From the beginning of the Bible right there in the Garden of Eden God had to show us our need for a Savior.
Have you ever given any thought to how Adam and Eve reacted to the first sacrifice? Remember everything was perfect for them in the Garden. Adam named all the animals, they were tame and if your a pet lover you have to assume he liked them. They didn't hurt him and he didn't hurt them. There was no hunting or killing or shedding of blood.
Can you imagine how they must have felt when God scarified the first animal? Not only did He kill it in front of them but He skinned it so they would have something to wear? That must have been a pretty brutal scene for them the first time. How much more horrific was it going to be when the sacrifice was God's only son?
In Genesis 4 & 5 the Bible gives us a genealogy from the creation of Adam. This in not unusual, we see it often in the Bible as God is showing us the blood line from Adam to Jesus.
In Bible times a persons name had a meaning that correlated with what was going on at the time.
I'm going to list the names shown in Genesis 4 & 5 and the Hebrew meaning of these names.
Adam- man
Adam son Seth – appointed
Seth son Enosh- incurable, miserable
Enosh son Kenan – sorrow
Kenan son Mahalalel – Blessed God Praise
Mahalalel son Jared – Come Down
Jared son Enoch – teacher
Enoch son Methuselah – His death shall bring
Methuselah son Lamech – dis-pairing
Lamech son Noah – to bring relief, comfort
Now I wish I could take credit for the information in this jewel but I can't. I learned it at a Bible study I attend on Friday nights, however, I love to share with you what I learn.
Right here in the meaning of these names is the plan of salvation.
Watch what happens when we put the meaning of the names into a sentence.
Man appointed incurable sorrow, blessed God came down teaching his death shall bring despair to bring relief and comfort.
Is God amazing or what? Nothing is by accident or coincidence. He was giving us the plan of salvation in chapter 4 of Genesis!
It was God's choice from the beginning of time to save us from our sins, He didn't owe us He bought us. He is the creator we are the creation. Our creator, God, gave us the Bible to show us how we are to live. Our life here on earth is to daily look more and more like Christ.
But are we looking more and more like Christ? Do we even think about what Christ endured for us on the cross?
“One of the reasons we are not as Christ-centered and cross-saturated as we should be is that we have not realized that everything - everything good, and everything bad that God turns for the good of his redeemed children- was purchased by the death of Christ for us. We simply take life and breath and health and friends and everything for granted. We think it is ours by right. But the fact is that it is not ours by right. We are doubly undeserving of it.”
Quote from Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper.
We have become a generation that thinks we are owed something and have taken words out of our Christian vocabulary like judgment, holiness and obedience.
As in any parent child relationship there are blessings when your obeying and discipline when you're not.
Christ died for our sins because God decided at the beginning of the world it would happen that way but we have a responsibility to strive to live an obedient life for Him.
What are some of the reasons we refuse to do something God specifically commanded us to do? Pride, doubt, bitterness or resentment over our past and selfishness are a few that come to mind.
These may be our justified reasons in our minds but they are in no way acceptable excuses.
God is always willing to forgive us when we ask Him but today most people don't even feel it necessary to ask for forgiveness.
I think some people don't ask for forgiveness because they don't think they'll get it and some don't ask because they compare themselves to others and think their not as bad and then there's the ones that just don't think they need forgiveness.
How you feel about it doesn't change the truth that all have sinned all fall short of the Glory of God Romans 3:23
My grandsons are going through a tough time right now and they sometimes act out their emotions in a negative way.
For example, their school had a breakfast for Grand Parents day on Friday and I was so excited about attending. We counted down the days together and they seemed as excited as I was. The day before the big event they had something happen that caused them understandable stress so unfortunately the next morning they were not on their best behavior. The morning did not go at all as I had hoped and I had to be stern with them at the school. I let them know we would talk about their behavior when we got home that night.
I totally understood why they were having trouble with their feelings but I could not ignore their behavior.
That night we talked about what transpired at the school. When we finished talking I told my older grandson I wanted him to write me an apology letter and my younger grandson to draw me one since he's only 5. They went to their room with heads hanging down and two very sad faces.
I wanted to make sure they understood why I was unhappy with how our morning went.
When they came out with their letters/pictures I just about cried. Anthony the 7 year old wrote his apology but then he had a picture at the bottom of the page of him and me. He had those little bubbles over our heads where you write what your saying. The picture of him said “sorry Nanna” and my picture said “It's OK” and we are both smiling in his drawing.
Lucas the 5 year old also drew a picture of the two of us and in his picture we are also both smiling and holding hands.
I loved these pictures because even though this was a discipline moment and they knew they had misbehaved they also knew I would forgive them. They had no doubt of my love for them but they also had no doubt I wouldn't put up with disobedience.
They knew if they said they were sorry and really meant it Nanna would say OK.
It made me stop and think of my relationship with Jesus. I know He loves me but I also know and have experienced His discipline.
This relationship was only made possible by the cross. It's not because I'm such a great person or because I have had a sad past or because I tithe it's all because of the salvation plan that was designed way back in Genesis, I can't take any credit for it.
Galatians 6:14 But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Why would Paul boast about Jesus dying on the cross? The same reason we should, if it wasn't for what Christ did on the cross I would have no relationship never less forgiveness from God.
My grandsons had no problem asking for forgiveness because they knew I wanted to give it to them, not because their behavior deserved it but because I love them and want us to get back on track. Our fellowship was broken because of sin but it was restored because of love.
It's the same with our Heavenly father, our fellowship is interrupted by our sin but it is restored when we repent and ask forgiveness.
I am making a conscience effort to boast in Christ crucified to remind myself and share with others the unexplainable love of God.
It is my prayer that later in life if someone were to do my genealogy and give meaning my family names it would read something like this.
Gena daughter of God – forgiven
Anthony son of Gena – walking with God
Amanda daughter of Gena – understanding true love
Nathanael son of Gena- sharing the gospel
Jessica daughter of Gena – boasting in Christ crucified
Anthony & Lucas grandsons of Gena – carrying on the message
You have a chance to write part of your genealogy as well. What will yours read?
