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Pattern For Living

Have you ever entered into a situation and realized it just didn't seem right? It doesn't matter what the situation is... a relationship, a job, a project, your health - fill in the __________. That moment when you get that feeling in the pit of your stomach that hmm... I'm not sure if this feels right. 

I recently began a sewing project to make a reversible purse. I saw a cute pattern on Pinterest and thought to myself "this looks easy, I could do this". Little did I know how God would use this little project of mine to speak words that were oh so true to my ears. I love these moments with God when He overwhelms me with truth in the midst of my struggle. 

I said I recently began this project, well it was about a month and 1/2 ago. I thought I could "make due" with the sewing machine we got our youngest daughter for Christmas to sew this purse together. My oldest daughter had taken my sewing machine to college with her to work on a quilt project and my thoughts were "I'll make due, I can do this". Well I should have heard my own words "make due" but my persistent self won out and I just wanted to get this project done so I started in. # 1 I find sewing peaceful and this little machine I was working on is so loud, okay if I hadn't stopped and listened to my "make due" statements I should have stopped and turned off the machine when the loud sounds of it operating brought me anything but peace. 

cue¹

kyo͞o/

noun

1. 1.

   a thing said or done that serves as a signal to an actor or other performer to enter or to begin their speech or performance.

   synonyms:

   signal, sign, indication, prompt, reminder

   
   

   
   

Did I pay attention to the cue's? NO - I thought I knew best. I should have paid attention to the cue of "make due" and "this is not bringing me peace". 

After sewing the majority of the purse together I realized that I hadn't followed the instructions (there is a part where you have to put the right side of the project inside the wrong side out of the project to sew the two parts together) Honestly, I thought this can't be right and this isn't what this means. I couldn't see how sewing it together this way could possibly turn out right. So I sewed it together the way I thought was correct. Guess who was wrong and was stuck pulling the stitching out? Another cue - Just because I couldn't see it, didn't mean the instructions were wrong. 

By this time in my project I stopped and blamed all of this going on wrong, on the fact that I didn't have my sewing machine. So I stopped and put the project to the side not dealing with it until I was able to get my machine back from my daughter. 

Underlying in all this God has shown me, my pattern of thinking. And because I think this way I live this way. It's been my pattern of living. 

Last night I had the opportunity to sit down with my sewing machine and pick the project back up. Things were going well I restitched over my original stitching to make sure it was good and secure. I followed the pattern putting the parts together in what I thought was the wrong way but it was right. Since this is a reversible purse there was a point in time when I had to struggle to get the entire purse pulled through one of the straps, but I did it and all was going well. 

I checked the instructions again when it came to the point of sewing the straps together. The instructions came with pictures and by the looks of things I couldn't tell well what was being explained. I didn't get a second set of eyes on things nor did I stop and evaluate how this was going to come together and work the way it was supposed to. I picked up my old pattern of thinking and started stitching. My project was finished and it was stitched together wrong. The funny part is God knew how to speak to me. 

The part I stitched together wrong were the handles. I thought I had a handle on it, on things, on life. 

For me to to be free, He has to have a handle on things, on me & my life. My pattern of thinking & living needs to reflect His pattern of thinking that I can find in His Word. My pattern of living needs to reflect His pattern of living that I can find when I look at how Christ lived while here on this earth. 

This is my view today as I sit and pause. 

I sit and pause because I've done all I can do to re-do this project. I didn't plan on things going awry and I don't have enough material for the inside of the new purse. Another way I see God at work, I need to be filled with Him and not full of myself. 

He brings a smile to my face and a laugh in my heart for the words on my cup today. 1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you" Good morning, this is God! I will be handling all your problems today. I will not need your help - GOD

Working this project for the second time has allowed me to see things from the designer's point of view and so far I've not struggled and have the vision of how to properly put it together. 

I'm looking forward to a cute purse and I'm very thankful for an awesome story of my Designer's pattern for my living. 

I'm looking forward to taking my cue's from Him!

Baggage

If you've ever done any traveling you know what it's like to push, pull or carry your luggage. I recently returned from a convention for my business and made a decision that this time around I was going to pack smart and not in my typical style of "I'll pack this just in case". 

Yes, I am guilty of being that kind of packer - that is in my past. 

It was nice this time around, I had my purse and a carry-on. I only had to keep track of two things and I didn't even have to check my luggage for my flights. This really made it easy to get around and on and off my flights. I didn't worry about anything getting lost or not making it to my destination. 

I couldn't help but think of all the things in life we carry around as baggage. Sometimes to the point of exhaustion. 

The airport directs you to just the right place to claim your baggage or so you hope. 

What would our lives look like if we only claimed our baggage? What if we took responsibilities for our part in what we are carrying around and then let it go and walk away? The only place where we can find rest is when we lay those burdens down at the feet of Christ. He's already carried them to the cross and bore our pain, so why not lay it down and experience freedom that only He can give?

Freedom isn't that a great word? I feel better just saying the word F-R-E-E-D-O-M

Don't waste a minute longer. Won't you join me on the path to freedom?

