Remember His Radical Faithfulness

Psalm 44.
I would be stopped in my tracks by the title of the chapter in The Passion Translation.
“Wake Up, Lord, We’re In Trouble.”

And I wonder how many times we’ve heard this over the last 2 months.
Or how many times we've said it ourselves over the last several weeks.

Wake up, Lord, we’re in trouble.

It was disciples in the boat with a sleeping Savior who said the same thing.  “Teacher, don't you care if we drown?”  (Mark 4:38)

And yet there He was - in the boat with His students the whole time.
He never left.
He said He wouldn’t.
Oh, but we fail to remember.

And I could hear the announcement to us from the ones who went before, calling from the pages of His glorious Word.  Psalm 44:1, “O God, we have heard it with our own ears - our ancestors have told us of all you did in their day, in days long ago: You drove out the pagan nations by Your power and gave all the land to our ancestors.  You crushed their enemy's and set our ancestors free.”

I love that even the title doesn't match up to the words they were speaking. 
Perhaps they knew a little something about the power of remembering, and that sometimes… we have to do some self talk until our heart catches up.
“Wake up, Lord, we’re in trouble.”
“We have heard it with our own ears - all You did!”

Our former experiences.. and the experiences of those we love… are strong supporters to our faith.  When we can recall His goodness, and speak to His past mercies and provision, our faith, and the faith of those watching on and listening in, increases!

The Psalmist begins with what he had heard about God… all that He had done, and he spills into what he knows to be true of His God and who He is (verses 4-8)

He says this like, 
“You are my King and my God.”
“You are the One who gives us victory over our enemies.”
And, “You disgrace those who hate us.”

What is he doing?
He’s remembering the faithfulness of God, and claiming those past evidences of grace over his own life.  In the rehearsing of former goodness, He is heralding in present graces and future glory.

And we must do the same.

If we can’t discern what He’s doing, we must remember what He has done.
We must remember, recall, and repeat His faithfulness.
His wonders are in continuous forward motion.
Scripture tells us that He is moving from “glory to glory”.  This means that His faithfulness and His goodness is progressive.  It is always advancing.
He is a God who changes not, and He is a Father who never abandons His hungry, seeking children.  What God has been… who God has been… is who He will always be.

“I am the LORD, and I do not change.”  Mal 3:6

“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken.”  Isaiah 28:16

“No, I will not abandon you or leave you as orphans in the storm—I will come to you.”  John 14:18

God is working in the eye of the storm.  He does His best work in the dreadful famine, where He says to us with great confidence and reassurance that He will (Ps 23:5), “prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…” so that the destroyer is forced to have to see me feast in plenty!

Remember His goodness.
Recall His faithfulness.
Repeat His promises.

He’s so much better than we deserve Him to be!

There Is A Wall Of Fire Around Me

Zechariah is such a powerful book, and one that is so necessary for us to get in us, especially at this time of great uncertainty.

Following the return of the exiles from Babylon, and following the destruction of the first temple of the Lord built by King Solomon, Zechariah, who served as both a prophet and a priest, was called to awaken the people for spiritual renewal. His job was to bring an awareness of the power of God and to prepare the people for proper worship once the building project was complete. God’s plan to do good and be a manifest presence to the Jews was contingent upon their obedience, as they had retracted into moral sin, passive rebellion and spiritual apathy.

What I love about chapter 2 is it’s title, first and foremost. In my Bible it says, “Future Prosperity of Jerusalem”, and in it are promises to claim from God.

One of these is found in Zechariah 2:5, “‘Then I, myself, will be a protective wall of fire around Jerusalem’, says the Lord. ‘And I will be the glory inside the city.’”

Ahh..
a wall of fire around the city.
glory inside the city.

The people had a job to do and that was to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem that had lied in ruins for nearly 20 years. The people had a difficulty before them in the task because they had small resources and many adversaries, but God’s primary focus for them was the returning of hearts to Him, full and complete restoration, and individual holiness.

And while He was walling in the city by fire, He was also igniting the fire of His glory inside the hearts of His people.

There is a promise that God would be a wall of fire around the city.
But it was also appointed to be around the individual as well.
And my commentary says that this fire of protection was to continue only by us staying INSIDE the walls of protection and trusting it fully. If faith begins to dwindle, then the fire begins to extinguish, allowing evil of any kind to get across the embers laying low.

We “stay inside” by “staying close” to Jesus. It’s the only way.

There is also a promise that God would be a glory in the midst of us.
This was the inward illumination of God’s manifest presence in an individual.
The only way you and I can be a light to the world, is by having the light inside of us. The light of Jesus and His presence in our lives.

And that light shines through in everything we do and everything we say. Every decision we make, every conversation we have, every victory we claim in the midst of crisis!

My commentary suggest that, “for each of us, the secret of joy, of purity, and of knowledge, is that we are holding close communion with God.”

There is a wall of fire around me.
This is for my protection - but there’s more!

What does fire do?
It warms, it gives light, it attracts because of it’s brightness, it repels harmful substances.
Look at the definition of fire = “heat and light, emanating viability and perceptibility; light, luster, and splendor.”


WOW!

There is a wall of fire around me.
But I must stay inside and trust it.
My only protection is making sure it stays ablaze or else evil sneaks in and attacks.
The fire will continue as long as I am keeping near to Jesus.

Look at Leviticus 6:12 that tells us that while it was God’s job to start the fire, it was the priests job to “keep it burning.”

There is a promise of fire around me, and this is good news, friends!

Such… good… news for those who stay inside!

His Awakening Is Our Awakening!

The day was July 10, 2019, and I wrote it in my "Words" Journal so that I would remember.
I had woken up really early to a God prompting that morning. A stirring in my spirit that I couldn't shake. And I would, almost feverishly, write it down, "Awaken my people."

I wasn't sure what that meant, but I knew it was from the Lord, and I KNEW I had to capture all He was saying.

As it turned out, He led me to a VERY familiar story in the New Testament. Mark 4:35-41.

And because my mind words best in compartmentalized thoughts, here we have it:
A storm.
Jesus sleeping.
Disciples wake Him up.
Students are scared of drowning.
Jesus awakens.

Notice this: His first duty was to rebuke the storm.
Couple questions to wrestle with:
1.) If He was the author of the great storm, why would He need to rebuke it?
2.) Why does He choose to first settle the waves before addressing the unnecessary fear of the students?

Also note this... verse 39. I didn't really notice it until this week. Jesus says, "Silence! Be still!" and scripture tells us that, "... suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm."

SUDDENLY the winds obeyed Him and stopped roaring. (Even they can obey and stop when Jesus says enough is enough. If winds can do that, why can't we?)

And the next thing I see is "there was a great calm."
He didn't just REMOVE the winds, He added a calmness to the atmosphere. Ahh... isn't that just like our Jesus to go BEYOND our wants and needs? Stopping the storm would have been enough, but He adds to it an element of calm. (Note: Calm means this = without rough motion, free from disturbance, peaceful.)

