable behavior.
We’ve stopped praying for impossibilities and ask God only for the things we deem as “safe” - because it’s a reasonable behavior.

But as believers in the living God, when did irrational behavior become the acceptable?  Reasonable?  Justifiable?  When did it become the norm?

Jesus wasn’t reasonable.

Offering a cheek for further maltreatment after an already painful blow is not reasonable.
Presenting benevolence to the offender who’s sued you and already taken more than should be allowed is not reasonable.
Praying for those who continually hurt you and persecute you is not reasonable.
Forgiving when they’re not sorry is not reasonable.
Befriending the unloviest is not reasonable.

So when did following Jesus become reasonable?
Doesn’t He demand things that seem impossible?

We pray for the miracle because it’s become our lifestyle to believe in the God of miracles.
We forgive the offense of the transgressor because it’s become our lifestyle to live in complete indebtedness to the One who forgave us when we least deserved it.

Bitterness, as just one instance, has become the norm for society because it’s reasonable.
It makes sense.
I can explain away reasons I became bitter and to the one looking on it becomes sensible, plausible, and passively acceptable.

I think it’s why we have to be careful who we’re doing life with.
We need to be wise when we see patterns of partnership in other people.
One’s that will tell you, “I’d be mad too!”
Those who say, “You have every right to feel that way.”
Especially when it’s in full support of an illegitimate nature.
Choose to be with people who grow you spiritually.  Who have a genuine desire to see you living in fullness of your God-given potential.

I believe God is looking for a host of people who are willing to live differently for Him.  One’s who aren’t afraid to take risks.  One’s who live unreasonable lives always looking for impossibilities to contend for.

It’s time to stop playing it safe.
He didn’t play it safe for us.

I had written the phrase down in my journal just over three months ago. And when I penned the words I did so out of complete expectation for all that we were going to see God do... not just for us, but in us... as a result of His goodness and faithfulness. Because hadn’t I read it just a few short months before... tucked neatly in the middle of the book that bears his name, Isaiah 30:18, “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you....”

But I always like reviewing what’s just before the “Yet”. Verse 16, “You said, ‘No, we will get our help from Egypt. They will give us swift horses for riding into battle.’ But the only swiftness you are going to see is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you!”

And hadn’t it felt just like that? The enemies chasing swiftly after us? The walls closing in around our camp? And didn’t we feel it so many times... the fear and panic and stress and doubt?

And yet on a hot, sunny day in California in the prayer room of the church that would become my only child’s home base for ten months, Jesus would stir me to write the ten words my heart would appreciate all the more in reverse... “What will be our reaction to the goodness of God?”

And here, on the other side of fear and panic and stress and doubt, I can answer that with boldness and confidence: praise! The same as it was then, too: praise! Because my worship must not be determined by my position.

I must expect the blessing and prepare for His faithful provision. And then I must execute a plan for how I’m going to respond.

Because all of life is a response to the One who is the Giver and Sustainer of life. And I get to choose, in advance, how I will respond to what He’s saying and doing!

And so we have before us today a challenge: How will we respond to the goodness of God? Because every day He is good! He is so so so good. We owe Him a heart brimming to overflow for all He is and all He gives!

What do You See, Jesus?

I see it all the time.  We have conditioned ourselves to think from a worldly perspective.  To see things through the lens of hardship and poverty, as opposed to victory and triumph.

I was talking with a friend the other day and she was asking me how I was doing.  She’s a precious soul who was genuinely asking to know the answer.  Because she cares deeply.  My response to her was, “I am doing good.  You know... I have learned to stop living in REACTION to all that's going on around me and continue to live in RESPONSE to His nature.  He is good.  He is faithful.  And never ONCE has He ever left us alone.  I am eternally grateful for Jesus.”

It was my heartfelt response in the moment the question was asked of me.  In that very moment my heart was overflowing with gratitude for the season, even with it’s challenges.

But it was her response that surprised me.  She said this, “You think you’re sneaky going around my questions? While those answers are real and true, you know what I meant.”

God love her for digging in deeper.

But it got me thinking.

We have become so conditioned in our society to expect the worst.  We have so lowered our standard of expectations in an effort to match the reality of what we see around us: hurt, defeat, disadvantage, depression.