Gena's Jewels Keeper of The Testimony available on Amazon
Monday, September 20, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Free Kindness
I took part in an act of random kindness outreach this weekend washing cars for free. Totally free no donations accepted, just doing something kind for someone expecting nothing in return. It's not a new concept we did it at the last church we attended but this time I was on the front lines so to speak.
I stood at the entrance of the church parking lot on a very busy street with 4 other people holding bright colored posters saying car wash. We had one neon green sign in the middle with the word FREE written in huge black letters.
The first thing that got my attention was only 1 out of ten people that passed us by was NOT on the phone. That's scary all by itself.
Some people honked at us and some actually waved back but for the most part people didn't even notice us.
They drove by oblivious to our bright colored signs and more amazing than that they didn't even seem to notice us yelling FREE.
They were driving right by a free blessing and didn't even know it.
We figured the ones that did acknowledge us didn't believe it was free. They probably thought there was a catch and they didn't have the time or desire to find out what the catch was. Some passed by because they figured it was free but they didn't have any cash on them to give the “free with required donation.”
A few took the bait and pulled in and were surprised when we would not take any money from them. No donation, no church enrollment, no future commitment just a free car wash.
This really took people by surprise. The catch was there was no catch.
One young man around 19 or 20 asked if we were doing it to increase church membership. I said no but he was welcome to come visit any time. I explained the reason we were washing his car was to give us an opportunity to be kind to someone and demonstrate the love of God in a tangible way. He thought that was interesting and went on to tell one of the men who was washing his car all the upgrades he put into it and they talked motor talk for a while.
I just watched as this moment, for lack of a better word, happened. The more interest the older man showed the more information the younger man gave. He seemed to fill with pride as he talked about his racing clutch and special wheels. The older man, who was washing the car, smiled and confirmed he too thought she was a beauty. This bond happened right there with 2 strangers. Without them knowing they were each being blessed, one for his obedience to show kindness and the other for not passing by a blessing.
Before he left he told us he was going to come visit our church and would bring his brother too. Again, this was not the goal but praise the Lord we represented a Jesus he wanted to know more.
Another woman, after we would not take a donation, shared with us that she and her husband had been dealing with sickness and just having a general hard time with life. She said she felt this sensation like angels were around her. She told us she felt like God cared about her just by having us wash her car.
Both of these people didn't open up until after they saw we meant what we said that the car wash was really free.
God took this simple act of kindness that we did for Him and used it to reach out to two different people in two different ways.
There were multiple moments happening that day. Our small group reaching out to the community and our small group becoming a community.
What I mean is we only washed about 4 cars for people that didn't belong to the church. You might think the day wasn't successful based on the number of cars that passed us by, however, God knew exactly who would be volunteering that day and He gave us an opportunity to get to know each other better.
We built our church community closer that day too.
As always I was reflecting on the day when I laid down that night and was still so surprised how many people in dirty cars drove right by a free car wash.
I wonder how many people everyday are passing by the many blessing Christ has for them.
The biggest of course is a relationship with Him. The promise of life for eternity in Heaven.
Do people pass by because they don't believe God wants to bless them? Do they pass it by because they think there's a catch?
God's gift of salvation is still free!
I know in my world I am ALWAYS getting blessed by the Lord. I'm not kidding, always. It's not because I'm better than anyone else or sin less it's just that I give credit to the one who blesses me.
For example, and this is just one small example, I was having a tough time financially and we needed groceries. I prayed and asked the Lord to send us food and 2 days later I saw a friend of mine and she said “Oh Gena I have something for you, the Lord told me to give it to you a couple of days ago but I didn't see you.” Guess what she gave me? Two Walmart cards! Guess what I bought? Groceries....
It get's better. I was hanging out with my son and we both really wanted a treat. I couldn't decide between a caramel Frape from McDonalds or a sundae. We only found enough money to buy one or the other for each of us. We decide on the frape and head to McDonalds. When we get to the window the cashier hands us 2 sundaes and says we made these by mistake so you can have them both.
That is my sweet Jesus blessing me for no other reason than because He loves me.
Blessings come in many forms on many occasions whether your the one receiving the blessing or giving the blessing you both get blessed.
Gems, I pray you wont get so consumed in your world that you pass right by an opportunity to be kind to someone. That you won't miss a “moment” to show someone the Love of God in a tangible way. And here's a thought, do it for FREE!
I stood at the entrance of the church parking lot on a very busy street with 4 other people holding bright colored posters saying car wash. We had one neon green sign in the middle with the word FREE written in huge black letters.
The first thing that got my attention was only 1 out of ten people that passed us by was NOT on the phone. That's scary all by itself.
Some people honked at us and some actually waved back but for the most part people didn't even notice us.
They drove by oblivious to our bright colored signs and more amazing than that they didn't even seem to notice us yelling FREE.
They were driving right by a free blessing and didn't even know it.
We figured the ones that did acknowledge us didn't believe it was free. They probably thought there was a catch and they didn't have the time or desire to find out what the catch was. Some passed by because they figured it was free but they didn't have any cash on them to give the “free with required donation.”
A few took the bait and pulled in and were surprised when we would not take any money from them. No donation, no church enrollment, no future commitment just a free car wash.
This really took people by surprise. The catch was there was no catch.
One young man around 19 or 20 asked if we were doing it to increase church membership. I said no but he was welcome to come visit any time. I explained the reason we were washing his car was to give us an opportunity to be kind to someone and demonstrate the love of God in a tangible way. He thought that was interesting and went on to tell one of the men who was washing his car all the upgrades he put into it and they talked motor talk for a while.
I just watched as this moment, for lack of a better word, happened. The more interest the older man showed the more information the younger man gave. He seemed to fill with pride as he talked about his racing clutch and special wheels. The older man, who was washing the car, smiled and confirmed he too thought she was a beauty. This bond happened right there with 2 strangers. Without them knowing they were each being blessed, one for his obedience to show kindness and the other for not passing by a blessing.
Before he left he told us he was going to come visit our church and would bring his brother too. Again, this was not the goal but praise the Lord we represented a Jesus he wanted to know more.