Notice next: His second duty was to question the faith of His men. He asks them, and He asks us today, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
His call to His students was to AWAKEN.

I had wrote it along with my note on July 10, "Faith slumbers, but is not dead."

People just need to be awakened!

Their hearts just need to be awakened to the fact that He has been here all along. He has never left.

I would also write this, "His awakening is our awakening!"

Verse 41 says that the disciples were absolutely terrified. And they began to question each other, "WHO is this man? Even the winds and waves obey Him!"

Once Jesus was awakened in the storm - the hearts of these men and their spiritually closed eyes were AWAKENED.

Oh it is my prayer - that we would awaken! AWAKEN!

His awakening is ours and it's time to RISE!!

He Delights in Every Detail

And if we ever were to wonder if God has interest in our lives… if the things that matter to us, matter to Him… we need to look no further than Psalm 37:23.  “The Lord directs the steps of the godly.  He delights in every detail of their lives.”

Because I know that right now you’re struggling.
I know right now that it seems as though all is lost and forgotten.

But read that verse again.  “The Lord directs the steps of the godly.  He delights in every detail of their lives.”

And in the waiting for God to be gracious and merciful and faithful can be challenging.  Setbacks and delays.. and especially derailments… can be so difficult.

To us, at times, it might even feel as though we’re traveling this dry and weary land without a guide; as though we’re traversing this road aimless and almost pointless.  The path is often laden with interruption, confusion, discouragements, and failures. 

My commentary sadly says this, “There have come times to most of us when we have lost out of our lives all sense of plan or order, and have just gone from day to day, doing, and taking what the day brought with it.”

And the truth is that allowing ourselves to live reactionary to evil instead of in response to His voice, and to slip into “survival mode” is a dangerous place to be.  Romans 8:37 says, “…despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”  Jesus has set us up for victory, but it’s “overwhelming victory”, not “by the skin of our teeth.”

The Lord directs the steps of the godly.  And the godly are always marching forward in anticipation of what He’s going to do next.

Our steps are divinely ordered.  And He delights in every detail of our lives.
Every one.

Every challenge.
Every joy.
Every sorrow.
Every pain.
Every thought.

He delights in every single one of them.

So won’t you tell Him today where you’re hurting?  He already knows, yes, but He takes delight in hearing from His children because He is detail-oriented God who is in the business of redeeming all you fear is broken or lost.

Open your heart to Him today with the complete awareness of His great delight in every microscopic aspect of our being.  “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”  (Luke 12:7)

Keep Looking Up

Matthew 17 is the story of the Transfiguration.

It’s a beautiful story about the time that Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, with him to a mountaintop to be alone.  While there, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so much so that His face was bright like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.  The bible tells us that, “Suddenly, Moses and Elijah were standing with Him.”  (verse 3)

Peter had such a profound experience in the company of greatness and in the presence of His Jesus marked by such splendor, he suggested that they stay there, making for themselves shelters to live in. 

It is likely that Peter was thinking the the Kingdom was about to ushered in to full glory, and in a haste specific to his nature and character, he desired to memorialize the moment.

But as many know the story, the Lord spoke in a brilliant cloud and said, “This is My dearly beloved Son, who brings Me great joy.  Listen to Him.”  (verse 5)

Then scripture tells us in verse 6, “The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground.” 

The disciples knew what it meant to experience an encounter with the Lord, and in fear and reverence, properly responded.

But it’s the next verses that tell us a little something more.

“Then Jesus came over and touched them.  ‘Get up’, He said.  ‘Don’t be afraid.’  And when they looked up Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus.”  (verses 7-8)

They recognized the touch of their Jesus.  They heard the voice of their Savior.  And they saw only their Christ.

Ahh… and I wonder today if the same could be said of us.  The weary Jesus-people.

Because what I know to be true is that one single encounter with Him changes everything.

We become fearful only when we loose sight of Him.
Where He’s standing.  How He’s working.

We sink into a pit of darkness when we don’t lean in to hear His voice.
What He has spoken over us.  What He's saying to us.

One touch… one voice… one vision of glory - and everything changes!

He speaks to us today and says the same to you and me, “Get up.”  “Do not be afraid.”

And when we choose to look up… to focus our gaze upon Jesus and Jesus only… nothing else will matter.  No crisis, no illness, no guilt and shame, no economic setback, no loss… nothing else will matter.

Beholding the Savior is the only survival skill we must learn to master.

Keep looking up!

Believe to See!

Here's another excerpt from our Harvest event we did in the fall of 2017 entitled, Awakening. Another perfect word for our times now.

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Psalm 27:13 says this, "Yet I am confident I will see the Lord's goodness while I am here in the land of the living.”

David penned these words with faintness of heart.

You can feel his grief.. But yet.... he was confident that goodness could be found in the midst of utter madness.

David believed that he would "see" things he needed the side of eternity… Support in affliction, grace in sin, strength against the enemy, deliverance from evil. He was already living according to the promise of the Messiah yet to come, "In this world you will have trouble – but take heart, I have overcome." (John 16:33)

We are born sinners into a world of wickedness. We reside in a fallen planet. An ear bent in any degree to the troubling news reports as of late, is sure to bring sadness and discouragement. But take heart!

It is un-Biblical to expect peace as the world sees it. Worldly peace was not promised. John 14:27 is our proof that He gave it to us in his preparation of His departure…”I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart. and the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” You will have trouble. But faith isn't a matter of seeing then believing, but rather believing TO see!

Fear and panic come to us when we fail to learn about the goodness of God. If we take as much time to study His goodness as we did to fear about the future, and complain about the state of evil we're in… then we could confidently rest in His hope and not our hopelessness.
Listen - we are living in a crisis situation, it’s true, but maybe not because of the way you’re thinking… listen… We are living in a day that was foretold in scripture… Amos 8:12, “People will stagger from sea to sea and wander border to border searching for the Word of the Lord, but they will not find it.”

And I believe that we are the way for those in the wilderness.
You and I.
We are to be Jesus to those around - because it’s the only way He will be seen!
You and I - we are the conduit - - the vessel - - we are the way that others can find Him!
We think it’s our “right” to spread retaliating comments regarding the condition of our country, but I implore you to NOT behave that way! It’s simply NOT the Jesus way. The Jesus way for the Jesus people… Christians… or “little Christ’s” is simply to forbear!
To… Stay silent when you could contribute to evil.

We must possess a settled faith in His promises.

The evidences of God's goodness will come to those who believe first. But evidences of His grace and mercy and rescue are the product of faith… not the cause of faith. Our only safeguard during the evil happening here on earth is believing beforehand on our journey home.

God’s goodness is often a matter of faith rather than sight!

We must possess the attitude of a farmer in waiting. We plant goodness and faithfulness and sometimes it’s a long time before it appears above ground. Meanwhile - there’s a bleak, dreary field!