And we’ve got to change our perspective.
If we’re going to live with Jesus - seated in heavenly places (Eph 2:6), than it is going to require a shifting in our eyesight. 

Jesus only did what He saw the Father do, and He only said what He heard the Father say.
And if we are serious about emulating the character of Christ, we must learn to see differently so that we can do differently… speak differently.

I would tell it to a friend just yesterday in a text.  My prayer for us going into this new season is: To see with a heavenly perspective.  To no longer be discouraged or frustrated by things we see around us.  But instead to SEE with clearer vision… with a heavenly lens. 

The question I am putting before me this year is: “What do YOU see, God?  I want to see what YOU see!” 

It’s all about what we are choosing to focus on.
The war… or our promised victory.
The division… or His call for unity.
The unanswered prayer… or the countless breakthroughs.
The illness… or His Divine healing.
Our lack… or His abundance.
Our weakness… or His greatness.

It’s our choice.  It’s always a choice!

We are not a slave to the conditions of life we’ve been exposed to up until today.  We can choose a better way!

What do You see, Jesus?  I want to be changed by what You see!
Give me a heavenly perspective that changes absolutely everything about my journey here this side of eternity!

He Compares Our Mission With His Own!

I love reading about the sending of the disciples.

In Luke 24, following His death and resurrection, Jesus appears “suddenly” to His disciples. 
He starts out by saying, “Peace by with you.”  (verse 36)
These words, no doubt, were intended to alleviate the fears that Jesus knew were plaguing their minds.  Oh that it would be just like our Savior to disquiet our thoughts and comfort our hearts!

We then see Him gently rebuking them by asking, “Why are you so frightened?  Why are your hearts filled with doubt?”  (verse 38)
He continues by asking them to uncover the proof of His physical presence by touching Him. (verse 39)

I can almost feel it as I read the words, “Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder.”  It’s a mixture of feelings… doubt, unbelief, shock, joy, wonder.

“Could this really be Him?  The one we loved and served and enjoined in ministry with?  Could it really be??”

Ahh… and then we see it.  Jesus opening their minds to understand the scriptures… calling to memory all that they had seen Him do while He was with them, “You are witnesses to all these things!”  (verse 48)

John’s recorded Gospel gives us a peak into the commission a little more personally.  In John 20:21 we read the words of Jesus that say, “As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you.”
Oh, friends, what an honor!  How impossibly amazing and what a privilege it is that in His loving kindness, Jesus compares HIS mission to that of ours!

“AS the Father has sent ME, so I am sending YOU.”
“As” = “to the same degree, amount, or extent; similarly; equally”
It’s an invitation to do the same here that Jesus did!

In fact… take a look at this… the extension of our role is found in John 14:12, ““I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in Me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.”

Greater works.  Not better… just more abundant given our reach as a united body of Christ!

It’s our purpose.  Our call.  The commission.  The assignment.
“Do as I do.  It is the Father’s will.”

So - what does that mean?
It means representing Him just as He represented the Father.  Representing His character… His nature… so to give those around us a beautiful illustration of who He is.  The disciples were living epistles of Jesus… He was to live in them.  YOU and I who belong to Jesus Christ have Him living in us, and so are to emulate His nature to the world.

It means that we receive authority from Him, in some measure, just as He received His Divine authority from His Father.

It means we are His messengers, the way He was the Messenger of the Father.  The perfect One who only DID what He saw the Father do, and only SAID what He heard the Father say.  Ahh yes, we are publishers of His great name.  “Make His name famous.”  (Psalm 96:3)

It means that we are to conduct our work - all of it - in the same manner in which He did.  “As unto the Lord.”  (Col 3:23)  It means maintaining a spirit of love, grace, benevolence, all for the glory of God!

It means being in the world but not being of it.  Seeking no portion from it, or making it our permanent habitat. 

When we consider our mission.. our purpose.. and all that we have been designed for… it’s overwhelming.  But if Jesus gave the assignment, know that it comes with the ability to complete it.  2 Peter 1:3 says, “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the One who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence.”

It is a privilege and an honor to know that Jesus, in His radical kindness, compares our mission with His own!  And the whole of our lives ought to be committed to knowing this mission, understanding what is to be our ambition, and realizing the implication of our designed purpose.

