What a difference a year makes

Almost one year ago, my family walked into a church called Faith Alive.  We were new to the Hampton Roads area and had visited about 7 churches so far.  After searching websites for two years, sending out resumes, ordering pastor’s sermons in the mail, and listening to pastors speak online, we were pretty much done.  We had given up on the idea that we would find a church we loved, and we accepted the fact that Matt probably wouldn’t find a job in the ministry, even with 18 years experience.

 

We arrived 45 minutes late, even though we left the house extra early (I liked to sit and watch people come into a church—and get the “vibe” of what the people in a church were like).  There was a massive accident on highway 64, and we sat in traffic. In my entire life, I had never experienced traffic on a Sunday morning! I remember my kids begging to get off the highway and go home.  They were sick of visiting new Sunday school classes and being the “new” kids.  My husband suggested backing up onto the on-ramp and perhaps finding another church to visit.  But I knew that we’d be too late.  I started to cry.  I was so discouraged and wanted so desperately for this church to be “the one.”  My husband sensed my fragile state-of-being, “We’ll get there, don’t worry.” 

 

As we walked into the service, the worship was ending.  Something about the church immediately felt right.  I couldn’t believe that after all the web searching and networking, I had never found this church.  In fact, a neighbor recommended the church to me, and she didn’t even go there.  It was almost like God kept it hidden from us until the time was right. 

 

About 7 weeks later, (I’m skipping many of the details—all God miracles in my opinion!) we were hired as associate pastors.  All of us have blossomed in our new church body, and we finally belonged somewhere.

 

It’s Saturday morning and I’m reflecting on this past year.  You see, tomorrow my husband is preaching in all 3 services, and I am teaching my adult Sunday school class during the first service.  A year ago we walked into this church—nobody knew us and we didn’t know anyone.  Now, God has placed us into positions of influence and we are being used to build his kingdom in Deep Creek, Virginia.

 

This comparison might be a stretch, but my story reminds me of Joseph.  One day he’s in prison, and the next he’s second in command to the most powerful world leader in his time.  God can promote someone overnight when that someone is faithful to him, despite how unlikely the circumstances.  When I think about what God has done for me and my family, I bow my head in awe and wonder.

 

Time to stop reflecting.  I have to get my Sunday school lesson ready for tomorrow.

 

 

An "Ah ha" Moment

So, I'm reading Romans 5:23 and it basically says that righteousness equals faith. In other words, righteousness is believing God's promise.  It is being fully convinced that God is able to do anything he promises.

After thinking on this scripture I pray, "What do you want to promise me today, Lord?"  My mind immediately raced to the growing debt we're accumulating as I pursue a master's degree.  But God has already promised his provision there.  And, frankly, if that is all I'm challenged to believe God for today, it seems rather selfish.  Don't get me wrong--it's necessary and vital to our family that we are healthy financially.  But surely there is something more to believe God for in my life.  So, I sit quietly and meditate on the concept of righteousness.

I've always thought that righteousness was about "doing right."  At least that was the simple definition I was given in Sunday school.  But after reading the passage, I see something completely different.  How could I have missed it all these years?  Abraham, the righteous man mentioned in the verse, made lots of mistakes.  For Abraham, it wasn't about "doing right" so much as it was about "believing God."  He simply believed God.  That belief was apparent in his stubborn tenacity to do anything God told him to do. . . even murder his own son.

It's truly an "ah ha" moment for me.  I remember that I'm still waiting for an answer to my question.  But as John Eldridge says, "Sometimes you need to ask the next question before you hear an answer." (Walking with God)  So,  I decide to reword it, and see if I hear anything.   Changing the question, I ask, "What do you want me to believe for today, Lord?  He immediately gave me several answers.  First on the list?  Souls.

California family reunion, 2008

The problem with forgetting

 David said, “Praise the Lord, I tell myself, and never forget the good things he does for me.” (Ps 103:2)

         David told himself to never forget the good things God has done.  We also must make up our minds to never forget God’s goodness in our lives.

         As I was reading through the book of Psalms, I began to note all the times forgetting was mentioned (chapters 78, 103, 106, 137). Psalms 107 says when we forget it “tests God’s patience, frustrates the Holy One of Israel, and makes God’s anger rise.”  That had my attention!   At the end of my study, I was convinced that forgetting God’s goodness is a sin.  Here are some reasons why:

 

1.   Forgetting leads to unbelief, then rebellion.  Even though the children of Israel had just witnessed the miraculous 10 plagues of Egypt and escaped 400 years of slavery, they “soon forgot his many acts of kindness to them.  Instead, they rebelled against him at the Red Sea.” (Ps.106:7)  Immediately following their Red Sea miracle, they lost hope when there was no water source.  Repeatedly, the children of Israel forgot the miracles God had just done for them, and they grumbled, wanted to turn back, and demanded new leadership.