Faith in God implies faith in good. God is good. It’s NOT what He does…. but WHO He is! Oh who can tell the work that is being done beneath the ground!

My commentary = “We must hold to what we know of God’s goodness, and trust where we cannot know.”

We faint because we do not see it! We faint because we have lost vision of WHO God is! We can’t envision the protection promised! Why? Because we’re looking at it backwards… we are so used to seeing to believe - but we must believe to see!

- Wendy Bender, Inspire Ministries, 2017 (The Harvest Event: Awakening!)

We Suffer From A Not Yet Disposition

Haggai.

Such a necessary book for us in these difficult times.

A call to rebuild the temple.

And I feel it in my own self.. a need to “rebuild my temple.”
Because isn’t it what the scriptures say…my body is a temple? 1 Cor 6:19, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself.”

And quite honestly, it’s time for some rebuilding.

We would see it in the first chapter of the book that bears His name, Haggai says to the people in verse 2, “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, ‘The people are saying, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.’’”

The remnant… those living in exile… the very ones who were rescued and redeemed for the purpose of giving God glory… had failed not by lack of provision, but rather by a spirit of passivity.  They lacked sustainability, consistency, and the skill of recognizing the importance and urgency of their calling.  Of their having been “called out.”

Those who have been called by God and employed by Him for His service, may at times be driven from their work by a storm.  An unexpected setback may occur that threatens our hope and our joy.  But the affliction, often disguised as a misfortune, has most certainly been assigned as an opportunity.  An opportunity for growth, advancement… a second chance to get it right. 

And in the midst of the hardship we hear Him whisper… “you must return.”

The people didn’t say they wouldn’t rebuild the temple… they simply said, “Not yet.”
And the same is true for us.
The assignment has been given… return to the Lord, rebuild the temple… and we say, “Not yet.”

It’s not full disobedience… but partial defiance is just as bad.  Perhaps worse.
Because the Israelites… just like we, the Jesus-people… have seen provision at it’s finest.  We've seen the answered prayers, we’ve seen the miracles of healing, we’ve seen the abundance, and we’ve experienced the undeserving grace… and even with the enormous head-knowledge, we refuse the heart-change that He’s really after.

And it’s our words that convict… “Not yet.”

The commission was clear.  “Now go up into the hills, bring down the timber, and rebuild My house.  THEN I will take pleasure in it and be honored says the Lord.”

My commentary says, “Whatever God will take pleasure in when done, we ought to take pleasure in doing.”
And so when He says, “return” I know I must go.

And so I place before me today, the hard questions,
What is He asking me to do for Him?
What do I need to rebuild for Him?
How will this prove to give Him glory?

Because the truth really is that so often the glory is delayed by a “not yet” disposition.
Let us return to God, and to do it with all that is in us, while there is still time.
“Turn to Me now, while there is still time.  Give me your hearts.”  (Joel 2:12)

Maybe The Answer Isn't What God Can Give, But How We Can Prepare

The whole earth at the present moment is waiting for what the Lord can give... but maybe the answer comes, not in the giving, but in the preparation.

Today I am sharing this excerpt from an event I did over 2 years ago, now, called, The Harvest: Awakening! So good for our present condition, friends!

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Stay close to Jesus.

Because we see it all the time. And my heart aches at the very thought. Individuals who are on fire for Jesus, whose flames of passion have now been extinguished. People who allow the worldly ways and all it's bitter ugliness to seep in and destroy the once fervent heart that yearned for more of Him. And the hard truth is that sometimes our excitement and our joy is robbed of us the moment we step out of the church doors on Sunday morning.

My commentary says this, "One of the saddest sights angels behold is a warm heart cooling in it's love towards God, a beautiful life withering beneath the blight of sin."

We become "in danger" by: unwatchfulness, unfaithfulness, ingratitude, and rebellion. When we choose comfort over character, feelings over fortitude, satisfaction over sanctification... friends… we lose. Every time. Remember that this is the great reversal. This is the raw gospel message… and this is learning to become more like the Jesus we say we love and serve.

We've gotta stay close. Close to the Father and close to His people. It's truly a matter of fullness or fatality.

Stay close! Let Him love you back together again!

Isaiah 43:19 says, "For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland." The Message version in part says it this way, "Be alert, be present… It's bursting out! Don't you see it?"

Ahh... it's because we're not looking that we do not see.

This new thing was the opening of a path in the wilderness and the supply of rivers of waters in the desert. Because this land is parched! Oh how we're utterly dehydrated!

The pathless future is before us… No foot has been there yet… All of us walking the same way. All around us are unknown difficulties and unseen circumstances. But God will make a way! A path will open for His children to walk on… a road for his chosen to travel in security to their appointed destination.

This earthly home is like a desert. A wasteland. It's difficult, it's hilly, it's marked by pain and peril. And the sun beats upon the earth – making it difficult to believe that life can be sustained in this journey across the foreign, lonesome desert.

But God can and will provide all that is needed… rivers of water… an abundant and continuous supply. Preparation and guidance!

It’s here… don’t you see it??? (like the cloud the size of a man’s hand! 1 Kings 18:44) We miss the harvest because we’re simply not looking for it!

He’s making a way in the wilderness for you today!

We want God to answer us by GIVING to us - but maybe He answers us by PREPARING us!
I want more for you!!!!

God's making a way in the wilderness for His wounded and weary warriors.

- Wendy Bender, Inspire Ministries, 2017 (The Harvest Event: Awakening!)

Yet I Stil Dare To Hope

I would see the words there on the page, smack dab in the middle of relating, all to well, to the lamenter’s cry in Lamentations 3.

Because the Lord, in His great kindness, knows when we’ve had enough, and when the swooping in of His hope-filled spirit is precisely what our weary heart needs to hear.

The writer, thought by many to be the prophet Jeremiah, gives us a hard read in the first 20 verses of Lamentations.  And a read through can cause the anxiousness to rise in the heart of even the most well established Christ follower.

But then I see it on a Tuesday morning.  The words I had read at least a dozen times in the course of my life… maybe more.  The words that offer a solution to the puzzling circumstances that fill our days… “Yet, I still dare to hope!”  (Lam 3:21)

I would say the words out loud as I typed them into my computer as prep for a Tuesday night live event I’d be speaking at that same evening.  “THIS is a shift!”

And I would glance back at the calendar block that sits at my prayer table and notice the date… April 21.

Lamentations 21… April 21… Hope in the middle of the storm… A shift in the heart of the prophet… A shift in the heart of… me, too??

The word yet means this = nevertheless, though, “in spite of.”
The word dare means this = courage, boldness for something, a risk, hazard.

And so this could read, “In spite of all I see happening around me, I still take the risk to have hope!”

Jeremiah, here, is calling to his mind the faithfulness of the Lord.  He is remembering and reflecting back to what He knows to true of his God, and we see it in the verses that lie just ahead, “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him!’”