Another woman, after we would not take a donation, shared with us that she and her husband had been dealing with sickness and just having a general hard time with life. She said she felt this sensation like angels were around her. She told us she felt like God cared about her just by having us wash her car.
Both of these people didn't open up until after they saw we meant what we said that the car wash was really free.
God took this simple act of kindness that we did for Him and used it to reach out to two different people in two different ways.
There were multiple moments happening that day. Our small group reaching out to the community and our small group becoming a community.
What I mean is we only washed about 4 cars for people that didn't belong to the church. You might think the day wasn't successful based on the number of cars that passed us by, however, God knew exactly who would be volunteering that day and He gave us an opportunity to get to know each other better.
We built our church community closer that day too.
As always I was reflecting on the day when I laid down that night and was still so surprised how many people in dirty cars drove right by a free car wash.
I wonder how many people everyday are passing by the many blessing Christ has for them.
The biggest of course is a relationship with Him. The promise of life for eternity in Heaven.
Do people pass by because they don't believe God wants to bless them? Do they pass it by because they think there's a catch?
God's gift of salvation is still free!
I know in my world I am ALWAYS getting blessed by the Lord. I'm not kidding, always. It's not because I'm better than anyone else or sin less it's just that I give credit to the one who blesses me.
For example, and this is just one small example, I was having a tough time financially and we needed groceries. I prayed and asked the Lord to send us food and 2 days later I saw a friend of mine and she said “Oh Gena I have something for you, the Lord told me to give it to you a couple of days ago but I didn't see you.” Guess what she gave me? Two Walmart cards! Guess what I bought? Groceries....
It get's better. I was hanging out with my son and we both really wanted a treat. I couldn't decide between a caramel Frape from McDonalds or a sundae. We only found enough money to buy one or the other for each of us. We decide on the frape and head to McDonalds. When we get to the window the cashier hands us 2 sundaes and says we made these by mistake so you can have them both.
That is my sweet Jesus blessing me for no other reason than because He loves me.
Blessings come in many forms on many occasions whether your the one receiving the blessing or giving the blessing you both get blessed.
Gems, I pray you wont get so consumed in your world that you pass right by an opportunity to be kind to someone. That you won't miss a “moment” to show someone the Love of God in a tangible way. And here's a thought, do it for FREE!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Go And Know
I was reading a story in Judges chapter 6 about a man named Gideon. I'm going to give you the Gena translation and as always I suggest you read the book for yourself.
Before we meet Gideon we see the nation of Israel worshiping other gods and basically being disobedient to the commands of God. God leaves them to their evilness and eventually they are being persecuted and oppressed by other tribes. When they can't take any more they cry out to God to save them. He of course does, again, by sending them a deliverer.
The problem is they only stay obedient for a short time and then once again go back to their own selfish and futile desires and become disobedient and so the cycle continues.
It amazes me that the cycle continues today. We try and walk in obedience and truly honor God with our lives and then gradually the line moves and we become more and more disobedient. The next thing you know we are crying out to God because all of a sudden our lives are out of control.
The thing is Gems it wasn't all of a sudden. It was a process of one bad decision after another and we somehow think God is going to continue to bless our disobedience. Guess what? He's not.
Back to our story. The children of Israel are once again totally oppressed this time by the Midianites and they are crying out to God for help.
Judges 6;1 Again the Israelite s did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. 2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. 4 They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. 5 They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. 6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help.
The Lord responds to their plea with a reminder of how they got there.
7 When the Israelites cried to the LORD because of Midian, 8 he sent them a prophet, who said, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 9 I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave you their land. 10 I said to you, 'I am the LORD your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.' But you have not listened to me."
The bottom line then is the same bottom line we have today. We do not listen. God gives us instructions in the Bible on how to live and most of us don't read it never less obey it. Again, we can't expect to have power over our enemies (greed, anger, selfishness, loneliness, finances, etc.) if we are not listening to God.
God sends an angel to Gideon who calls him a mighty warrior and reminds him that God is with him.
I love this part because it's just like us humans, you have to butter us up first so we'll pay attention. The angel didn't just call him a warrior, he called him a mighty warrior. Now you know this got Gideon's ear. Can you just hear his thoughts “yea, I'm not just a warrior I'm a mighty warrior.”
It didn't take long though before he came back to reality. He responds to the angel. What do you mean God is with u? Are you new in town? We are starving and hiding in caves. These Midianites are killing us and in case you haven't heard they are like a swarm of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels.
What happened to our mighty warrior?
Pay attention to the next verse.
14 The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"
A couple of things jumped out here to me.
The go in the strength you have and am I not with you.
Sometimes we have to go in our strength and know the Lord is with us.
15 "But Lord , " Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."
Here our mighty warrior starts telling God why it won't work instead of focusing on the “am I not with you.”
How many times has the Lord asked us to do something and the first thing we do is start listing all the reasons we can't do it instead of focusing on the “am I not with you.”
One of the many things I love about God is He allows us to whine for a moment but then He gives us the final pep talk . He reminded Gideon it was God that called him a mighty warrior so not only could he start the task he could finish it.
This is the Lord's response.
16 The LORD answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together."
God doesn't just say strike them down but that they will go down all together.
King James Bible says as one man.
Basically he wasn't going to have to fight one man at at a time but they were going down all together.
The last part of this story I want to share with you is the best part.
Right before the battle Gideon gets really nervous because remember there are more Midianites than can be counted and God tells him he can only have 300 men in his army! You do the math.
You seriously need to read the story to learn how all that happens, it's amazing.
OK so let's recap. God tells Gideon he's a mighty warrior, not to worry the Lord is with him and he will defeat all the Midianites with only 300 men.
God tells him all this but the Bible says Gideon is afraid.
There are many times I know the Lord tells me to do something and I know the Holy Spirit will give me strength but I still get afraid.
Check out what happens next.
Judges 7:10 If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah 11 and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp." So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. 12 The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.
13 Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. "I had a dream," he was saying. "A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed."
14 His friend responded, "This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands."
15 When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, "Get up! The LORD has given the Midianite camp into your hands."
Isn't it sad that Gideon didn't totally believe God until he heard what the people said?