2.   Forgetting makes us do foolish things.   At Mt. Sinai, the people  got tired of waiting for Moses and “traded their glorious God for a statue of a grass-eating ox!”  (Ps. 106:20) How quickly the people forgot what God had done! Forgetting causes us to get impatient and not wait on His direction. (Ps. 106:13)  Impatient people do stupid things.

3.   Forgetting ignites God’s anger.   “They forgot God, their savior, who had done such great things . . . such wonderful things . . . such awesome deeds, so he declared he would destroy them.” (Ps. 106:21-23)  Thankfully, Moses stepped in time after time and saved the people from God’s wrath.

 

         All of us can say that God has done great, wonderful, and awesome things in our life.  But when the next trial or test comes, are we quick to remember what God has done or do we worry and fret about the future?

 

Practical Solutions to keep us from forgetting

 

         The 2 R’s- Record and Remember

 

1.    Record- Journal your journey with God. 

2.    Remember- Reflect daily on answered prayer and go back and reread your recorded miracles along the way.

 

         Don’t think of journaling as keeping a diary.  Just have a notepad handy when you read your Bible each day, and when God highlights a scripture to you, copy it into your notepad/journal.  Maybe that scripture applies to something you’ve been praying for such as a job or a financial need.  Write the prayer request next to the verse.  Over time, go back over your journal and continue to claim those verses in prayer.  When the answer comes, go back and record the date. 

         Memorize the verses that God gives you during specific situations or seasons of life.  David said, “I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways.  I will delight in your principles and not forget your word.”  If you’re not great at memorizing, then post them all over your usual places—bathroom mirror, refrigerator, and computer desktop. 

          In addition, if you receive a prophecy over your life from a trusted source, write it down.  Prophecies can encourage us to keep pressing toward the vision even when everything we see around us seems to scream otherwise.  Habakkuk 2: 1-4 reminds us to write down the vision and believe that even if the answer is delayed it will be fulfilled.

         My journals are full of answered prayer.  I write the word “Done!” and the date the answer came next to my prayers.  My faith grows daily in God’s word because I have a record of my God’s activity in my life!

         Unfortunately, I still forget to follow my own advice.  Last summer, my family and I moved from the West coast to the East coast.  We spent 2 weeks driving five of us and a dog across the country, enjoying special sites and special friends along the way.  Leaving the Grand Canyon and Arizona, I drove the small car while my husband drove the kids in our SUV.  For the first time on the trip, I was alone.  I didn’t even turn the radio on.  As I marveled at the gorgeous scenery driving into New Mexico, God began revealing to me incredible aspects of his character.  Over the next hour, I could have preached the sermon of sermons!  I had insight into the word of God that I’d never had before.  I knew that at our next stop, I needed to write down everything the Holy Spirit had shown me. 

         But I didn’t.  I forgot.  And to this day, I can’t remember anything that God illuminated to me during the drive.  How foolish of me! Just like David, I too pray that I never again forget God’s goodness.

         Spend time each day reflecting on God’s goodness.  God wants us to pay attention!  He is always active in our lives, but we fail to notice.  Just like David, make up your mind to remember God’s daily supernatural intervention in your life.  Make up your mind to never forget.

        

 

 

I turned 40 yesterday

( I won our family poker game on my birthday)

I turned 40 yesterday.

Why should anyone want to hear what I have to say? What do I have to say that is unique?

I believe I am worth listening to. Why? Because I turned 40 yesterday and I have accomplished some amazing things, at least nowadays they seem to be amazing.

For one thing, I’m still married. This year it will be our 20-year anniversary. We’re still madly in love. We love being together. We still flirt and act goofy around each other. People say we’re risk takers and it’s true. We can’t wait to see what’s going to happen tomorrow.

I’m crazy about my relationship with Christ. He speaks to me, and I write it down. Everything He tells me comes true. And nobody can say it’s not, because I have the record to prove it. He makes me a better person everyday. Our relationship always has a mysterious element to it—he keeps me surprised all the time. I can’t get enough of every aspect of Him.