Masquerade

What does it mean to you to live in freedom?

I can't help but think of all the masks we wear. 

Maybe a family mask, spouse mask, parent mask, job mask, social mask, you name it we find ourselves behind one. 

There can be so much bondage that comes with the weight of wearing a mask 

What would our lives look like if we took the mask off and began living an authentic life?  

What fear is keep you from taking off the mask?

You have a choice today. 

Medicine For Our Souls

I just love when God uses my kids to teach me a lesson. 

As our loving Father knows best what we need and when we need it and loves us so much as not to leave us where we're at but will use every opportunity to speak truth to souls. 

So it was this morning...

My daughter had a cough and I asked her to come and take some medicine. As any good little girl does she came right in while I was pouring the medicine in the measuring cup and then it happened... 

As I began to give her the medicine she backed up with hands up asking me to wait, wait!!!! She knew what was about to happen. The icky stuff - try as they may the manufactures just can't seem to make a good tasting medicine & if they have I haven't found it. Naturally we were in a rush to get going and this Momma was in no mood to fool around. 

"Come on" I said, "hurry up and drink it down so it will help you". As we both took steps toward each other trying as hard as I could not to spill a drop - the medicine went down and then came the look on her face and the eh eh fake cough began as she choked down the medicine. 

"Honey, I know you don't like it but it's good for you, it will make you better." Little did I know how God would use those same words on me just hours later. 

I don't believe in coincidences - I like to call them God-incidences. 

Remember he loves us so much to not leave us where we are at but grows us into the image of Christ. Yes! There is safety found in this fact.

As I began my work day a devotional email came in. The words on the screen were nice and uplifting and spoke of a gardener tending to some weeds. Okay, I thought that was nice and I went on with my day. 

Later, I grabbed my daily devotional (Jesus Calling by Sarah Young) and the words on the page could have reached up and smacked me in the face. "I have promised to meet all your needs according to My glorious riches... I have planted Peace in the garden of your heart, where I live; but there are weeds growing there too: pride, worry, selfishness, unbelief. I am the Gardener, and I am working to rid your heart of those weeds." the reading goes on... "when you trust Me in the midst of trouble, Peace flourishes and weeds die away." 

Then I did it! Just like my little girl, I felt the need to step back and put my hands up and say WAIT, WAIT!!!!! I found myself hearing the still small voice of God repeat the words I had said myself just hours before.

"Honey, I know you don't like it but it's good for you, it will make you better."

And yet, I found myself asking God the maker of Heaven & Earth to do His work gently on my heart as to not damage my soul. The one who laid the foundations of this earth, who created it and everything in it. Who am I? Like I need to tell God to be gentle with me. I thank God that He knows every hair on my head, He knows me intimately the best of anyone. He knows exactly what I need and when I need it. He just calls me to TRUST Him to do the work. How often do we find ourselves "tending" to our own needs? 

John 15:1-5 says, "I am the true vine (Jesus), and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me (Jesus), and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

This is the importance of having a personal intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Staying connected to the vine is where we find our source. And because of that connection, that relationship, we will be even more fruitful because the Gardener will tend to us, prune us, & remove the weeds in us.

Lord, shine your light in the garden of our hearts and be the medicine for our souls!

Our giants

We all have giants in our lives. What might seem mighty and overwhelming to me might not be a big deal to you. Or what is oppressing to you I couldn't even imaging how to handle it. 

As individual as we are, so aren't our giants. That said, it doesn't mean you or I are the only ones on the face of God's green earth that have gone through the struggles we have -unique yes, but same in nature yes also. 

I think of what Paul wrote; For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. (Philippians 1:29, 30 NIV)

None of us are immune to struggles and our fair fight with our giants. How we handle them do differ. Where do you find refuge? Is it in running? What are you running from? Your giant? Or are you running into the only arms long enough to rescue you?

We not only have a Savior who calms the storms of life, but in Christ we “have an anchor” that securely positions us permanently in a safe harbor (Heb. 6:19). 

What position do we find ourselves in? A position of praise? Not for what we struggle against but for who God is.

I want to live a life full of the presence of God. The life of Christ being birthed in and through me as I'm being made more and more in the likeness of Christ. That's the job of the Holy Spirit to bring Christ alive in the hearts of his believers. 

We have a promise in God's word!

The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. (Deuteronomy 28:7 NIV)

Let us go to His Word and take hold of the promises Christ died to give us!

Gift of Desperation

Gift of Desperation - Just saying it gives me that funny feeling in the pit of my stomach...

and yet when you understand you'll find it's a treasure chest of fine jewels! 

That is - being desperate for God, clinging to Christ, moved by the Holy Spirit. I need to wake up each morning letting God know and reminding myself how desperate I am for Him. I don't want to waste one moment without Him. Forever I want to be thankful that He is right there all the time. I want to walk in the fullness of His presence in my life. Living in the reality that nothing I can ever do or not do will ever be able to separate me from His love. (see Romans 8:38-39)

It's too easy for us to look at our past or the thing we did a minute ago and get stuck in a pit of regret. We all seek freedom it's a desire we all have, but how many times do we look to ourselves or something or someone else as our source of freedom? Only God can bring us true freedom, a freedom that lasts. 