Your New Season

It’s a new year.  And with that comes a lot of goal-setting and resolution-making. 

And I hear it a lot.  “God is bringing me into a new season.”
In fact, I would say that one of the most popular quoted scriptures at the beginning of a new year is Isaiah 43:19, “See, I am doing a new thing!”

And I believe He is. 
In my life.  In your life.  In the nation.  In the world.
He’s doing a new thing.  He’s bringing us into new territory.

But the truth is that we can’t enter into this new season carrying around the heavy weight of old habits and old mindsets.

Scripture tells us that we, “were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”  (Eph 4:22-24)

We are a new creation.
And we absolutely cannot be ushered into our new territory practicing habits that we have been rescued and redeemed from. 

Romans 12:2 say, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Be TRANSFORMED… how? 
By the RENEWING of your mind.

It means we have to change the way we think.

I’m asking God this year, and I encourage you to do the same, “What do I need to let go of in order to take occupancy of the new territory You are calling me into?  What habits do I need to put an end to?  What mindsets need to be destroyed?”

It’s a brave question… but one that is necessary if our desire is to move forward in our faith.

Let’s be brave this year together!

Withered But Not a Waste

Luke 6:6-11 tells a story of Jesus healing a man with a withered hand. 

I love this story for so many reasons.
One is that it was on the Sabbath Day.
While the Pharisees long believed no work could be done on a Sabbath Day, especially healing, Jesus steps onto the scene to rewrite the narrative.
In fact we see Jesus healing on all sorts of days, but the Sabbath’s themselves tend to be what Charles Spurgeon calls, “high days of grace.”
There are 6 special cases recorded in scripture that attest to this.  And one is this story - the story of the withered hand.

The organ withered here is hand.
A hand. 
The organ of touch. 
The one that brings us into a deeper and closer connection than any other organ we possess.
We can see with our eyes and hear with our ears… but there’s something more experiential about feeling.  It’s the proof that the matter actually exists.
This man’s hand was withered.  While he had all other faculties complete, he had lost his ability to deeply connect through the manner of touch.

And no coincidence… the hand that was withered was his right hand.  Notably the one that was likely the better and more serviceable between the two.  To a certain extent he was able to “feel”, but it was only with his weaker, and most likely his less perceptive one.

Another special note here is that the way in which the hand was affected.  Scripture tells us that it was “withered.”  It wasn’t “cut off” or “missing altogether”, rather it was still part of the man’s original design… however it remained lifeless.  Disease had ill-affected this once useful bodily organ and now it remained powerless beside him.

In what I believe to be a miraculous discovery about this story is that the nothing in our text tells us that this man was a renewed man, or even that he sought healing from the Healer.

Verse 6 explains simply that there was, “a man with a deformed right hand” who was present in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching.  And yet we see Jesus do something that not only displayed His great power, but also challenged the religious mindset of the Pharisees who’s belief in strict law superseded their relational connection to the One sent by the Father to redeem.

Jesus then invites the man with the withered hand to, “Come and stand in front of everyone” (verse 8).  Verse 10 tells us that, “He (Jesus) looked around at them (Pharisees) one by one then said to the man, ‘Hold our your hand.’”  So the man held out his hand and it was restored!

Jesus had a very unique reputation for placing human needs above Sabbath commands.  And He had a special ability to see human limitations and generate healing even when the recipient wasn't even fully aware of the need for restoration!
Jesus calls on the man to stand in front of everyone.  He didn’t shy away from controversy if it meant soul-revival.

And this wasn’t an emergency by any means.  This was a man with a withered hand.  A man with a fairly ordinary disfunction, and yet Jesus used it as a means of demonstrating His power and authority - even in those small, unrequested circumstances.

I would bet that this withered hand served as a constant reminder to the man of lack.  Inability.  Inadequacy.  I would bet it proved to be inconvenient and certainly was restrictive.
And Jesus, in His kindness, sees the need and offers a solution.

Ahh… the same way He sees our need and offers a solution.

Many of us, too, are lugging around with us a disability we are far too aware of.
A shameful burden.
A disgraceful hardship.

But hope is to be discovered for us too!
This story is proof that no one is disqualified for recovery.
Not even those who refuse to ask for help.
Not even those who belief their time for good works and serviceable duties have passed.