I’ve turned out to be a pretty good mom. My kids have character—they're obedient, kind, friendly, honest, and trustworthy. Maybe I sound very braggy (the correct word is braggadocios, but who ever uses that word!) so far, but remember, I’m just trying to prove that as a person who’s beaten the odds, I’ve earned the right to be heard. And I’m just getting started.

You should listen to me because I’m real. I’ll be the first to tell you when I’m scared or not very good at something. I can laugh at my shortcomings. In fact, I can laugh at just about anything; I laugh all the time, and I laugh loud and hard. I’ve learned the power of fun.

I’ve learned the best thing you can aim to be in life is free. The list is endless. Free to try new things, free to dance, free to take my makeup off or wear extra if I feel like it, free to love, free to give yourself away, free to be yourself, etc.

If you’re smart, I think you’ll listen to what I have to say.

I turned 40 yesterday.

It ALL Matters

     Remember the Karate Kid movie—“Wax on-wax off?”  The future karate champion had no idea why he had to wax cars using a certain hand motion.  He just knew he was wasting valuable time when he could be in training for the big competition.  As viewers, we were also baffled—until the last scene of the movie, when all those hand motions finally made sense.

     Have you ever found yourself repeating the same tasks day after day?  Did you ever ask God—why am I wasting time here God?  What does this have to do with your destiny for my life?

     I’m sure young David asked these questions.  Day after day he sat and watched sheep.  This bored teenager found two ways to pass the time—practice with his slingshot and write music. 

     How could he have known those dull, lonely years of shepherding would be the very thing to prepare him for his destiny?

     God used David’s skill with a slingshot to launch him to fame and fortune when he killed Goliath.  His reward was to marry the king’s daughter and never again pay taxes.  From then on, everyone knew his name-- he was elevated to our century’s status as a “rock star.”

      God also used music to position David in the King’s court. His music career began in the palace, singing songs before a mentally troubled king Saul.  His passion for worship would inspire him to one day bring the Arc back to Jerusalem and set up a Tabernacle of 24/7 worship.  Finally those songs and poems would one day fill the book of Psalms, the finest poetic literature ever written, inspiring countless millions of people to worship God and know Him intimately.

     God will use your skills, even the menial and tedious ones, to position you one day in your place of destiny.  I remember for 10 years I ran our church’s nursery.  I’ve worked in just about every area of church ministry, but this happened to be my least favorite.  I never imagined God would use changing diapers and disinfecting toys for anything special. 

      But one year God opened a door for my husband and I to go to Israel to work at the Feast of Tabernacles, an international Christian Convention in Jerusalem.  The leaders of the convention needed someone to run the youth program and someone to run the nursery.  I had always dreamed of going to Israel, and now God was using my experience in the nursery to fulfill my hearts desire!  Since then, we’ve returned to Israel 10 times to help with ministry, but not to work in the nursery (PTL!)

 Matt and I in front of Herod's aqueduct on our 1st trip to Israel in 1997

      Oswald Chambers says, “When the Spirit of God comes He does not give us visions, He tells us to do the most ordinary things conceivable...the ordinary commonplace things…the most natural simple things---the things we would never have imagined God was in, and as we do them we find He is there.”

      So, the next time you feel like banging your head against the wall because the daily grind of life has become routine, say a prayer of thanks.  God doesn’t waste our time.  He is the master Karate teacher, preparing us for battle.  He knows what skill we will need to fulfill our role in building his kingdom.

      Prov. 20:24 How can we understand the road we travel?  It is the Lord who directs our steps.”

      To those sitting at a computer all day, mowing lawns, studying in school, washing dishes, or practicing the piano—rejoice.  It all matters.

 

The Hidden Pathway

Ps. 77:19  “Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters—a pathway no one knew was there."

Have you ever heard of a road that led through the sea?  Sounds ridiculous, right?  Not to God.  In fact, sometimes God—on purpose—leads us straight to an obstacle.  We’re following Christ, everything’s going great, then—Bam!  Halt!  Stop!  You look around and you think, “Oh no, I must have missed God. I did this.  I got myself into this mess—where did I go wrong?”

 

The truth is you’re right where you’re supposed to be.

 

The danger when you come to a life roadblock is to start doubting God.  Remember the Israelites?  God led them straight out of Egypt to the Red Sea!  How could they possibly get across?  Even though they had just witnessed all the mighty miracles back in Egypt, their first reaction was to question. 