He put more faith in what man said than what God said.
I'm not throwing stones from a glass house because there have been many times in my life when God has told me something and the first thing I did was go to my friends to see what they would say.
Don't get me wrong I'm not saying you shouldn't seek counsel from wise friends but the bottom line is we need to believe what God says.
The danger in seeking man is sometimes we will keep asking one person after another until we get the answer we want instead of the truth, especially if the truth is scary.
The story ends with a miraculous battle. The odds were stacked against the Israelites by God's design so there was no question as to who won the battle. The story of Gideon is an amazing one but I want to remind you, you have an amazing story too.
I pray you will listen to what God says about you, that you will stay in the word and be obedient to God's instructions on how your to live.
I pray that when God calls you a mighty warrior you'll believe Him. Remember wherever He sends you it's your strength that's needed to say yes and move forward but it's His strength that will make the plan successful.
Before we meet Gideon we see the nation of Israel worshiping other gods and basically being disobedient to the commands of God. God leaves them to their evilness and eventually they are being persecuted and oppressed by other tribes. When they can't take any more they cry out to God to save them. He of course does, again, by sending them a deliverer.
The problem is they only stay obedient for a short time and then once again go back to their own selfish and futile desires and become disobedient and so the cycle continues.
It amazes me that the cycle continues today. We try and walk in obedience and truly honor God with our lives and then gradually the line moves and we become more and more disobedient. The next thing you know we are crying out to God because all of a sudden our lives are out of control.
The thing is Gems it wasn't all of a sudden. It was a process of one bad decision after another and we somehow think God is going to continue to bless our disobedience. Guess what? He's not.
Back to our story. The children of Israel are once again totally oppressed this time by the Midianites and they are crying out to God for help.
Judges 6;1 Again the Israelite s did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. 2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. 4 They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. 5 They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. 6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help.
The Lord responds to their plea with a reminder of how they got there.
7 When the Israelites cried to the LORD because of Midian, 8 he sent them a prophet, who said, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 9 I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave you their land. 10 I said to you, 'I am the LORD your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.' But you have not listened to me."
The bottom line then is the same bottom line we have today. We do not listen. God gives us instructions in the Bible on how to live and most of us don't read it never less obey it. Again, we can't expect to have power over our enemies (greed, anger, selfishness, loneliness, finances, etc.) if we are not listening to God.
God sends an angel to Gideon who calls him a mighty warrior and reminds him that God is with him.
I love this part because it's just like us humans, you have to butter us up first so we'll pay attention. The angel didn't just call him a warrior, he called him a mighty warrior. Now you know this got Gideon's ear. Can you just hear his thoughts “yea, I'm not just a warrior I'm a mighty warrior.”
It didn't take long though before he came back to reality. He responds to the angel. What do you mean God is with u? Are you new in town? We are starving and hiding in caves. These Midianites are killing us and in case you haven't heard they are like a swarm of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels.
What happened to our mighty warrior?
Pay attention to the next verse.
14 The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"
A couple of things jumped out here to me.
The go in the strength you have and am I not with you.
Sometimes we have to go in our strength and know the Lord is with us.
15 "But Lord , " Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."
Here our mighty warrior starts telling God why it won't work instead of focusing on the “am I not with you.”
How many times has the Lord asked us to do something and the first thing we do is start listing all the reasons we can't do it instead of focusing on the “am I not with you.”
One of the many things I love about God is He allows us to whine for a moment but then He gives us the final pep talk . He reminded Gideon it was God that called him a mighty warrior so not only could he start the task he could finish it.
This is the Lord's response.
16 The LORD answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together."
God doesn't just say strike them down but that they will go down all together.
King James Bible says as one man.
Basically he wasn't going to have to fight one man at at a time but they were going down all together.
The last part of this story I want to share with you is the best part.
Right before the battle Gideon gets really nervous because remember there are more Midianites than can be counted and God tells him he can only have 300 men in his army! You do the math.
You seriously need to read the story to learn how all that happens, it's amazing.
OK so let's recap. God tells Gideon he's a mighty warrior, not to worry the Lord is with him and he will defeat all the Midianites with only 300 men.
God tells him all this but the Bible says Gideon is afraid.
There are many times I know the Lord tells me to do something and I know the Holy Spirit will give me strength but I still get afraid.
Check out what happens next.
Judges 7:10 If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah 11 and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp." So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. 12 The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.
13 Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. "I had a dream," he was saying. "A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed."
14 His friend responded, "This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands."
15 When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, "Get up! The LORD has given the Midianite camp into your hands."
Isn't it sad that Gideon didn't totally believe God until he heard what the people said?
He put more faith in what man said than what God said.
I'm not throwing stones from a glass house because there have been many times in my life when God has told me something and the first thing I did was go to my friends to see what they would say.
Don't get me wrong I'm not saying you shouldn't seek counsel from wise friends but the bottom line is we need to believe what God says.
The danger in seeking man is sometimes we will keep asking one person after another until we get the answer we want instead of the truth, especially if the truth is scary.
The story ends with a miraculous battle. The odds were stacked against the Israelites by God's design so there was no question as to who won the battle. The story of Gideon is an amazing one but I want to remind you, you have an amazing story too.
I pray you will listen to what God says about you, that you will stay in the word and be obedient to God's instructions on how your to live.
I pray that when God calls you a mighty warrior you'll believe Him. Remember wherever He sends you it's your strength that's needed to say yes and move forward but it's His strength that will make the plan successful.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Strength In Joy
I was having one of those days yesterday, you know the kind when you feel like your going to lose it any moment? Do men have those days? Anyway I was on edge and anxious with no apparent reason.
I had to take my youngest daughter to her new High School to meet her teachers and find her classes. How she went from being 4 years old to high school so fast is beyond me. It was hot, I only had an hour, we were in a long line of cars and worse than all we were making a left hand turn.
OK so I'm in my car with my daughter and I'm getting annoyed with the person at the front of the line who is not taking the MANY attempts they had to turn. I start grumbling out loud and I finally say to this person I don't know and can't hear me “don't make me blow this horn!”