Romans 6:16-18 NIV states, "Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey - whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness."

I like the way The Message reads this passage, "You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you've let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you've started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!"

We all have our "Lower Story" but God has an "Upper Story" and to find out what that is and walk in it we must come to a place where we are desperate for God. Our freedom is gained only when we lay our lives at the feet of Christ, realize the chains that have held us captive are only broken by the blood of Christ, receive the forgiveness that only He can give and live our life in the fullness of His Spirit which comes when we receive the gift of desperation.

Our freedom is free for us but cost Jesus His life!

Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for a future that only He can see.
Corrie ten Boom

God with us!

Immanuel ~ God with us

This past week I have heard the name Immanuel numerous times, from the whispers of God, to written word or song. Everywhere I would turn I would hear Immanuel. 

What a precious reminder for the child of God - that He is with us, not just at Christmas time but all the time.  He never leaves us or forsakes us. When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior His precious Holy Spirit comes and lives in us. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in His believers through the Holy Spirit and it's His job to magnify Jesus in our lives. Because of this intimate relationship we have access to God anywhere and anytime, we are not alone because God chooses to come and live within us.

So many times we only hear God referred to as Immanuel at Christmas. But Immanuel - God with us isn't just a name to pull out of the basement or attic like we do our Christmas decorations. It's a guarantee from the moment we ask Jesus to come into our lives and be Lord, He is with us. Having a good day and you feel God at work in your life He's there - have a bad day and you feel overwhelmed by the things of this world He's there. Our job is to seek Him, listen to Him, operate with Him and in doing so we will experience Him.

Share Your Dream #Dreamshare

My dream is to open a coffee shop near our local college campus which will serve coffees from around the world. I would like to learn how to prepare the coffee from our international students who are here studying. My dream is for open doors and a place to experience life outside the box we live in. A place to serve and be served so to speak, having merchandise available for sale which would benefit people from around the world who are taking the steps to create and better there lives, then use the proceeds to pour back into others to provide hope of a better life.

Now - Share Your Dream!

World Vision Share My Dream

The sneaky creeper!

We have a little area along side our garage in the backyard where I have a flowerbed with a major design flaw. When the garage was built the owners at the time poured a concrete approach and connected it to a sidewalk which leads up to the house. Along side of the garage they laid white rock down a 5 foot strip leading to the back of the garage. In the center of this strip I put in a flowerbed to bring some color to the area. When I stand at the kitchen sink and look out the window I look upon the side of our garage so you can see why I would want something nice to look at while doing the dishes - after all a person has to have some joy out of doing the dishes besides just getting them clean.

Instead of laying rock it would have been so nice for the grass to grow to the edge of the garage at least you could mow the grass, we can't mow this area due to the rock or one could have just continued pouring the concrete to make a nice little pad around the side to connect it all together. You see this is where the sneaky creeper comes in...

It's official name is: Creeping Spurge eww... the name alone makes you have to lower your voice and say it slow C R E E E E P I N G   S P U U R R G E

This is what it looks like!

It grows low to the ground and it's seeds spread like crazy. You don't know where one begins and the other end. Before I knew it you couldn't see any of the white rock around my flowerbed or the inside of my flowerbed because it had been taking over by THE SNEAKY CREEPER!!!!!!!

One good thing about this weed is once you can get to the main root you can pull it out. As I was looking for the name of this CREEPER I discovered the experts say it's easier to pull the weed out by the roots if you wet the ground and hand pull the weed out and stay on top of it. The roots can grow down in the ground up to 2 feet!! WOW! I wish I would have know the experts secret before I was outside pulling these up best I could this morning as the heat of the day was starting to rise. Once I pulled one I couldn't stop, I was actually seeing ground again, yeah what a good sign. I couldn't plant anything beautiful until these weeds were gone. Please don't think I'm dramatic here but honest. Every time I would look out there and instead of seeing something beautiful I was seeing nothing but weeds. Oh the frustration and constant reminder!

God can use anything and this morning he used CREEPING SPURGE to teach me a lesson. Isn't this how our lives can look at times? Over ran with weeds? 

We need the Master Gardener - God!

Jesus tells us in John 15:1 I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. 

When we don't have an intimate relationship with Jesus who is the true vine our source and giver of life and live a life yielded to the Father - gardener, we are over run with weeds. We need God to pour out his life giving water then allow Him to tenderly take hold of the weedy roots in our lives and gently remove them. Beloved, God loves us so much he doesn't want to leave us weedy and over ran. 

He sent us Jesus to make a way. 

Isaiah 53:5-6 But he (Jesus) was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Step back with me into my yard for a moment. Remember the rock bed? Yes, it's rock but it's broken which allows the weeds to grow up. Sin is our broken relationship with God, we need Jesus who was crushed and took upon himself our punishment. This Jesus is our ROCK! Our SOLID ROCK!

