"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9
This has been a Bible verse I have heard God speak through since I was in High School. Up until this week my focus has always been on the promise of this verse--that God will be with me wherever I go. And certainly, the promise of God's faithful presence is worthy of our focus. However, this week my focus was shifted to the command that makes this promise available. The command is not to do, but to be.
BE strong...BE courageous...Do not BE terrified...do not BE discouraged.
God's command is not to do something, but to be something. He says to Joshua and to us, "BE." In other words, you and I have a choice in the matter. What we choose to BE in this moment will open or close the door on God's presence in our lives.
Our Creator/Designer God; the one who knows us inside and out; he who made us in his own image, says, "You've got it in you. I've put it in you. Don't listen to the lies of the world that tell you that you are weak and fearful. Don't believe your circumstances that say you have no choice but to be discouraged and terrified. No! Believe me...after all, I made you...and I made you to BE strong...BE courageous.. and not to BE terrified... not to BE discouraged."
Where did this breed of Christian whimps come from that seem so prevalent in the modern day church? Following Jesus means we are to be meek, not weak.
When did we the Church start living in fear of the enemy? It is not we who ought to be afraid. No way! We are followers of the only One who defeated death itself. We were reborn to be courageous.
Why do we play defense? We are called...no, commanded to not be terrified. Perhpas if we would live up to this command we would begin to scare the hell out of hell as Jesus desires his church to do. After all, it was He who said, "I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." That's a call to offense, not defense.
Why do pull the covers of disocuragement over our heads? Discouragement is for those who are defeated. "If Christ be for us who can be against us?", asks Paul in Romans 8. He asked that question and did not even offer an answer becuase he figured anybody who knew Christ already knew the answer. Do you? Do I?
What would it mean for you to live according to this command to be for just one day? God tells us what would happen. You would experience...not just talk about or wish for, but actually experience God with you wherever you go. Because the reality is, until you decide with Christ to BE strong...BE courageous...Do not BE terrified...do not BE discouraged...until you decide to obey this command to be, you do not need God to be with you wherever you go. You can go by yourself and be weak and afraid. You don't need God to be terrified or discouraged. Come on...we can do that without Christ. But when you stand and up choose to be what God has made you to be then you become keenly aware that you don't have a chance unless God is with you where ever you go.
Ahhha...now I'm starting to see...the command for us to be and the promise of God to be feed into and out of one another so directly that you can hardly see where one starts and the other ends, but the moment you remove one both cease to be.
So, my brothers and sisters in Christ go BE!
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
"Weeds"
Weeds amaze me. My grass has not grown for a month, but I have some weeds in my yard that are growing like I am watering them every day. I am amazed how weeds need so little to grow. Give them just a tiny crack in the sidewalk and a weed will call it home. Weeds can grow any place, any time.
We are well served to remember that truth for our lives as well, aren't we? Weeds can grow any place, any time. Weeds can grow in the happiest of times or in the driest of times, in the worst or best of relationships, in the weakest or strongest Christ-Followers, in the unhealthiest or healthiest of churches...weeds can grow any place...not only can they, but Jesus says they will...
27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”(B)
I fnd this parable of Jesus very interesting. He acknowledges that in this life weeds will always grow along side of wheat. Like the servants, many people think there is something wrong with the seed. They say, "I don't go to church because of hypocrits. But Jesus said the problem is not with the seed. The seed is good. The problem is the enemy can sow weeds any place we allow him; even among the wheat.
Then , I think, with the servants, "Well, let's go pull the weeds!" But Jesus says, weed pulling is his job not ours. Our job is to let him show us the weeds and then to depend on him to pull what we cannot.
Last week I was praying about weeds of distraction (as Jesus calls them in another parable). I named all the weeds in my life and in LH that I can see and I prayed, "Lord, what do you want me to do with these weeds?" In response, I simply saw his hands pulling the weeds. He was confirming what he shares in the parable. He is the only one who can pull the weeds the enemy sows in our lives, relationships and in His church.
The questions is, will I...will you trust him to pull the weeds or will we buy into the lie that the seed is bad and walk away cynical and depressed? Will we think it is our job to pull the weeds and end up uprooting good wheat? Or will we trust him to pull the weeds in his own way and in his own time?
"Father, help me to know the difference between wheat and weeds. Help me not to let weeds keep me from seeing teh god wheat you are harvesting even now. Help me to trust you to do the job of weed pulling. I admit that when I try to pull them I just make things worst. Amen."