At this pressure cooking moment my sweet daughter starts singing “I got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart” she looks at me with a big angelic smile and continues singing “WHERE? Down in my heart to stay!” (if you don't know this popular child song go to you tube and listen to it) I just started laughing and calmed down but then it hit me I did not have joy in my heart.
The second part of Nehemiah 8:10 tells us the joy of the Lord is our strength.
That is a powerful verse and I was living proof of it, on the opposite end I'm afraid. I was not walking in strength because my joy joy joy was apparently no where to be found.
When we have our joy we are able to handle the things life throws at us in a better emotional state. We walk in the understanding that God is in control and Jesus will lead our path. It's the place where we truly are anxious for nothing.
That is an attainable place but if you lose your joy you lose your place.
I did focus on what my daughter said but for some reason I could not seem to beat this feeling I was having. I almost felt numb inside.
Overwhelmed with all the things going on around me and all the prayer request I'm praying for and yet I felt numb.
The truth is the people I'm praying for have far more serious things than I do in my life right now. I felt like a wimp.
I got home from work and my grandson came in a few minutes later excited he had made the soccer team tryouts and would be on the team he hoped for. He's only 7 and has been working so hard all summer. I of course shared in his excitement and told him how proud I was but honestly gems I was responding right on the outside but the inside I was just kinda numb.
I didn't feel excitement or joy or love or anything! What the heck was wrong with me?
Before I went to bed I decided to water my plants on the porch and just call it a day.
I reached up to a hanging plant and as I started pouring the water into it a swarm of wasp attacked my hand. I got about 5 stings before I ran into the house.
The weird thing is although it hurt like a #@##@# it made me cry and that was exactly what I needed.
I went in my room and sat on the floor in the dark and just cried out to God with all the stings I was feeling not only in my hand but in my heart. And believe me I was feeling something now!
My oldest son Anthony, thinking I had gone to bed, came to my room to say goodnight. When he heard me crying he came into my room to see what was wrong.
I don't like to cry in front of my kids or people for that matter when I'm feeling really vulnerable.
I told him about the numbness and how I could not seem to find my joy. I shared how I felt like I wasn't doing the best kingdom work lately and in a nut shell felt like crap. To make matters worse I didn't feel like the Lord had much to say to me, other than the joy thing.
My wise son encouraged me with facts about our family and the seeds I had planted and then he said something very profound to me.
He claims I said it to him years ago so it mush have been a Holy Spirit moment cause not only do I not remember but it was really good.
He said “mom you told me one time that the more time we spend with God and devote ourselves to becoming more like Jesus the less He has to talk to us.”
Follow me here not less time like He's busy but less time reminding us how to behave. He went on to say that when we are seeking the love of God we respond in ways that please Him.
Let's put it in a practical every day way. When your teaching your child, student, sibling or employee something new you have to tell them over and over how it's done. You have to remind them the proper response each time the situation comes up. As time goes by you have to tell them less and less as they figure out what to do.
The more we read the Bible and ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom the more we get it and the less times He has to show us how to behave.
Anthony asked me if I fessed up to anything I did wrong and I said yes. He responded in his most sensitive way “then suck it up, get back on the horse and start riding again!”
He was right. The beautiful part about walking with the Lord is as soon as you repent and move on your done. You only camp out in the joyless zone if you choose to hang out there.
On a more difficult note he said he thought it was important for me to share with people when I'm vulnerable. I reminded him about Gena's Jewels and how many people I share my junk with. It is a humbling experience but if it helps one person I'm glad to do it.
Honestly Gems, I feel bad sharing because I feel like my lack of trust at the time is dissing God. My son reminded me that people need to know that we all feel that way at times.
So here I am AGAIN confessing to you that I lost my joy cause I lost my trust.
The good news is after a good cry, a great talk including a much needed hug and an awesome prayer time I woke up the next morning and what do you think I found?
You guessed it.
I got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart! Where?? Down in my heart to stay :)
None of the circumstances in my life nor in the lives of the ones I'm praying for have changed. It's never about our circumstances it's about our mind set.
I feel so much better today so I'm sending this out to you my Gems to encourage you. If you lost your peace look for your joy, chances are you'll find your strength too!
I had to take my youngest daughter to her new High School to meet her teachers and find her classes. How she went from being 4 years old to high school so fast is beyond me. It was hot, I only had an hour, we were in a long line of cars and worse than all we were making a left hand turn.
OK so I'm in my car with my daughter and I'm getting annoyed with the person at the front of the line who is not taking the MANY attempts they had to turn. I start grumbling out loud and I finally say to this person I don't know and can't hear me “don't make me blow this horn!”
At this pressure cooking moment my sweet daughter starts singing “I got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart” she looks at me with a big angelic smile and continues singing “WHERE? Down in my heart to stay!” (if you don't know this popular child song go to you tube and listen to it) I just started laughing and calmed down but then it hit me I did not have joy in my heart.
The second part of Nehemiah 8:10 tells us the joy of the Lord is our strength.
That is a powerful verse and I was living proof of it, on the opposite end I'm afraid. I was not walking in strength because my joy joy joy was apparently no where to be found.
When we have our joy we are able to handle the things life throws at us in a better emotional state. We walk in the understanding that God is in control and Jesus will lead our path. It's the place where we truly are anxious for nothing.
That is an attainable place but if you lose your joy you lose your place.
I did focus on what my daughter said but for some reason I could not seem to beat this feeling I was having. I almost felt numb inside.
Overwhelmed with all the things going on around me and all the prayer request I'm praying for and yet I felt numb.
The truth is the people I'm praying for have far more serious things than I do in my life right now. I felt like a wimp.
I got home from work and my grandson came in a few minutes later excited he had made the soccer team tryouts and would be on the team he hoped for. He's only 7 and has been working so hard all summer. I of course shared in his excitement and told him how proud I was but honestly gems I was responding right on the outside but the inside I was just kinda numb.
I didn't feel excitement or joy or love or anything! What the heck was wrong with me?
Before I went to bed I decided to water my plants on the porch and just call it a day.
I reached up to a hanging plant and as I started pouring the water into it a swarm of wasp attacked my hand. I got about 5 stings before I ran into the house.