My commentary say that we must be, “rich in remembrance.”  I love this!
Because wasn't it just in verse 18 that we read of him lamenting that, “Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!”

And isn’t it what so many are saying now?
Everything I had hoped for is lost!
Everything I anticipated to be happening isn’t happening!
Everything I thought would turn out right has failed!

In our loneliness, and fear, and anxiety, our vision has blurred.

My commentary says that, “there comes a time in life when affliction must speak to us.”

And sometimes we must, in the middle of a crisis, give ourselves a pep talk - to remind ourselves that hope can be found for those clinging to Jesus.

“Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this…”
When we can look back and remember a better time through the lens of undeserving grace… we realize how small we are, and how big God is.  How weak we are, YET how strong He is.  How good He has been - when He never had to be.

I watched a story of a man who YouTubing his paragliding experience with his mom.  As a trained and skilled para-glider, he knew very well what to do in keeping himself safe, but worried a bit about how he would maintain the safety for this mom - who was weaker in health and had aging knees.  His main concern was “getting it right” and he said this, “I kept thinking, ‘how could this go right?’”

His focus wasn't in the failure that could result, the wrongs that could occur, or even the adversity they could be challenged with, he was, instead, considering all the ways that could go right.

Just like Jeremiah - he was yet, daring to hope.

And so I ask myself the hard question, too, how will I dare to hope?
How will I see the circumstances that threaten my peace and joy and respond with, “How could this go right?” 

How can I use what's happening to:
1.) make me better
2.) bring honor and glory to God

Because it matters.
And if hope can be found in the midst of kingdom destruction, capital ruin, temple collapse and abominable carnage by the prophet who witnessed this all first hand, I can dare to hope in my uneasiness, un-comfortability, and setback.

Yet… I can and will DARE to hope!

Preoccupied By The Pursuit

He would say it to me on a Sunday morning looking out our window into our back yard.  “It’s strange”, he said, “right now I see everything outside in portrait mode as if looking through the camera in my phone.”

And I suppose it’s almost natural when much of your time is spent “hunting” for content pics for the ever-writing-wife.  When the lens thorough which you use regularly becomes the norm for how you “see life”… everything changes.

I would think about a friend who has been bird-watching as of late, and the beautiful images she posts of the daily treasures she captures through the educated click of the camera.  Her trained eye… beholding beauty… her focused vision changes everything!

And I am reminded of Hosea 6, verse 3, “Oh, that we might know the Lord!  Let us press on to know Him.  He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of the dawn of the coming rains in early spring.”

It’s our “pressing on” to know Him that stirs Him to respond.
It’s our “daily pursuit” of His nature and character that ushers in His glorious presence.

Oh that we would be so preoccupied by the pursuit!  All in, and absorbed in knowing Him, trusting Him, and following hard after Him.

It is because he has trained his eye to see a certain way that my husband is predisposed to capturing impeccable images.  It is because she has chosen a most excellent subject to fixate upon, that my friend is inclined to apprehending exquisite photographs.

And all of this can only happen because we are preoccupied by the pursuit.

This characteristics of this kind of pursuit include:

• commitment
• dedication
• hard work
• steadfastness

It’s anchoring all of your affections in the pursuit.

2 Peter 3:18 says that we are to, “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
It’s not a one and done thing.
It is a continuing on… a pressing forward… a leaning in… a chasing after Him. 
To know Him… and be known by Him.
To know Him… so that He will surely, “respond to us… as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.”

Let us be preoccupied by the pursuit.

You Propose Progress!

And I would rehearse it in my mind over and over again as though my life depends on it.

And maybe it does.

The Lord, in His kindness, would lead me all over the scriptures, seeking for hope in the midst of heartache.

And I would find solace in the most random places... or are they really?

Ecclesiastes 7:10, "Don’t long for “the good old days.” This is not wise.”
Lamentations 3:9, “He has blocked my way with a high stone wall; He has made my road crooked.” 
And then this one,
Leviticus 26:23, “And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me.”  (KJV)

Hard passages to read.
I had thought I asked for some encouragement.

But maybe these are the encouraging scriptures this weary heart needs to hear.

My commentary suggests for Leviticus 26:23, that there are 2 things that bring us to ruin because of our disobedience: 
1.) Contempt of God’s commandments
and
2.) Contempt of God’s corrections.

The root of all misery is our failure to learn the lessons in our seasons of correction and discipline.

A Father disciplines for the betterment of his child, in the same way the Good Father chastens His beloved children for our betterment, our advancement, and for our ultimate progress.

There are five warnings in Leviticus 26 for disobedience.
Five!
Oh the patience of a Father longing to usher His child back onto the path that leads to Him!

In the fourth one found beginning in verse 23, the focus seems to center around this idea that God’s chief concern is reformation in the heart and mind of the one who remains unteachable.

The word, Reform, which is found in the KJV, is found only here in Leviticus.  The meaning is, “to be instructed”, or “to let one’s self be purposed for improvement”.. to be “purified.”  It is the same word that can be found in Jeremiah 6:8, 31:18, Psalm 2:10, and Proverbs 29:19.

Reform means this = improvement or amendment of what is wrong, to change to the better state, improve by alteration, substitution, or abolition, to cause to abandon wrong or evil ways of life or conduct, to put an end to, to abandon error, improvement of morals or behavior.

Jeremiah 2:30 says we are to properly, “respond to His discipline.”

And so I see the world and the current conditions a little differently today.

Maybe we look with contempt and regret at situations that inflict pain and worry and fear incorrectly.  Perhaps our greatest concern in conflict shouldn’t be the panic of it, the bewilderment of it, or even the removal of, as much as the right use of it.

Maybe the right question we should be wrestling with is - How will we use this?  How will we use this together, You and me, God?  Because You didn’t purpose the pain, but instead You proposed progress.

Maybe it’s time we leave the world behind, to chase after the holiness that God desires.  To concentrate on the improvement He wants to make in our hearts, as a result of all we see taking place around us.

Make me better, God.  It is the cry of my heart!

Improve, Remove, and Plant

Ecclesiastes 7:10 hit me square between the eyes when I saw it.  Because seasons of difficulty can most certainly lead to stages of discomfort and discouragement that often lead to retrospect and regret.

And the lamenter may have captured well the advice needed for an embittered spirit when he says the words, “Don’t long for the good old days, this is not wise.”

My commentary calls the attitude of this kind of person to whom this instruction was aimed at, “querulous”, which means = “full of complaints, characterized by or uttered in complaint, peevish, testy, discontent, critical, edgy, fault-finding, grumbling, and irritable.”

And I suppose these are qualifying factors for the one who has no hope.

But what about the Jesus people?
Aren’t we supposed to “be different?”

The chief complaint of the sorrowful soul in this text is that he preferred former days to present ones.  He saw that the best days were behind him, and that the “golden days” for which he viewed now in reverse as “the good old days”, had passed him by.