 

“Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness?...Why did you make us leave?...Our Egyptian slavery was far better…” 

 

Moses answers their attacks with, “Don’t be afraid.”

 

Fear and doubt must go if we are going to make it through our Red Sea moments.

 

You see, God leads us to “Red Seas” in our life so that He can get the glory.  But instead of sticking with the plan, we want to quit and stay in our safe zone.  It’s so tempting to remain status quo!  Some even begin to miss their old life—as slaves to sin! 

 

But look what Moses says next, “Just stand where you are and watch the Lord rescue you.”

 

Don’t turn back—just stand.  Hold the ground you’ve already gained and believe God that         He 

is able 

to take 

you through.  

He has a pathway that no one knows is there.  

Don't get stuck in the land of "Almost"

I bought a People magazine recently that featured Joel Osteen on the cover.  He said something in the article that caught my attention, “My goals are to keep growing, to never get stuck and to find new opportunities to help people.”

         I found myself double-taking the quote.  The man labeled “America’s most popular pastor” says one of his life goals is to “never get stuck?”  I found it an odd goal. 

         But the more I thought about it, the more I believe it is a profound and even radical life goal.  How many Christians get stuck in the wilderness or even on the edge of their promised land?

         A sad place to get stuck is when you’ve “almost” taken possession of your promised land.  Untold miracles happened along a time-consuming journey and you have gloriously stepped into your promised land.  God gives you not just a glimpse, but a panoramic view of this beloved land.

         It would be tempting to stop here at the edge.  You’ve safely left slavery behind, the wilderness is now history, and there’s no more need for the manna and quail anymore.

         Unfortunately, living on the edge of the promised land still leaves you lacking.  God told Joshua, “Everywhere you go, you will be on the land I have given you.”  The Israelites needed to physically step on the ground in order to claim the land as their own. 

         With each small victory, tremendous spoils of war awaited them.  The Bible said they would harvest food they didn’t plant and live in houses they didn’t build.  Pretty good deal!

         But the temptation to stay in the land of “almost” was great for some of the tribes.  Partial victory is better than no victory at all, right?

         Wrong!  In the land of “almost” several enemies are always at your borders:

1)   Lack –You’re not walking in the full provision of God.  You can pay your bills, but there is nothing left over.

2)   Fear- You don’t trust God fully.  If you truly obeyed him, the risk is too great.

3)   Sin- You learn to be comfortable living with your enemy.  You let sin take root in your home and expose your children to this danger.

 

Joshua never got stuck in the land of “almost.”  The book of Joshua records no lag time between battles.  If you quickly scan the book, you’ll see repeated phrases like “Joshua conquered,” “Joshua slaughtered,” “Joshua traveled,” “Joshua built,” “Joshua continued.”

Talk about a list of active verbs!  What  a picture of someone moving forward!  In only 7 years, Joshua defeated 31 kings!  Israel gained control of the promised land.  Joshua instructed each tribe to clear out any remaining enemies in their territories.

But some tribes got stuck in their “almost” promised land.  Joshua asked them, “How long are you going to wait before taking possession of the remaining land the Lord has given you?” (18:3)

Today, God asks you the same question.  Go and take possession of what is already yours.  

My 2008 Reading Goal

Thanks to my daughter, Skye, I have a Bible reading goal for 2008.  After Sunday school, my kids tend to unload all their papers and artwork in my hands before they find their way to children's church.  The papers tend to get shoved into my zip-up Bible and discarded by Monday morning.  On one of these "clean out the trash in my Bible " occasions, I discovered a Daily Bible reading plan.  Curious, I looked at the title, "Chronological Order Reading Plan:  Read the stories of the Bible in the order they happened."

Something inside me said, "This is your reading assignment for 2008!"  I scanned the document to notice things like Job preceding Exodus, and Psalms and  the Samuel books mixed together.  I couldn't wait to begin my Bible-in-order adventure.

I was 30 years old before I read the Bible through in a year.  Since then, God has helped me be very strategic in my devotional time.  His word powerfully equips me for life's ups and downs. 

 

With God's help, I want to journal more in 2008.   I can't possibly convey to you how the simple act of hand-copying a scripture that God illuminates to me and then writing some simple comments and prayers about that scripture has increased my faith.  Why?  Because one by one,  these verses in the word of God have come to pass in my life. 

 

May God inspire you to set spiritual-growth goals for 2008.  He wants to!