The weird thing is although it hurt like a #@##@# it made me cry and that was exactly what I needed.
I went in my room and sat on the floor in the dark and just cried out to God with all the stings I was feeling not only in my hand but in my heart. And believe me I was feeling something now!
My oldest son Anthony, thinking I had gone to bed, came to my room to say goodnight. When he heard me crying he came into my room to see what was wrong.
I don't like to cry in front of my kids or people for that matter when I'm feeling really vulnerable.
I told him about the numbness and how I could not seem to find my joy. I shared how I felt like I wasn't doing the best kingdom work lately and in a nut shell felt like crap. To make matters worse I didn't feel like the Lord had much to say to me, other than the joy thing.
My wise son encouraged me with facts about our family and the seeds I had planted and then he said something very profound to me.
He claims I said it to him years ago so it mush have been a Holy Spirit moment cause not only do I not remember but it was really good.
He said “mom you told me one time that the more time we spend with God and devote ourselves to becoming more like Jesus the less He has to talk to us.”
Follow me here not less time like He's busy but less time reminding us how to behave. He went on to say that when we are seeking the love of God we respond in ways that please Him.
Let's put it in a practical every day way. When your teaching your child, student, sibling or employee something new you have to tell them over and over how it's done. You have to remind them the proper response each time the situation comes up. As time goes by you have to tell them less and less as they figure out what to do.
The more we read the Bible and ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom the more we get it and the less times He has to show us how to behave.
Anthony asked me if I fessed up to anything I did wrong and I said yes. He responded in his most sensitive way “then suck it up, get back on the horse and start riding again!”
He was right. The beautiful part about walking with the Lord is as soon as you repent and move on your done. You only camp out in the joyless zone if you choose to hang out there.
On a more difficult note he said he thought it was important for me to share with people when I'm vulnerable. I reminded him about Gena's Jewels and how many people I share my junk with. It is a humbling experience but if it helps one person I'm glad to do it.
Honestly Gems, I feel bad sharing because I feel like my lack of trust at the time is dissing God. My son reminded me that people need to know that we all feel that way at times.
So here I am AGAIN confessing to you that I lost my joy cause I lost my trust.
The good news is after a good cry, a great talk including a much needed hug and an awesome prayer time I woke up the next morning and what do you think I found?
You guessed it.
I got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart! Where?? Down in my heart to stay :)
None of the circumstances in my life nor in the lives of the ones I'm praying for have changed. It's never about our circumstances it's about our mind set.
I feel so much better today so I'm sending this out to you my Gems to encourage you. If you lost your peace look for your joy, chances are you'll find your strength too!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Smudge Proof
I was at work sitting behind my desk when a customer came in to make a payment on his account. The first thing I did was put on my glasses cause I can't see without them. When I looked up at the customer I could only see him clearly with one eye. I had a huge fingerprint smudge on my right lens so he was kind of foggy.
As he was talking my mind started to wander and I'm thinking, I wonder if he can see this huge smudge on my lens. I'm trying not to laugh out loud as I'm picturing what I must look like. In spite of his odd look I continued to act like the professional woman I am :)
As always it got me thinking about our lives.
At times we are walking and talking like we got it all together but there's a big smudge in us. We know it's there because it's affecting the way we handle our life and we don't think others notice. The truth is if we can see it chances are they can too.
If my glasses are usually clean when I'm talking to you and now they have a big fingerprint on it your going to notice.
Taking it to a spiritual level, if I usually act one way and now I'm acting different, something must have smudged me.
I will humbly give you an example.
It's 5:42 am. And I have been up for hours trying to make sense of my recent smudge.
Here's the scenario. I am part of a large church that believes in and utilizes small home groups. This has always been a passion of mine so I have been a leader of a group for some time. I have a coach and I'm part of a small group of leaders.
OK shift gears with me for a minute. I'm going to write this in stages of smudges so you can enter the scary place called my mind (do this at your own risk) and follow my train of thought.
Smudge 1: I need to give a recap for my newer Gems and a reminder for the rest.
As you know I have had a toxic relationship with my parents. There was a time in my life when I had to love them from a distance in order to allow healing in my life. Recently I have become their main caregiver which has required me to spend a lot of time with them.
Smudge 2: I have been under a lot of stress with all the decision making and responsibilities caring for my parents has created. My children have had life crisis which of course affects me. I started a new job so I'm dealing with all the training stuff. I have to move AGAIN and the thought of that process is another source of stress.
Smudge 3: (stay with me) because of my past I used to always feel ugly. My mother constantly reminded me I was in a gawky stage (whatever that means) and my father took care of any high self esteem issues I might have had.
After years of allowing Jesus to love me and falling in love with Him, He has made me feel beautiful on the inside and dare I say the outside too.
Gems that is a powerful statement I just made and it's not made out of conceit. I will stop there cause that's another jewel.
This is probably more for the ladies but you know when you have ugly days. You just don't feel like you look good so you either add a little more makeup or go the other way and stay in sweat pants for the day. Having ugly days is not unusual but having them more and more often is.
I even said something to my daughter that I felt like every time I looked in the mirror lately I looked ugly. At first I thought it was because I'm turning 50 soon. I figured it must be bothering me more than I realized but I was wrong.
OK back to the small group point. My coach had been emailing me to set up a time for us to get together to follow up on my small group. She also wanted to talk about some of the upcoming meetings.
Smudge 4: I kept putting it off because I was feeling overwhelmed. And did I mention I have been feeling ugly.
I had this smudge growing on me and I'm sure by now someone has to notice.
Smudge 5: My coach was persistent and the more she tried to reach me the more aggravated I was getting with her. I felt like I couldn't commit to one more thing! Our emails began to get a bit more challenging, the smudge was getting bigger. Didn't she know I was stressed? Did I not tell her I could not add anything else to my plate?
Had I actually talked to her she would have. I was letting the enemy translate our conversations for us.
I decided to resign as a group leader which was a sad decision for me. I love the ladies in my group and I love the time we spend together but I knew I needed to step down for a season.
My coach still wanted to meet with me. WHY?????????????