The hand was only withered… it was not wasted.
It was only withered because it had yet to receive its power from on high for the tasks it was originally purposed for.

God is the God of healing and restoration.  He is a miracle-working God who sees what is broken and stands ready, willing, and able to redeem, repair, reestablish, and revive!

Though the hand be withered - it is not a waste!

The Tongue... A Servant of The Mind

Proverbs 21:23 that says this, "Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble."

Different translations say it this way:
"guard your mouths..." NIV
"keep your mouth and tongue..." ESV
"be careful what you say..." GNV

The word "guard."  means this = "to hedge about; protect; attend to."
Ahh..  we must put a hedge of protection around our mouths.  We must attend well to the safety of our words.

This means:
    to be careful of what I say.
    to make sure things I say are truthful.
    to say things without dissimulation.
    to say things that are not injurious to others.
    to say things that are not provoking & offensive.
    to say things that are not filled with wrath or bad language that stirs up contention.

My commentary says this, "[the tongue] is always the servant of the mind, it never moves with volition."

The word “volition” means this = "a choice, a desire, determination of the will, election, preference, purpose, choosing."

In other words, we cannot say, "the devil made me do it" when it comes to out tongue.  We cannot say, "I couldn't control myself", or, "It just came out."

No.

It was a volition. 
It was a choice.
It was my desire.
It was a determination of my will.
It was a preference of mine to speak that way.
It was purposeful and I chose it.

WOW.

That really changes everything.

And so for me, I know I must get better at this.
The tongue is a servant of the mind and an action of the will.  One that God has graciously given me a governing authority over.

I must learn to
"Talk less.  Talk with intention and purpose that brings life to everything and everyone.”

It matters… it keeps me out of trouble… it keeps my conscious clear, keeps me free of guilt and distress… and ultimate danger.  And it displays Jesus in me, in the best light possible.

Talk Less

The beginning of a new year.
For me, it’s always been like a fresh clean slate.
A blank sheet of paper in a journal.

And with the turning of a calendar year, I am inspired to make life changes.
With the dawning of a new decade, I am more determined than ever to set goals, and invite the Holy Spirit in to do the work needed to grow me into the person God created me to be.

With that comes some difficult assignments.
But necessary nonetheless.

And I had said it to a friend recently, “I have to learn how to say less.”

And for me, at least, there is so much truth in this one phrase.  And for so many reasons.

Because I tend to talk… a lot.
And in doing so I tend to say more than I should.  Share more than is necessary.  Expose more than was intended.  And with that often comes immediate regret, inevitable disappointment, destructive discontentment.

Sometimes I can feel the soul damage almost instantaneously.
It feels more like a contamination… a pollution… a disturbance to my spiritual well being.
I will feel as though I have worked so hard to develop character steeped in passion and fervor, only to be compromised in an instance by the words I allow to spew from my mouth.

And just because it seems unintentional doesn’t reduce the injurious affect it has on my personal growth and the reputation of the One I claim to serve and follow.

I must learn to talk less.

We face a slippery slope when we talk too much.
Proverbs 10:19 says this, “Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.”

We invite trouble when we talk too much.
Proverbs 21:23 says, “Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble.”

The Psalmist prayed for it - and so much I.
Psalm 141:3, “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!”

You and I will give an account for every word we’ve spoken.  Every one.
Matthew 12:36 says, “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak…”
There are consequences for the words I speak.
Proverbs 18:21, “The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.”

We are deemed intelligent by staying quiet in these hard days of evil.
Amos 5:13 says, “So those who are smart keep their mouths shut, for it is an evil time.”

And so I begin the new year with one major resolution that will protect me from danger, propel me forward into deeper places with Jesus, and provide me proper tools for spiritual growth and maturity.

Because the Christian life is to emulate Christ.  The actual word itself means, “little Christ”.  And so He becomes the model… the standard worthy of our imitation.  And HE only said what He heard the Father saying.

I shall choose wisely my words as to look more like the Savior.  Words chosen with intentionality and purpose.

It really, really, REALLY matters.

Pull Out Potential and Proclaim The Promises

A few months ago I was strongly inspired by the Holy Spirit to begin praying earnestly and intentionally for a family I know well.  I can’t explain the urgency I felt led to, but I absolutely knew it was directed by God Himself.