The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! 

Exalted be my God, the Rock, my Savior! 

2 Samuel 22:47 NIV 

Click hear & take a moment to listen to the words. Is Christ your Solid Rock?

In the heat of the battle

Have you ever tried to hold water in your hands? As quickly as it's poured in, it can just as quickly flow out. How often does God pour out life giving water and without our quick response to drink it in - it's gone? I'm guilty of putting things off or not responding when I should and then the moment is gone. 

Let me rephrase that, I'm guilty of putting God off. Plainly said, I ask and ask for God to speak then at times when He does I'm quick to not listen or not identify it's Him and go on. Then that sinking in your stomach feeling happens and you can't help but grown from the pit of your being ohhhh-awwww. God forgive me, thank you for loving me so much to not leave me there but grow me from it. 

I can't help but think of Gideon, God gives him a promise I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together. Aren't we all like Gideon? The next thing he does is ask God for a sign that it is really him talking. Beloveds, I'm not saying we should haphazardly listen to every voice we hear. There a lots of voices speaking that we should not listen to, God tells us to have discernment. That's why it's so important for us to have an intimate relationship with God and rely on His Spirit to guide us. We have to fully rely on God as our source and His spoken word (Rhema) will always line up with his written word (Logos). 

Back to Gideon - We pick back up in Judges 7 through the process of the promise God gave to Gideon, God continues to peel away the number of fighting men from Gideon. We don't get very far in chapter 7 verse 2 God tells him, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength saved her..." For God to get the glory in our battles there are times when He sifts people away from us. God instructs Gideon to take the men down to the water and to separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink (verses 5-6) God reduced the fighting number from 32,000 to 300, with a group this small there would be no doubt that this was a God sized victory. The 300 were willing to lap the water but knelt down to drink it, which put them in a strategic position to still be on guard ready to battle. 

Hold on... have you been there? Are you there now? There is a battle before you and God starts peeling away the support? The job? The friends? Those who committed to be with you till the end? You feel abandoned, rejected you name it, an emotional mad house. A place where your emotions get the best of you and you are ruled by them. The void seems ever so deep and yet never full. A place of desperation, oh but if you have found yourself there what a gift that can be when we allow ourselves to go there. You see Gideon could have jumped onto that emotional roller coaster but he didn't. He stayed connected with God and he was obedient to the directions God gave. No matter what path you find your self on, when we totally abandon ourselves and submit to the work of God in our lives He gets the glory. 

Don't expect it will come in man made form - glory that is. God's ways are so far above anything we could ever ask or think. He tells us to give when we don't have, step out of the boat when there is water all around. For Gideon he thinned out his support, Gideon's response? He trusted God, he got up and went when God told him to go, he overhead a man tell of a dream he had and was encouraged (verses 9-15) and his response? He worshiped God. 

In my opinion the most bizarre part of this story is when Gideon returns to the camp of Israel and tells everyone to "get up the Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands" he divides the 300 men into 3 groups and places trumpets and empty jars in their hands with torches inside. Gideon tells them "watch me and follow my lead and do exactly as I do". They proceed to blow their trumpets and shout, "For the Lord and for Gideon" they blow their trumpets and brake the jars with their hands taking the torches in their left hand and holding their right hands the trumpets they began to blow and shouted "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon" and held their position around the camp. And what happened? The Lord caused the Midianite men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. 

I have to be honest, as I sit here and type I want to run to my kitchen find an empty Mason jar, stick a candle in it and call the school to have my son bring home his trumpet and go and have me a time running towards my enemy!

But I can't, I have to be willing to bend my knee to the Almighty God and drink of His river of life. I must pick up the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. And incline my ear to hear His voice. Then I must go and do what it is He has called me to do and I must be the person He has created me to be. I must not be afraid when darkness comes near or when the enemy unleashes an attack. 

The words of Gideon are a foreshadow of Christ, "watch me and follow my lead and do exactly as I do". Jesus gave up His life for us. 

Our response should be,

 God, through the work of your son Jesus and by the power of your precious Holy Spirit come and sit upon the throne of my life because that is a place only you can fill.

Storms of Life

What is your response to disappointment? 

Disappointment is a fact, how we respond to it is another matter. In all honesty I tend to respond in the flesh instead of being led by the Spirit of God living inside me. I want to have a passion (desire for or devotion) to seek the eyes of Jesus, to take the time to sit at his feet and listen to him. But I have a tendency to let my emotions take over instead of allowing the Lord of Lords and King of Kings reign. 

It's only in Jesus that we can find serenity - Webster defines serenity as: clear and free of storms or unpleasant change. Change - could that be the root cause of our disappointment? We have a certain expectation or mind set and then something happens and what we thought was going to be isn't and that requires change. 

Are we being lord of our lives? Makes me think of Judges 21: 25 - In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit. The bible tells us storms come. How can we have serenity then? How can we be clear and free of storms? There is only one way and His name is Jesus. What does the word of God say to us about storms?