She was persistent and it paid off because I finally made the appointment.
I went into the meeting exhausted and wounded from battle and just wanted to get it over with. I was ready to admit defeat, there I said it. Not out loud of course but it was looming in my head. I knew my coach expected something of me and I couldn't provide the goods. I failed at something I thought I was good at.
This of course was the lie I was hearing from the devil.
I walked into the meeting room expecting to come face to face with this monster I had created in my mind. What I found was a confused woman that I had convicted and her crime was trying to help me.
What was happening here? How did this smudge get so big that I didn't even know I wasn't seeing clearly.
Hence the 2 am. Counseling with the Lord.
I'm going to give you the inside scoop here on what the Lord revealed to me.
The amount of time I have been spending with my toxic father was beginning to take it's toll. His constant verbal abuse and daily doses of how worthless and stupid I am was making it's way through my armor. I will spare you the other hateful and harmful things that were said but I will tell you they brought me to tears on more than one occasion.
I had been drinking poison for months and it was changing how I saw myself.
When your sick you look sick. What I was seeing in the mirror was the reflection of satan's work not God's.
I didn't realize it at first, that's how the enemy does it. It's like cooking a lobster. They put it in a pot of cool water and it doesn't climb out. Then they put the flame on low and the water gradually gets hotter and hotter til they eventually boil it. (I have read this I have never cooked one) I was allowing myself to get boiled again. I needed an l exam/new glasses.
Smudge 6: Back to the coach scenario. Every time I got an email from her I felt more pressure. I didn't respond because I didn't wan to deal with more pressure.
I saw her emails as more poison instead of a life line.
I didn't want to face her because I didn't want to see the disappointment in her eyes when she looked at me. I was seeing enough of that from my father.
I was feeling ugly enough.
This is where I allowed the enemy to mess with me.
I was confusing my lenses and not seeing clearly.
When I walked in that room prepared for battle I found a woman who thought enough of me, in spite of the fact I was hurting her feelings, to still want to reach out to me.
The ironic thing is at that point I still didn't understand what was happening. I really didn't know why I was avoiding her, it didn't make any sense to me.
She was trying to get past the emails and phone calls so we could SEE each other face to face, clear glasses, and the truth is once I saw her face I recognized her for the woman she was not the one I made up.
That was the enemies concern, he knew once we were face to face the light would shine through and the truth would be revealed.
The Holy Spirit showed me this morning I had to put my pride aside. I had to allow my coach to see a very vulnerable side of me that I tend to guard pretty well.
If guarding your pride causes dissension in God's family you become the smudge and eventually the poison.
I honestly had no idea I was in that lobster pot. It all came together and made sense.
I understood that I allowed the enemy to use my weakness to manifest a huge smudge. My coach was an innocent victim in my smudged glasses.
So to my coach, sister and friend I say I'm sorry for the smudge and thank you for pulling me out of the pot.
Gems electronics are great for quick communication but they will never replace the gift of human companionship.
This was a great reminder for me and I pray it will be for you too.
Let's not get so busy that we can't turn off the burner. Take time to shut everything off and see each other face to face, to make sure our glasses are clean and if not allow our friends to help us clean them in love.
My advice for the day, clean your glasses before you become the smudge and end up in boiling water.
No one is smudge proof.
As he was talking my mind started to wander and I'm thinking, I wonder if he can see this huge smudge on my lens. I'm trying not to laugh out loud as I'm picturing what I must look like. In spite of his odd look I continued to act like the professional woman I am :)
As always it got me thinking about our lives.
At times we are walking and talking like we got it all together but there's a big smudge in us. We know it's there because it's affecting the way we handle our life and we don't think others notice. The truth is if we can see it chances are they can too.
If my glasses are usually clean when I'm talking to you and now they have a big fingerprint on it your going to notice.
Taking it to a spiritual level, if I usually act one way and now I'm acting different, something must have smudged me.
I will humbly give you an example.
It's 5:42 am. And I have been up for hours trying to make sense of my recent smudge.
Here's the scenario. I am part of a large church that believes in and utilizes small home groups. This has always been a passion of mine so I have been a leader of a group for some time. I have a coach and I'm part of a small group of leaders.
OK shift gears with me for a minute. I'm going to write this in stages of smudges so you can enter the scary place called my mind (do this at your own risk) and follow my train of thought.
Smudge 1: I need to give a recap for my newer Gems and a reminder for the rest.
As you know I have had a toxic relationship with my parents. There was a time in my life when I had to love them from a distance in order to allow healing in my life. Recently I have become their main caregiver which has required me to spend a lot of time with them.
Smudge 2: I have been under a lot of stress with all the decision making and responsibilities caring for my parents has created. My children have had life crisis which of course affects me. I started a new job so I'm dealing with all the training stuff. I have to move AGAIN and the thought of that process is another source of stress.
Smudge 3: (stay with me) because of my past I used to always feel ugly. My mother constantly reminded me I was in a gawky stage (whatever that means) and my father took care of any high self esteem issues I might have had.
After years of allowing Jesus to love me and falling in love with Him, He has made me feel beautiful on the inside and dare I say the outside too.
Gems that is a powerful statement I just made and it's not made out of conceit. I will stop there cause that's another jewel.
This is probably more for the ladies but you know when you have ugly days. You just don't feel like you look good so you either add a little more makeup or go the other way and stay in sweat pants for the day. Having ugly days is not unusual but having them more and more often is.
I even said something to my daughter that I felt like every time I looked in the mirror lately I looked ugly. At first I thought it was because I'm turning 50 soon. I figured it must be bothering me more than I realized but I was wrong.
OK back to the small group point. My coach had been emailing me to set up a time for us to get together to follow up on my small group. She also wanted to talk about some of the upcoming meetings.
Smudge 4: I kept putting it off because I was feeling overwhelmed. And did I mention I have been feeling ugly.
I had this smudge growing on me and I'm sure by now someone has to notice.
Smudge 5: My coach was persistent and the more she tried to reach me the more aggravated I was getting with her. I felt like I couldn't commit to one more thing! Our emails began to get a bit more challenging, the smudge was getting bigger. Didn't she know I was stressed? Did I not tell her I could not add anything else to my plate?