Any body else need to pray that prayer with me?
We are well served to remember that truth for our lives as well, aren't we? Weeds can grow any place, any time. Weeds can grow in the happiest of times or in the driest of times, in the worst or best of relationships, in the weakest or strongest Christ-Followers, in the unhealthiest or healthiest of churches...weeds can grow any place...not only can they, but Jesus says they will...
Matthew 13:24-30
The Parable of the Weeds
24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like(A) a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”(B)
I fnd this parable of Jesus very interesting. He acknowledges that in this life weeds will always grow along side of wheat. Like the servants, many people think there is something wrong with the seed. They say, "I don't go to church because of hypocrits. But Jesus said the problem is not with the seed. The seed is good. The problem is the enemy can sow weeds any place we allow him; even among the wheat.
Then , I think, with the servants, "Well, let's go pull the weeds!" But Jesus says, weed pulling is his job not ours. Our job is to let him show us the weeds and then to depend on him to pull what we cannot.
Last week I was praying about weeds of distraction (as Jesus calls them in another parable). I named all the weeds in my life and in LH that I can see and I prayed, "Lord, what do you want me to do with these weeds?" In response, I simply saw his hands pulling the weeds. He was confirming what he shares in the parable. He is the only one who can pull the weeds the enemy sows in our lives, relationships and in His church.
The questions is, will I...will you trust him to pull the weeds or will we buy into the lie that the seed is bad and walk away cynical and depressed? Will we think it is our job to pull the weeds and end up uprooting good wheat? Or will we trust him to pull the weeds in his own way and in his own time?
"Father, help me to know the difference between wheat and weeds. Help me not to let weeds keep me from seeing teh god wheat you are harvesting even now. Help me to trust you to do the job of weed pulling. I admit that when I try to pull them I just make things worst. Amen."
Any body else need to pray that prayer with me?
Thursday, July 5, 2012
No Longer Alone
I was told about a little girl...
Her mother was a prostitute.
She was raped of her childhood.
She was forced to grow up faster than she possibly could.
Mom was not there to get her to school, so she went on her own.
The Ukrainian winters were cold and the walk was so very long.
She tried...she tried...but she couldn't...
She couldn't hold her urine.
It ran down her legs and froze on her skin and pants.
Finally, she would make it to her school.
But instead of being relieved, she was embarrassed.
As she walked, the frozen urine made a clicking sound.
It was music to mean children's ears.
They pointed at her.
They laughed at her.
But no one bothered to ask about her.
Accept one...one woman...one angel....
She was different.
She cared.
She asked what no one else would.
"Why is this little girl so alone in this big world?"
Her mother was more than willing to give her away.
She was looking for the opportunity.
"If you want her, you can have her," said the Mother.
"I want her. I will have her," said the angel of a woman.
The little girl felt something new.
She was too young to put it into words.
All she knew...and all that matters now...is that she is no longer alone.
This story of one orphan represents the stories of over 100,000 orphans in Ukraine and over a million world wide. This Sunday, you get to see first hand how God's love never forgets the orphans of our world. We get to celebrate that he is letting us work with him to let orphans know that they are no longer alone. Don't miss it, this Sunday, 11 AM!
Her mother was a prostitute.
She was raped of her childhood.
She was forced to grow up faster than she possibly could.
Mom was not there to get her to school, so she went on her own.
The Ukrainian winters were cold and the walk was so very long.
She tried...she tried...but she couldn't...
She couldn't hold her urine.
It ran down her legs and froze on her skin and pants.
Finally, she would make it to her school.
But instead of being relieved, she was embarrassed.
As she walked, the frozen urine made a clicking sound.
It was music to mean children's ears.
They pointed at her.
They laughed at her.
But no one bothered to ask about her.
Accept one...one woman...one angel....
She was different.
She cared.
She asked what no one else would.
"Why is this little girl so alone in this big world?"
Her mother was more than willing to give her away.
She was looking for the opportunity.
"If you want her, you can have her," said the Mother.
"I want her. I will have her," said the angel of a woman.
The little girl felt something new.
She was too young to put it into words.
All she knew...and all that matters now...is that she is no longer alone.
This story of one orphan represents the stories of over 100,000 orphans in Ukraine and over a million world wide. This Sunday, you get to see first hand how God's love never forgets the orphans of our world. We get to celebrate that he is letting us work with him to let orphans know that they are no longer alone. Don't miss it, this Sunday, 11 AM!
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