Job 40:6 - He speaks to us in the storm

Psalms 107:29 - He stills the storm

Isaiah 25:4 - He is a shelter in the storm

Jeremiah 23:19 - He releases His wrath in the storm

Zechariah 9:14 - He marches in the storm

Matthew 8:24 - He sleeps in the storm

Luke 8:24 - He rebukes the storm

Storms rage all around us, no one is exempt from them. But as children of God we have a promise found in Isaiah 54:11-17 NIV - O storm-battered city, troubled and desolate! I will rebuild you with precious jewels and make your foundations from sapphire. I will make your towers of sparkling rubies, your gates of shining gems, and your walls of precious stones. I will teach all your children, and they will enjoy great peace. You will be secure under a government that is just and fair. Your enemies will stay far away. You will live in peace, and terror will not come near. If any nation comes to fight you, it is not because I sent them. Whoever attacks you will go down in defeat. I have created the blacksmith who fans the coals beneath the forge and makes the weapons of destruction. And I have created the armies that destroy. But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from me. I, the Lord, have spoken.

What God says goes and we need God built walls and He must be at the center of our lives. We are born into a sin sick world and only Jesus can save us. Sin simply means to miss the mark, whether breaking God's law or living independent of God, it's sin. If Jesus isn't Lord of your life stop right now, don't waste one more minute. Repent of your sin, ask Him to come into your life and be Lord, for it's only in Jesus that we can be saved. Whether we realize it or not we bow our knee to all sorts of things and as a result our walls are destroyed. There will be a day when every knee will bow and confess that Jesus is Lord. Will you be doing that with a joyful heart full of thanksgiving because of the price He paid for you on the cross? 

God cares for you. Exodus 4:31 - And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped. Our response to His great love and care is to worship the One True God the only one worthy of our praise. 

I recently was at a Cody James concert and heard one of his new songs titled "Right Here Waiting". As he sung one of the verses I closed my eyes and the below picture came to my mind. "Are you needing rest, are you heavy burden, cause I am right here waiting, I've been here all along, my arms have been wide open for you've been called and chosen"

The Spirit of God reminded me of this picture, it hung on the wall in our church where I grew up. He was there for me as a child, it was in this same room where we celebrated our wedding reception and where we gathered the day we celebrated the life of my Father when he passed away.

You see He's been here all along, waiting. How will we respond?

If you notice there isn't a door knob in the picture. Jesus stands at the door of our hearts knocking are we willing to answer and let him come in?



Cody James Ministries: http://codyjames.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCodyJamesGang

God speaks!

There is a battle raging and most of us simply miss it. It's a battle for our soul. Not that we don't experience the effects of it, indeed we do but we are deceived in our understanding of where this battle comes from. 

Isaiah 59:2 - But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

Anything - you name it, that separates us from God is SIN. We have to constantly ask ourselves, is this bringing me to God or away from God? We have to be willing to come before God through his son Jesus accepting him as Lord of our lives and openly receive the fullness of life in him. God doesn't just leave us there but receives us, he washes us white as snow with the precious blood of Jesus then fills us with his Holy Spirit. It's the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives that draws us closer to God. I pray Father, give me eyes to see and ears to hear you, set me on a course straight towards you.

God speaks - the question for us - Are we listening? Throughout history God has used his people to deliver his will and used them to encourage people to turn back to God.

Elijah was known as the prophet of fire

Elisha was known as the prophet of faith

Amos was known as the prophet of fear

Hosea was known as the prophet of forgiveness

How hard do our hearts have to be? How many idols or high places have we placed in the spot of God? How far have we gotten off track? How many affairs have with had with other loves? We commit adultery with anything we worship other than God

God knows each one of us intimately. He knows what we need even before we ever ask or think. And he places his messengers in just the right spots at just the right times to speak his truth. Do we have ears to hear? Are we able to recognize the great works of his hands? 

Do we welcome the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives to bring us closer to God? God has a plan and a purpose for each of us. He desires that none should perish so much so that he gave his son Jesus to pay our debt. 

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." WHOEVER! That's pretty simple Who - ever. But we have to make the choice.

We are moved by our emotions due to this battle going on around us and/or in us. But God says "whoever" believes will not perish. We have a blood bought promise. 

Stop what you are doing right now and ask God to speak ever so clearly to you where it's undeniable that it's him.

God speaks are we listening? It's our greatest form of...

Signs

I couldn't help but laugh when I came across this sign! 

If only the signs around us were so obvious and came at a place that gave us opportunity to turn around and go another way. Or do they and we just don't pay attention to them? I have to wonder how many accidents happened because someone thought they would fit under the bridge. Or worse saw the sign, hit it and still tried to go under the bridge cause they knew better.

What I love about this sign is the spiritual meaning I see in it. Sin separates us from God and His holiness. Jesus had to come to this earth to "bridge the gap" between man and God that sin destroyed. Jesus is our bridge and how many times do we try and "go under or fall short" of his way? If we don't submit to the Lordship of Christ we are a wreck. If we don't do things God's way it is always going to fail. 