We find ourselves saying things like,
“I’m not as happy as I once was.”
“I’m not as beautiful as I was at that time.”
“Things were so much better back then.”

And we may hear ourselves saying the words now more than ever, “I wish things were the way they used to be.”  In fact, more than 5 times this past week I have heard the words spoken by others, “Can’t we just get back to normal?”

But yet I wonder if while “looking back” is partially sensible… it doesn’t tell the full story.  That while “looking back” is, in part necessary, the longing to return is not wise.

Why?

Because it tells little more than what was on the surface.  Those days had their problems too.  Those days were filled with conflict and despair also.
Because it sets us in a place of entitlement and misunderstanding of immunity.  All we had and all we have is given from a good Father who knows what we need when we need it.  Perhaps we’ve lost our sense of smallness and and awareness of His greatness.
Because it demonstrates our true heart of hopelessness and distrust for the promises that still lie ahead.

He says to us that, “joy comes in the morning.” (Ps 30:5)
He tells us that, “He will make your paths straight.”  (Prov 3:6)
He will, “guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Phil 4:7)
He is, “a mighty one who will save.”  And He will, “rejoice over you with gladness”, and “quiet you by His love”, while He, “exhalt(s) over you with loud singing.”  (Zeph 3:17)
He also says that when we commit to the Lord, He will make our, “plans succeed.”  (Prov 16:3)

He is a good Father who sees what has happened, and sees the state of depression you have found yourself in.  He knows that your pining for the return of normalcy is taking up too much of your center stage.

But what if, in this time of forced rest, we considered the ways He wants to grow us and change us and better us.

If you and I would cultivate a right spirit, instead of lamenting over the deficiency of our current condition, and intentioned to fortify ourselves with the resurrected strength we possess as sons and daughters of the King, then perhaps we could find an expectation of favor worth clinging on to.

I would write it in my journal - three things I do have control over at this time… three things I must learn to do in this season instead of the lamenting that fails to advance: improve, remove, and plant.

To improve that which I am capable of reforming.
To remove that which should disappear.
And to plant that which should grow into thriving.

And so I ask myself the difficult questions and take the imperative inventory.  Always the self-preaching first:
What do I need to improve in myself at this time?
What do I need to remove from my life that has to go in order to improve?
What do I need to plant within my soul to stimulate production?

I have the time.
There’s no excuse.
And there’s never been a more significant moment for this kind of marking in all my life.

I Must Determine To Never Return

Deut 17:16 says this, “The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the Lord has told you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’”

Egypt, as many of us know, was a place of slavery for the people of Israel.
And they had been rescued from that environment
They had been radically saved by the evil that resided there and were well on their way to the “promised land.”

And they had been given a strict order when they left, to never return there again.
That was in their past.
What had been done, had been done… and redemption now belonged to the people of God.

And it got me thinking.


TODAY is a new day!
TODAY is the start to a new chapter.

And in this pandemic scare, we are being restored as a nation.. AND as people of God individually. And while it is true that we have never been this way before, it is also true that we are never to return to where we were before.

The past is the past.

TODAY is a day for repentance and heart change.

We all have our own Egypt that the Lord is rescued us from.
I don’t know what yours is, but I know what mine is.

And I know that in this new season that God is taking me (us) into, I can not rehearse all habits… old ways… I must learn from the past and step boldly into what God is calling me into.

Isaiah 43:19 says this, “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”

But that means I am going to have to let go of some things that CAN NOT enter this new season with me.

And so I ask myself the question - and maybe you will want to too?
“What is it that I must determine NOT to return to?"
He’s bringing us into a new season!
He is giving us a chance to change!
He is affording us this opportunity to return to Him.

“My heart has heard You say, ‘Come and talk with Me’, and my heart responds, ‘Lord, I am coming!’” (Ps 27:8)

Remember The Winter

I knew it was coming.
But I didn’t know it was here.
Not like this.
Early mornings in the basement office that is my “sanctuary” restricts me from seeing the full story.
And I would get a simple text from my hubby at just about 8 that read, “Have you seen outside this morning?”
And I hadn’t.
So I came to see.
And it shouldn’t surprise any of us that it’s there.
The lovely white stuff even this late into April.
I’m certain we get it every year.

And I would say it to a friend just one year ago I think.  One snow bird to another… “This is winter’s final farewell.”

I would even hit send to a comment on a post this morning, “It IS a beautiful sight to see!”

And then it hit me a little deeper when I read it in the Facebook post just minutes ago.  The one I would smile at, while simultaneously deep sighing for a bit.  “Winter just won’t give in to spring” she’d say.

And without her knowing, her words pierced my heart, while God whispered to my soul… “I’m not finished yet.”

Because could it really be that just as winter isn’t finished yet - just as winter won’t give in to spring - He, too, isn’t finished either?  Could it be that there’s something He still wants to say… still so much we have to see?  Learn?

Wasn’t it Jesus who said it to His willing, yet immature students?  The ones who thought they knew, but who had failed to allow impressions they’d been privy to, to actually mold their character, shape their nature, and change their perspective?  "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.”  (John 16:12)

Ahh… could it be that the work… in us… isn’t complete yet?  And that He has so much more to say to the willing hearer?

Perhaps in this season of pandemic terror, and quarantine discomfort, we are being summoned to “remember the winter.”

Remember the darkness… that burst into light!
Remember the illness… that was miraculously healed!
Remember the bitter cold… that transformed into warmth!
Remember the pain… that ushered in presence!

There’s a new season upon us!
“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”  (Is 43:19)
But we are being employed AND empowered to… Remember, Recall, and Repeat.

To remember His faithfulness.
Recall His goodness.
Repeat His mercies.

Remember the winter.

We can’t embark upon a new season without having gained all we can from the old.

And maybe, if nothing else, we can learn, like Paul, how to, “…be content with whatever I have.  I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.”  (Phil 4:11-12)

Remember the winter.
Glance back as you move forward.

It all matters…

Boundary Line To Our Burdens

I always try to convey the importance of reading, “until you hear His voice.”  And while faithfully pursuing the heart of God, we always find His voice.

Jeremiah 5:20-22 says, “Make this announcement to Israel, and say this to Judah: Listen, you foolish and senseless people, with eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear. Have you no respect for Me? Why don’t you tremble in My presence? I, the Lord, define the ocean’s sandy shoreline as an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross. The waves may toss and roar, but they can never pass the boundaries I set.”

All of the prophesy chapters that are considered “warnings” can be difficult to read.
And they can be even harder to theologically define.

But more than making us “scholars”, I think Jesus is simply calling us to “see” with unimpaired vision… to come simply with a hungry heart to BE with Jesus and to read until you hear His voice speak to your quieted, stilled spirit.

Look at the verses again:
“Listen, you foolish and senseless people.”
“With eyes that do not see.”
“And ears that do not hear.”