One cold rainy afternoon I was encouraged to do something “out of the ordinary” for this family.  I will admit that it felt strange, but the prompting was strong enough that I was automatically compelled to obey.

The request was that I drive to the home of this family.  And while I knew they weren’t there (due to work and school), I was to sit in my car and pray fervently over them all - individually (by name), and as a family.

I didn’t know the specific requests, and I didn’t need to.  I pulled out my pen and notebook and as I sat outside of their house on the road in the rain, the Holy Spirit directed me how to pray and orchestrated the entire prayer time that lasted for about an hour.

I will likely never know, this side of eternity, the full result of those words whispered in faith for this family, but I know that it was one of the most powerful personal experiences I have had with the Father in what I felt like was a co-laboring and an almost “warring”  for these individuals who are precious in the eyes of the Savior.

Because the truth really is that we have a need to pray with great expectation over the people we’ve been entrusted to love.  To pray with assurance that they will step into the fullness of life Jesus died for them to experience.  To pray on behalf of their salvation and radical restoration boldly and and with great confidence.  To see potential and to speak life into dry places.

THIS is the privilege we have as believers of the Miracle Worker and the grace that accompanies our Gospel proclamation.

We all need risk-takers in our lives.. ones that see the goodness and intentionally call it out in us.

The writer of Hebrews was concerned with the spiritual immaturity of his audience.  He had a great desire to see them experience a deeper level of faith, increased by a sincere eagerness to advance in holiness and righteousness.

In chapter 6, verses 1-8, he gives warnings against fundamental teaching that was causing them to remain unmoved and unchallenged in their current condition of faith.  He was cautioning them against apostasy, and challenging them with real spiritual meat as opposed to the basic nourishment of milk appropriate for babies (which they were no longer).

And then we come to verse 9 that says this, “Dear Friends, even though we are talking this way, we really don’t believe it applies to you.  We are confident that you are meant for better things, things that come with salvation.”

The author here knows a little bit about encouragement.  And he knows the secret to foundational inspiration and life-breathing stimulation.

And so it is with that we have been given an opportunity to follow the example laid out before us.

To be life-givers.
To believe the best in others.
To expect good things.
To put hope in the miracle.

To celebrate what Jesus paid for at the cross.

We will take risks for the ones we value and love.
Can we take it a step further and take risks for the ones He values and gave His life to show His love?

It matters.

The Guarded Gate

Psalm 118:19-20 says this, “Open for me the gates where the righteous enter, and I will go in and thank the Lord.  These gates lead to the presence of the Lord, and the godly enter there.”

The Psalmist here knows the secret of entrance into the “house of the Lord”… or the Presence.  And we get a glimpse of what was intended as instruction for all of us.

“Open the gates.”
The first thing to note here is that the request to open the gates, insinuates that the doors are closed.  They are closed until we make the request for them to be open.  We’ve got to want the Presence of the Lord.  He is a good Father.  So much so that He doesn’t invade the heart and mind of a person, but allows us the free will to desire Him for ourselves.

“Open the gates”, he says.  The gate… where the King dwells.

“Where the righteous enter.”  Some versions say “godly.”
This is denoting a person who is just, a person who is holy in heart, a person who reveres God, lives in obedience, and is not only observant of Divine commands, but is so in practice as well.

In other words - “ I want to be counted among the saints who receive the privilege and honor of loving You well and represent You best."

“I will go in and thank the Lord.”
Ahh… yes!  Our pathway is praise! 
I can only profit by partnership with the Presence by praise!
Praise and Worship is our response to His gracious permission.

Those who can enter into the gate of His presence are those who:

• purpose to serve God.

• purpose to worship God.

• purpose to be holy.

These who strive in these areas

• enter the gates.

• are recognized as friends of God.

• are permitted to join in all devotion of His people.

As we enter into a new year I purpose to serve God where I am.  I purpose to worship Him no matter the price.  I purpose to enter the gates with gratitude on my tongue and praise on my lips.

The Presence is too important, and the threat of His withdraw is too dangerous.

“I have found the gateway to God, the pathway to His presence…”  (TPT)  And I will give my life to making Him glad that He let me in.