In 1 Samuel 15:22-23 the prophet Samuel is talking to Saul who was the king of Israel - But Samuel replied "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king." God's voice speaks do we listen?

How many of us struggle with trying to go under, over or around the bridge God has provided to us through His son Jesus Christ? When we don't trust God we get lost in the "lower story." When we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness - then all these things will be given to us. (Matthew 6:33) To seek means to turn to God first for help, to fill your thoughts with his desires, to take his character for your pattern, and to serve and obey him in everything - giving him Lordship in your life. 

We need to seek God and when we do we find Him, He is right there ready to meet all our needs. God calls Himself "I am" - what does that mean? He's everything, He's enough, He's all we need... and through Jesus we can be reconciled to a right relationship with Him, an intimate personal relationship with Him. 

God give us signs to see you clearly, Father make it easy, You know us better than anyone and more than we know ourselves. Turn our hearts towards Yours. 

I can't help but think of the story of Rehoboam King of Judah - see 1 Kings 14:21-31. Long story (not that long but to save time) made short - He was the son of Solomon who inherited a mighty kingdom with everything he could possibly want. His father Solomon was the one that established the temple of God in Jerusalem. During Rehomoam's reign he permitted God's people to sin and set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land and the people engaged in all kinds of detestable practices. As a result God allowed the kingdom to be attacked by Shishak king of Egypt (mind you - God delivered the people of Israel from the bondage of slavery in Egypt but this story shows the bondage and slavery that sin brings in our lives) Shishak took everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. Whenever the king went to the Lord's temple, the guards bore the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom. 

This is what he should have seen when looking at these bronze shields.

How many times did Rehoboam walk past these bronze shields? An idol if you will fashioned by man as a false image? Did they cry out REPENT? Repent means to experience sorrow for and seek to change wrong behavior. They served as a constant reminder of the precious shields of gold that he allowed to be carried off. Was his heart so hard that he wasn't sensitive to the signs around him? What is the condition of our hearts?

As believers in Christ we are called to put on the full armor of God so we can take a stand against the devil's schemes. Ephesians 6:13-17 says, Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 

Take up your shield of faith and walk in the fullness of the grace and mercy Jesus' blood poured out for you. He knows our sin oh so well, for he's already bore it on the cross  - it was personal with him. Our response should be to make it personal with Him - intimate and personal in relationship.

The plan works if you work the plan

How easy it is to point a finger or proclaim if only ______ (fill in the blank). We all have hurts, hang-ups & habits no one on the face of the earth is exempt. Due to sin we all fall short of the glory of God. 

There was a time when God would walk in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, but once they ate fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil their relationship with God changed. God created us to have an appetite. When we get hungry our body sends our mind a message telling us we need food. God wants us to know the sense of victory, joy and fulfillment, but it can only be found in him. 

Right now there is a commercial out that explains our sinful nature. We want more (click to follow the link). I just can't stand when this commercial comes on, but know God has a great sense of humor and can use anything and of all times for this to be on TV is the same time we are studying the story of Solomon. 

David, Solomon's father and the king of Israel gave his son a charge as he made Solomon king of Israel to go out and live the way of the Lord - in other words "follow the plan". (read - 1 Kings 2: 1-4)

Solomon had a good start he sought God and in a mountain top experience with God he was given the opportunity to ask for anything he desired and Solomon asked for discernment. (read - 1 Kings 3: 1-28)

How many of us have experienced God in a mighty way? Maybe at a retreat or church camp, in a worship service, the list goes on an on... some special time where our eyes were opened and we experienced God in a life changing way. (read Luke 24: 19-35) After Jesus had been crucified, two of his followers were on a road to Emmaus, they were talking about all that had recently taken place in regards to Jesus when they came across someone on the road (this person was Jesus) he asked "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" In their sorrow they shared with him all that had happened. Jesus said to them "How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" Jesus went on to explain all the Scriptures concerning himself. They approached the village where thy were going to and urged Jesus to stay with them, he did. When they were at the table Jesus took the bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them "then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"

These men were believers and yet they missed seeing Jesus. Had their emotions gotten the best of them and led them into the "lower story" or maybe disbelief? Solomon was unique. Most people we learn about are people who are living out their "lower story" through a matter of bad circumstances, choices of their own making or ones made by someone else. Solomon had it all & it still wasn't enough he wrote in Ecclesiastes 1: 2-9:

"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless. " What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets and hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. All things are wearisome, more that one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

Ever felt this? Ever said this? EVERYTHING is meaningless when it's not lived out for the glory of God. This is the lifestyle of a sponge always soaking up and never giving out without being squeezed. Who wants to be forced to give it out? What would our lives look like if we surrendered it ALL the good the bad and the ugly over to the glory of God? 

Thinking of this lifestyle I can't help but picture 

a transparent vessel in the sight of God. 

A vessel fashioned to fit in his holy hand, to be filled with His Spirit and be poured out for His glory. 