Isaiah had prophesied a “bringing out” of “the people who have eyes, but are blind, and have ears but are deaf.”  (Is 43:8)  AND LOOK - just before that, in verse 7 he says, “Bring all who claim Me as their God, for I have made them for My glory.  It was I who created them.” 

Could it be, then that the “blind and the deaf” he is referring here to, are the very ones who claim Jesus as Savior, but refuse to live beyond the cross?  Who refuse to live in obedience to the very One who shed His blood for them?

Check out too, more about blindness.  In John 9:39, in talking with a man who was just healed by Jesus after being blind from birth says this, “I entered this world to render judgement - to give sight to the blind and to show those who THINK they see that they are blind.”

I have personal conviction that even this pandemic we’re in isn’t so much for the ones who NEVER knew Him - but rather the ones who THINK they see, but are really still blind.

Continuing o he prophesies:
“Have you no respect for Me?”
“Why don’t you tremble in My presence?”
Oh isn’t the our nation?

I cried yesterday at the outrage I have see demonstrated in our country.
I bawled as my heart poured out to God for the return of His people.

BUT then this… and here is my encouragement to you today through it all:
“I, the Lord, define the ocean’s sandy shoreline as an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross. The waves may toss and roar, but they can never pass the boundaries I set.”

Read it again.
This time slower.
“I the Lord DEFINE the ocean’s sandy SHORELINES as an everlasting BOUNDARY that the waters cannot cross…. they can never pass the BOUNDARIES I set.”

Oh friends.
Do you see it?
Read those highlights again!

He DEFINES the SHORELINES and sets a BOUNDARY that waters cannot cross.

WOW.

Could it be that we could believe today that God sets a BOUNDARY for our BURDENS?
There’s an end to the suffering.
Because the people of God - the true REMNANT of His salvation - CANNOT be brought to destruction by suffering!!!

He is keeping the waters within their appointed bounds.

My commentary on this says, “When God looks down into human society, underneath the (to us) often calm surface, He must see little else than stormy agitation, one human billow dashing against another, each individual in his self-assertion, contributing to make a general disturbance and a disturbance which apparently will not soon have an end.”

It is my STRONG condition and something God gave me a STRONG vision for is this…
When we have seen calm in the earth before this - returning our minds back to “the good old days”, when things were “normal”… might not have looked so “good” and “normal” to Him.  We have been fighting, and warring against the very creation we were designed to love and protect. We have, for a long time now, been creating division and living in evil cycles of disobedience… refusing to give honor and rightly see God in splendor and glory.
YET - in these days…. the ones we would consider “hard” and “disruptive” to us - perhaps God sees as HIS GLORY manifesting in the earth and giving way to the RISE of the real believers… the remnant He has called to rise up in challenging circumstances… to pave the way for other radical Jesus people to follow!

Just think through that for a while.

And be joyously reminded today that GOD sets boundary lines to our suffering.
There is a time… His perfect time… where He will say, “ENOUGH is ENOUGH!”

The storm - with all of it’s destruction and it’s danger is POWERLESS to overwhelm and overcome the SOLID LAND.

Are you solid land???

The boundaries are fixed.  The limits have been set by God Almighty.
But He’s patiently waiting for His people to take a stand against the darkness by refusing to highlight the work of the enemy.
He’s looking for the remnant to rise up and praise in the midst of pain.

We just might get to determine, after all, how harshly we’re impacted by this pandemic.

God sets a boundary line for it all, friend… ALL.
He is patiently awaiting your return to Him.

It's Time To Arise and Return

I had read one line in a commentary and hadn’t been able to shake it from my thoughts. Even days later I was pondering over this one sentence… “Affliction is represented as having at length accomplished its work.”

And it got me thinking to our own set of circumstances.
Global pandemic.
190+ countries affected.
A national economic shut-down.

It’s an enemy invasion and it’s target is the hearts and lives of millions of people all over the planet.


It has been said that in our lifetime, no one has ever witnessed a more severe invasion. That no one person alive today has ever lived through a more devastating season of loss, uncertainty, pain, and personal tragedy.


We could take one look around and say like commentator, J. Orr said, “Affliction is represented as having at length accomplished its work.”

I was talking with someone the other day who was telling me about a friend of hers whose husband is literally, panic-stricken, and “freaking out.” I’ve heard about and read countless stories of hysteria and fear from even those who are followers of Jesus Christ.

And I get it.

I was just telling someone the other day that I tend to vacillate between the emotions of extreme faith and irrational fear.

I will be fine one moment, and then suddenly, almost out of nowhere, I feel the emotions start to rise and I return to a state of unrest.

And I would say this about those emotions… they are “represented as having at length accomplished its work” in me.

The enemy is out to steal away from us any joy or hope for the promises of God that we possess. He is out to kill off any confidence we have in a brighter future for our families. He seeks to destroy our expectations of a God who is good and always works things out for our benefit and His glory.

And my mind immediately shifts to the story of the prodigal son.

Because in my journey, often laced with traces of misplaced trust, I steadily work hard to find the encouragement.

The story unfolds in Luke 15.
A man with two sons.
A divided estate from a loving father.
A younger son squandering the money.
A depletion of funds.
A famine in the land.
A desperate young man.
Hungry and tired.
Needing to return to his home, but feeling like a failure.

Verse 17 says, “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!” Verse 18 and 19, “I will go home to my father and say, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”

And of course we know the rest of the story.
He returns to his father.
The father runs to meet him.
Filled with love and compassion he welcomes him back.
He even gives him a welcome-home ceremony with gifts.

Verse 18 in the King James Version says this, “I will arise and go to my father…”

When he comes to his senses, he realizes that all along, it was really a heart issue.
He had become arrogant and entitled. And with the money he grew stubborn and irresponsible… but it was always a heart issue.

He thought he knew better as to how to handle his money.

He even distanced himself physically from the gracious giver of the wealth… because that’s what a life of sin does to a person… it separates them from kingdom reality, and from the very people who love you and are for you.

And with one glance, we can see it all around us.
This world is hurting.
We are filling up with painful anxiety, dread, and hopelessness.
We mumble, complain, fight over political disagreements, and allow our mouths to spew hate and disgust from the very lips we use to recite hymns and petition prayers with.
We, like the lost son, have too, lost our way.
We’ve set unrealistic expectations upon convenience living.
We’ve wandered away from familiarity with Jesus.
We’ve engaged in wrongful ways.
We’ve mishandled relationships.
We’ve abused blessing.

And it’s time to come home.

It’s time we rise like the sin-filled son, and with words of repentance say, “I will arise and go to my Father.”

He is the only one who can save.
He is the only hope we have.
And He promises Himself to those who, “…love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:38)

Let’s, “… turn to the Lord.” (Hosea 14:2)
There’s NEVER been a better time than now!

Looking For The Return of His Favor

And there are days when the words of scripture hit me just right and I am… forever changed.
Isaiah 8:11-22. It’s a call to trust the Lord.