Genesis 2:7 - The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 

Our bodies are lifeless shells until God brings it alive with his breath of life. God makes his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 

2 Corinthians 4:7-11 - But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.

No matter where we are, recognizing the need for a savior or the one who thinks they don't need a savior. God is there and his love for you is so great he sacrificed his own son placing on him your sin, my sin, sin for all time so that in the work of Christ and in him alone we can be reconciled and made right in the eyes of the Lord God who created us to be in union with him. 

If you are struggling with a hurt, hang-up or habit check out this site Celebrate Recovery

Hooked!

When I read about David in 2 Samuel 11-12 I can't help but think of fishing with my Dad. Dad loved to fish, I'm sure I must have been a chatty little girl because he would always say "shh...you're going to scare the fish away". When I was real young he would get my line out in the water in just the right spot and then hand the pole over for me to wait. Waiting is such a hard thing to do and at times can be very tiring especially for a young girl who just wants to catch a fish and make her Daddy proud (we can get ourselves in all kinds of trouble when we are tired or bored) Dad would get the worm set just right on the hook to hide it so that just a little bit of the worm would hang down to entice the fish to come and bite upon my hook. When I would get a little nibble I'd yank the line right up out of the water and would be so disappointed when there wasn't a fish on the other end. Dad would have to put the line back in the water in that special spot and I'd have to wait again. He would say, be patient once you feel a little nibble just leave the pole right there don't move a muscle. Let the fish come back and get another little taste and once he really bites down then give it a little jerk and set the hook, once you get him hooked he will try and swim away with your worm then start reeling him in - you've got him then. 

Thinking of this I can't help but be reminded of what Hebrews 12:1 says - Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. How many times have we found ourselves hooked and square in the middle of sin - so easily entangled, but we have our hope in Jesus Christ who died for our sin which enables us to throw it off and run the race God has marked out for us to run!

To this day I can remember when Dad took me fishing and allowed me to cast my own pole. I remember his instructions and telling me how to watch the line and the hook as I put it over my shoulder then watch where you want it to land in the water, throw your cast then turn the handle just once on the reel and sit and wait for the fish to bite. There's that word again "wait". I did as he said but I didn't see it land in the water so I gave it a yank and then Dad screamed, I had hooked his left ear and when I looked over all I could see was the hook pierced through the top of his ear and the worm was wiggling all over his ear. My casting lesson ended at that moment but his fishing lessons live on.

In the season he was in David was in a place where he shouldn't be, kings would go to the battlefield in the Spring but David stayed back at the palace -nibble nibble. Then when a sleepless night and boredom set in that was another nibble on the worm. Looking at something or someone you shouldn't be looking at - nibble nibble. Then learning she was married, David sent for Bathsheba anyway - nibble nibble. Sleeping with her set the hook and he was easily entangled in his own web of sin. Sin leads to death of innocence, not only did David have Bathsheba's husband killed but the son that was born of this relationship died. 

At each crossroad David had a choice and he chose self gratification instead of seeking God's will in the situation. There was a king in place and David was the king of Israel but he wasn't seeking God as King of kings and Lord of lords to rule over his decision making - anytime we don't do that it's sin. We are separated from God due to our sin. Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.  Sin separates us from God because of His holiness. We need to be in an intimate relationship with Jesus and we need to live with Him as Lord of our lives. David made the choice when he felt the conviction of his sin to turn and repent.

In Jesus we have redemption - Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in ALL these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. - It's spelled out Christ has a love so deep for us that he was willing to come to this world taking on flesh allowing his flesh to die on the cross bearing the full weight of our sin all sin for all time. He didn't spare himself, he didn't get entangled by his flesh but laid it down for us because of his great love he bridged the gap between God and man that sin caused. Nothing trumps Christ's love for us - may we receive the fullness of his great love and mercy and draw closer to him in an intimate way. May we seek him first and then be ready to receive every good gift he has for us. We all have fallen short of his glory and we continue to fall short. But Christ extends to us his righteousness and when we allow him to be Lord of our lives he makes us right with God.  

Ragman by Walter Wangerin, Jr

from 

"Ragman and Other Cries of Faith" 

I saw a strange sight. I stumbled 

upon a story most strange, like 

nothing my life, my street sense, 

my sly tongue had ever prepared 

me for. 

Hush, child. Hush, now, and I will 

tell it to you. Even before the 

dawn one Friday morning I noticed 

a young man, handsome and strong, 

walking the alleys of our City. 

He was pulling an old cart filled 

with clothes both bright and new, 

and he was calling in a clear, 

tenor voice:  "Rags!" (Ah, the air 

was foul and the first light filthy 

to be crossed by such sweet music.) 

"Rags! New rags for old! I take 

your tired rags! Rags!" "Now, this 

is a wonder," I thought to myself, 

for the man stood six-feet-four, 

and his arms were like tree limbs, 

hard and muscular, and his eyes 

flashed intelligence. 

Could he find no better job than 

this, to be a ragman in the inner 

city? I followed him. My curiosity 

drove me. And I wasn't disappointed. 