And I hear Him calling into our own wilderness season today, these very words.

Verses 12-16 say this, “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them. Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble. He will keep you safe. But to Israel and Judah He will be a stone that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem He will be a trap and a snare. Many will stumble and fall, never to rise again. They will be snared and captured. Preserve the teaching of God; entrust his instructions to those who follow me.”

And then there following, the verse that stands out among the rest… “I will wait for the Lord, who has turned away from the descendants of Jacob. I will put my hope in Him.”

The prophet Isaiah saw the coming of a time when the Lord would hide His face from His people. But in His recalling to His mind the great character of God, chose to remove doubt, and with sweet expectation, look for His return of favor on them again.

I remember when I was first married to my husband. I used to have this one recurring dream that he had left me. It wasn’t a “cheating” situation… but rather simply an “abandonment” issue. And in the dream I specially remember calling him to talk with him, but he refused my call every time. I remember waking up from this nightmare in tears at even the thought of his turning away from me and refusing any kind of relationship with me.

While I can’t tell you what that dream meant in our early season of marriage, I know it shaped much of the way I did “relationship” in those critical years.

My prayer almost every single day of my life includes these words, “God, don’t hide Your face from me… I cannot do it alone.” And then I remind Him of His promises:
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:18
“Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” Debt 31:8
“Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.” Psalm 55:22

The prophet foresaw that the Lord would hide His face from His people… but he remained hopeful in looking for His return to shower favor once again.

You and I, as followers of Jesus, have been summoned to live a life differently than those who live outside of the faith. We are called, as verse 11 says, “… not to think like everyone else does.” Isaiah calls this a, “warning.”

And we can only act differently because we think differently.

Maybe today it feels like He has abandoned you. Like He has left you in your fear, in your isolation, and in your heartache. And maybe you are living in a state of panic and dread. But can I call to you from that same wilderness and remind you that, “Many will stumble and fall, never to rise again,” because they have lost sight of the One who knows our suffering better than we do.

Keep your focus on Jesus. Remind yourself of His promises. Repeat them often and out loud.
Though He may appear absent in the moment, He is never out of reach of the persistent heart that seeks and yearns and clings.

And so today I choose to say it with brave, bold confidence and straight into the face of evil, danger, illness, loss, and pain… I’m looking of the return of His favor!

Stand, Speak, Show, Open

And I have said it MANY times before, that Jesus is our standard. He is our example. He is who we should learn the most from and seek to emulate.

And we can look ALL throughout the Gospels to find the pattern of His person. To uncover His characteristics and study His habits.

John 20:19-23 is such an important section of scripture following the death and resurrection of Jesus.
It says this in the NLT, “That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! ‘Peace be with you,’ He said. As He spoke, He showed them the wounds in His hands and His side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again He said, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you.’ Then He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.’”

We can gain SO much from this conversation between the resurrected Christ and His students… His friends!

From here, we find 4 lessons we can learn from His life by just these 5 verses. And they could be easy to miss if we aren’t slowing down to really take notice and observe. Ahh… yes… read until you hear His voice!

So on my sticky note I wrote them.
Jesus set the example for us, friends:
1.) Stand with people
2.) Speak peace
3.) Show wounds
4.) Open the Word

1.) Stand with people. “Suddenly Jesus was STANDING there among them.”
Oh how we are called to stand with our friends and loved ones. When they hurt, when they’re confused, when they're anxious. We are better together. “If one person falls, the other can reach out and help.” (Eccl 4:10). We need each other. And maybe now more than ever. Who are your people? Who is your tribe? Stand with them. Jesus did just that! He came to where there was pain and He entered into people’s stories with them.

2.) Speak peace. “PEACE be with you.” And He says it twice in this section of scripture. He enters in with them and speaks peace over them. His very presence was peace. And you and I can be carriers of that same peace. When we walk into a room, do we usher in peace with us??

3.) Show wounds. “He showed them the WOUNDS in His hands and His side.” Our story matters. When we are able to share our own wounds with other people - faith is increased. When we tell of our healing stories, and the way God has redeemed and restored us from our past state, we give hope to the hurting. There is nothing we possess greater than our personal witness to the glory of Jesus Christ! Share your testimony. Release that same miracle working power into the lives of those who need to know that He, too, can “do it again” for them!

4.) Open the Word. “As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you.” He reminds them of the words He spoke to them while He was living among them as a man. His very word now more alive than ever! Yes… the LIVING Word. It’s what they now had standing in their midst. Open the Word for people… BE the living Word for people. Remind them of who Jesus is and what He can do for them. Share the promises of God. Be Jesus in flesh!

Stand, Speak Peace, Show Wounds, and Open the Word.

Such great reminders to us today as we press forward PAST the cross into FULL resurrection with Jesus!

Rabboni!

Three days later, after the brutal death of our Jesus, Mary Magdalene was found standing outside of His tomb and as she did, she wept.

Her grief was overwhelming.

Her sadness was unthinkable.

Her loss was intense.

And when she peered inside the tomb in search of her resting Savior, she perceived that His body had been stolen and she was deeply distressed because she couldn't imagine where they put Him.

Ahh... but then the voice.

The voice of the One who was missing, broke His silence. And in His gentleness and kindness, He asked her, "Dear woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?" (John 20:15a)

Thinking He might be the gardener, she replied, "Sir, if you have taken Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will go get Him." (verse 15b)

And in that moment... His calling her by name... changed everything.

"'Mary!' Jesus said." (verse 16a)

It was a personal call from the One who knew her as a friend.

And her response brings me to tears.

"'Rabboni!'" she cried out.

"Teacher!"

She recognized Him at once as the One with whom she knew intimacy. She recognized Him as the One who loved radically.

And it was in the calling her by name that awakened her very soul to His ever-abiding presence.

Today, friends, He's calling you by name.

He's not dead.

The grave would not keep Him.

He has come to rescue you from your loneliness, from your fear, from you isolation.

He is your redeemer.

And He is your friend.

And He knows you by name.

He's calling you today.

Are you listening for His voice?

Happy Easter, friends... He is alive!!!!!

Resignated Death

Jesus has called us to live an empowered, resurrected life. He modeled for us what that means and how it’s possible.

But in order to successfully do that, Paul tells us that we’re to be participators in His death.

And so to experience the power found in a life raised with Him, we must consciously choose all manner of cross-carrying. And that’s found in living like Jesus. It’s found in our:

• self denial
• our readiness to suffer
• our patients in trials
• our meekness and gentleness
• our forbearing attitude
• our radical forgiveness.

We cannot experience resurrected life until we’ve participated in resignated death.

REVIVAL Will Come When To Onlookers All Seems Most Hopeless

John 11 is a familiar story.

In it we find the illness of Lazarus, the close friend of Jesus, and his subsequent death and resurrection.

Three distinct verses stand out to me:
verse 32 - "When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at His feet and said, 'Lord if only You would have been here, my brother would not have died.'"
verse 39 - "Jesus said, 'Roll the stone aside...'"
verse 40 - "Then Jesus said, 'Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of the God?'"

Sometimes, like Mary, all we can see is what didn't happen. What could have happened. What prayers didn't get answered. What devastation lies at every turn.

But what Jesus had PLANNED was far greater than they could have imagined, and certainly superseded their faith and trust.

And in the midst of it all I am believing for REVIVAL. If not globally, than within my own heart. THAT I DO have control over.

Revival, by definition, is this = "restoration to life, consciousness, vigor, strength; restoration to use; a new production of an old play; an awakening; reviving; a reawakening of faith; to recover from a state of neglect; recovery of life from death or apparent death; return to activity from a state of languor; to raise from depression or discouragement; to refresh with hope or joy; to bring again to notice."

REVIVAL was upon Mary and the people who were present at the death of her brother.
But she didn't see it.
She couldn't perceive it.
Isaiah 43:19 says, "For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland."

There's a REVIVAL happening for the children of God. And I, for one, cannot afford to miss it.

I WILL not miss it.

Revival will come when to onlookers all seems most hopeless.

The time for returning to Him... and for REVIVAL in your own heart... is now!

Our Mouths Matter

Two times this past week I have heard the phrase used: "We are to keep clean in this season."

Two times I have heard that SAME exact phrase used by two completely different people as it relates to the children of God and the current condition of our nation.

And it has echoed so nicely with what I think I have been saying in my heart for months now. And all the time - I believe SO MUCH - that God has been preparing my heart for the exact position we are in.

As I have been SLOWLY poring over Isaiah in the last couple weeks, I found myself stopped on verses 4-6 in chapter 12.

It says this in the NLT, "In that wonderful day you will sing: 'Thank the Lord! Praise His name! Tell the nations what He has done. Let them know how mighty He is! Sing to the Lord, for He has done wonderful things. Make known His praise around the world. Let all the people of Jerusalem shout His praise with joy! For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.”

The Passion Translation says that we will, "say to one another" these things.

Oh how important it is what we SAY to one another.

And I wonder how much we truly think about it?
What we are allowing to leave our lips?
It matters all the time, of course, but it is my STRONG conviction that it matters NOW more than ever!
Why?
Because we are living in a time where great REVIVAL is upon us. And by keeping the atmosphere clean, we make a way for God to work.
And it starts with our mouths.
What we decree.
What we say.
How we say it.

Look to Jesus as our model.
He only DID what he saw the Father do and He only SAID what He heard the Father say.
Atmosphere's were shifted by actions and words.
And the same is true today.

Look at scripture that tells of the importance of staying clean:
"The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous." (Prov 15:29)
"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." (Psalm 66:18)
"Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." (James 4:3)
And I was stopped at this one in Isaiah 5:18-19, "What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind the with ropes made of lies, who drag wickedness behind them like a cart! They even mock God and say, 'Hurry up and do something! We want to see what You can do. Let the Holy One of Israel carry out His plan, for we want to know what it is."

And I noted beside this - could it be that our prayers cannot be answered because we are failing to change our lives... change the way we do things and just as importantly the way we say things.

This is not a call for positivity. This is not about "positive thinking" or even maintaining an "upbeat mindset." This is living with the language of love and obedience. This is refusing to live with anger and dissension. This is refusing to gossip and slander. This is making sure that with every breath we breathe we are honoring and glorifying God.

I was telling that to my niece and my daughter the other day - what we say NOW is more important than it has ever been. What we say about our condition, our health, our fear... and most importantly what we are saying about our God... will be the thing that defines our true surrender to Jesus and our full and complete trust in His plan!

Back to Isaiah 12... we are to:

• TELL the nations what He has done!
• LET THE KNOW how mighty He is!
• SING to the Lord!
• MAKE KNOWN His praise!
• SHOUT with praise and joy!

It matters!
What we say matters.
In these critical days, God is looking for a remnant of believers who will rise up and declare His goodness in this land of the living.

DECLARE it.
"ARISE and shine..." (Isaiah 60)
SAY so.

It matters, friends.

He Has Never Left Us Without Evidence of Himself

And sometimes… just like that… in the middle of hard text, comes a promise that contains the precise encouragement your heart needs to hear.

The story is of Paul and Barnabas found in Acts 14.

While these apostles were at Lystra, they came upon a man who had been crippled since birth in his feet. The man who had been listening intently to the preaching words of Paul, exhibited a great deal of faith and because of this Paul called to him to stand and the man was instantly healed. (14:8-10)

But the unbelieving onlookers of the crowd made false assumptions of these men, calling them, “gods in human form.” (vs 11) And because of their ignorance and disbelief, they prepared sacrifices to be made to the apostles (vs 13)

Upon hearing this, Paul and Barnabas tore their clothes in dismay, begging the crowd of people to stop at once. Their claim was that they were, “merely humans” who had, “come to bring the Gospel message” to them, so that they would, “turn from these worthless things, and to the living God.” (vss 14-15)

They remind the people here that in the past God permitted all nations to go their own way, but that, “He never left them without evidence of Himself and His goodness.” (vs 17) They even go on to give them an example as proof, “For instance, He sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.” (vs 17b)

You may know the rest of the story.
They barely restrained the people from sacrificing to them.
Some Jews won the crowds to their side.
They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the town thinking he was dead.
But this served only as a strengthening agent to the apostles.
They even returned to the very geographical region to continue their message of hope.

I love verse 17.
“He never left them without evidence of Himself and His goodness.”

And the message comes to the people in the middle of personal crises and confusion for many who continued in oppressive thinking, sinful ways, and misdirected idolatry. In their mess they became filled with distrust and suspicion which increased their irrational mindsets and rebellious behavior.

But smack dab in the thick of it all the followers of Jesus remind them of the goodness of God. The One who never left them without evidence of Himself.

And so in our crisis.. in our time of national upset by means of a devastating illness sweeping the country, we, too, can stop and look around at all the evidence of His mercy and grace.

We can count the ways He has always been kind.
We can look at the ways He continues to be gracious.
We can look for the ways He will extend His mercy.

Oh friends… He has NEVER left us without evidence of Himself and His goodness.
Not for one moment has He refused us access to His mercy and forgiveness.

Look around!
Find the good!
See the ways in which He has always been faithful.
And then begin declaring them over your current condition.

He has always been good.
It’s not just what He does - it’s who He is!

Prophesy the things that bring hope and encouragement.
Command the dry bones to live! “Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.” (Ez 37:9)

Remind yourselves of all the times He has been faithful, and in the very testimony of His goodness we are demonstrating our belief that He, too, can do it again!

He is the same today as He was then and the same One He will be tomorrow.

He has never left us without evidence of Himself and His goodness… perhaps we’ve simply stopped looking… or worse yet… stopped believing for the manifestation of it.