Soon the Ragman saw a woman sitting 

on her back porch. She was sobbing 

into a handkerchief, sighing, and 

shedding a thousand tears. Her knees 

and elbows made a sad X. Her 

shoulders shook. Her heart was 

breaking. 

The Ragman stopped his cart. Quietly, 

he walked to the woman, stepping 

round tin cans, dead toys, and 

Pampers. "Give me your rag," he 

said so gently, "and I'll give 

you another." He slipped the 

handkerchief from her eyes. She 

looked up, and he laid across her 

palm a linen cloth so clean and 

new that it shined. She blinked 

from the gift to the giver. 

Then, as he began to pull his cart 

again, the Ragman did a strange 

thing: he put her stained 

handkerchief to his own face; 

and then HE began to weep,   

to sob as grievously as she had 

done, his shoulders shaking. Yet 

she was left without a tear. 

"This IS a wonder," I breathed to 

myself , and I followed the sobbing 

Ragman like a child who cannot turn 

away from mystery. 

"Rags! Rags! New rags for old!" 

In a little while, when the sky 

showed grey behind the rooftops and 

I could see the shredded curtains 

hanging out black windows, the 

Ragman came upon a girl whose head 

was wrapped in a bandage, whose 

eyes were empty. Blood soaked her 

bandage. A single line of blood 

ran down her cheek. Now the tall 

Ragman looked upon this child with 

pity, and he drew a lovely yellow 

bonnet from his cart. 

"Give me your rag," he said, 

tracing his own line on her cheek, 

"and I'll give you mine." The child 

could only gaze at him while he 

loosened the bandage, removed it, 

and tied it to his own head. The 

bonnet he set on hers. And I gasped 

at what I saw: for with the bandage 

went the wound! Against his brow it 

ran a darker, more substantial 

blood - his own! 

"Rags! Rags! I take old rags!" cried 

the sobbing, bleeding, strong, 

intelligent Ragman. The sun hurt 

both the sky, now, and my eyes; 

the Ragman seemed more and more 

to hurry. 

"Are you going to work?" he asked 

a man who leaned against a telephone 

pole. The man shook his head 

The Ragman pressed him: "Do you have 

a job?" 

"Are you crazy?" sneeredthe other. 

He pulled away from the pole, 

revealing the right sleeve of his 

jacket - flat, the cuff stuffed into 

the pocket.  He had no arm. 

"So," said the Ragman. "Give me 

your jacket, and I'll give you 

mine." Such quiet authority in his 

voice! 

The one-armed man took off his 

jacket. So did the Ragman - and I 

trembled at what I saw: for the 

Ragman's arm stayed in its sleeve, 

and when the other put it on he 

had two good arms, thick as tree 

limbs; but the Ragman had only one. 

"Go to work," he said. 

After that he found a drunk, 

lying unconscious beneath an army 

blanket, and old man, hunched, 

wizened, and sick. He took that 

blanket and wrapped it round himself, 

but for the drunk he left new 

clothes. 

And now I had to run to keep up 

with the Ragman. Though he was 

weeping uncontrollably, and bleeding 

freely at the forehead, pulling 

his cart with one arm, stumbling for 

drunkenness, falling again and again, 

exhausted, old, and sick, yet he went 

with terrible speed. On spider's legs 

he skittered through the alleys of 

the City, this mile and the next, 

until he came to its limits, and 

then he rushed beyond. 

I wept to see the change in this 

man. I hurt to see his sorrow. And 

yet I needed to see where he was 

going in such haste, perhaps to 

know what drove him so. 

The little old Ragman - he came to 

a landfill. He came to the garbage 

pits.  And then I wanted to help 

him in what he did, but I hung back, 

hiding. 

He climbed a hill. With tormented 

labor he cleared a little space on 

that hill. Then he sighed. He lay 

down. He pillowed his head on a 

handkerchief and a jacket. He 

covered his bones with an army 

blanket. 

And he died. 

Oh, how I cried to witness that 

death!I slumped in a junked car 

and wailed and mourned as one who 

has no hope - because I had come 

to love the Ragman. 

Every other face had faded in 

the wonder of this man, and I 

cherished him; but he died.I 

sobbed myself to sleep. I did not know - how could I know? 

That I slept through Friday night 

and Saturday and its night, too. 

But then, on Sunday morning, I was 

wakened by a violence. Light - pure, 

hard, demanding light - slammed 

against my sour face,and I blinked, 

and I looked, and I saw the last 

and the first wonder of all. 

There was the Ragman, folding the 

blanket most carefully, a scar on 

his forehead, but alive! And, 

besides that, healthy! There was no 

sign of sorrow nor of age, and 

all the rags that he had gathered 

shined for cleanliness. 

Well, then I lowered my head and 

trembling for all that I had seen, 

I myself walked up to the Ragman. 

I told him my name with shame, for 

I was a sorry figure next to him. 

Then I took off all my clothes in 

that place, and I said to him with 

dear yearning in my voice: "Dress me." 

He dressed me. My Lord, he put new 

rags on me, and I am a wonder beside 

him. 

The Ragman, the Ragman, 

THE CHRIST