Had I actually talked to her she would have. I was letting the enemy translate our conversations for us.
I decided to resign as a group leader which was a sad decision for me. I love the ladies in my group and I love the time we spend together but I knew I needed to step down for a season.
My coach still wanted to meet with me. WHY?????????????
She was persistent and it paid off because I finally made the appointment.
I went into the meeting exhausted and wounded from battle and just wanted to get it over with. I was ready to admit defeat, there I said it. Not out loud of course but it was looming in my head. I knew my coach expected something of me and I couldn't provide the goods. I failed at something I thought I was good at.
This of course was the lie I was hearing from the devil.
I walked into the meeting room expecting to come face to face with this monster I had created in my mind. What I found was a confused woman that I had convicted and her crime was trying to help me.
What was happening here? How did this smudge get so big that I didn't even know I wasn't seeing clearly.
Hence the 2 am. Counseling with the Lord.
I'm going to give you the inside scoop here on what the Lord revealed to me.
The amount of time I have been spending with my toxic father was beginning to take it's toll. His constant verbal abuse and daily doses of how worthless and stupid I am was making it's way through my armor. I will spare you the other hateful and harmful things that were said but I will tell you they brought me to tears on more than one occasion.
I had been drinking poison for months and it was changing how I saw myself.
When your sick you look sick. What I was seeing in the mirror was the reflection of satan's work not God's.
I didn't realize it at first, that's how the enemy does it. It's like cooking a lobster. They put it in a pot of cool water and it doesn't climb out. Then they put the flame on low and the water gradually gets hotter and hotter til they eventually boil it. (I have read this I have never cooked one) I was allowing myself to get boiled again. I needed an l exam/new glasses.
Smudge 6: Back to the coach scenario. Every time I got an email from her I felt more pressure. I didn't respond because I didn't wan to deal with more pressure.
I saw her emails as more poison instead of a life line.
I didn't want to face her because I didn't want to see the disappointment in her eyes when she looked at me. I was seeing enough of that from my father.
I was feeling ugly enough.
This is where I allowed the enemy to mess with me.
I was confusing my lenses and not seeing clearly.
When I walked in that room prepared for battle I found a woman who thought enough of me, in spite of the fact I was hurting her feelings, to still want to reach out to me.
The ironic thing is at that point I still didn't understand what was happening. I really didn't know why I was avoiding her, it didn't make any sense to me.
She was trying to get past the emails and phone calls so we could SEE each other face to face, clear glasses, and the truth is once I saw her face I recognized her for the woman she was not the one I made up.
That was the enemies concern, he knew once we were face to face the light would shine through and the truth would be revealed.
The Holy Spirit showed me this morning I had to put my pride aside. I had to allow my coach to see a very vulnerable side of me that I tend to guard pretty well.
If guarding your pride causes dissension in God's family you become the smudge and eventually the poison.
I honestly had no idea I was in that lobster pot. It all came together and made sense.
I understood that I allowed the enemy to use my weakness to manifest a huge smudge. My coach was an innocent victim in my smudged glasses.
So to my coach, sister and friend I say I'm sorry for the smudge and thank you for pulling me out of the pot.
Gems electronics are great for quick communication but they will never replace the gift of human companionship.
This was a great reminder for me and I pray it will be for you too.
Let's not get so busy that we can't turn off the burner. Take time to shut everything off and see each other face to face, to make sure our glasses are clean and if not allow our friends to help us clean them in love.
My advice for the day, clean your glasses before you become the smudge and end up in boiling water.
No one is smudge proof.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
How's My Driving
A few months ago I had a car accident. I was in the far left side of a double turning lane. There was another car in the right lane and no one in front of either one of us. As I went to pass the car on the right, still in my lane, he decided to join me. He hit my passenger door.
I was so baffled because I couldn't figure out why he decided to change lanes when they were both turning lanes and neither one had a line of cars ahead of us.
We both stopped and I said to him, still confused, “you just hit me” he answered back, just as confused, “I know” I said “I just washed my car!”
Thankfully no one was hurt and I ended up sharing Jesus with the adjuster who came to look at my car, thank you Lord!
I tell you this because before the accident I didn't pay a lot of attention to the car next to me when I was driving down a road. I was pretty confident in my driving skills.
Since the accident I find at times I'm almost paranoid when I see a car come too close to me or the line dividing us.
I mean really, how is that one white line or two yellow lines going to stop a car? I get a bit nervous when I'm changing lanes and I triple check before I move over.
I hope this will eventually go away because it's, well it's annoying .
It got me thinking about people. You know people you meet and get close to and before you know it someone has gone over a line and you crash.
Either one of you is injured or both of you are.
Some crashes are worse than others. Sometimes you have an incident with a friend, relative, loved one or coworker and you lick your wounds and move on. Other times the injury takes a little longer to heal and sometimes it's a fatality and your relationship is over.
What happens when your on the road again? When you meet someone else do you become paranoid that they are going to cross the line and you will crash with them too?
Do you double and triple check before you let them get close to you to avoid another “accident”?
I wondered in my own life how many people I passed by because there was a chance I might get injured.
How many people took the hit for the person that actually caused my emotional wreck?
Do we get paranoid and think someone right out of the possibility of having a friendship or relationship with them?
If your not careful your life can become more like bumper cars, just slamming into one relationship then into another. Taking or giving a hit then moving on as fast as possible.
Or maybe your more like a NASCAR driver. Looking all spiffy and cool but never slowing down long enough to actually meet the other drivers.
I wonder what kind of lines we have drawn that a person cannot cross over. Some are good lines made by past experience but others are more like road blocks.
Life is a ride there's no doubt about that. We definitely need to exercise caution but let's not decide everyone is a wreck waiting to happen.
Years ago my friend and I were sharing stories telling the reasons we broke up with men we were dating. It seemed there was something wrong with every man we went out with. She was telling me about a guy she ran into that she dated and how he looked so great and what a nice guy he was. I asked her “why did you break up with him again?” and she said “because he had a post office box.” I said “didn't he work for the post office?”
We both laughed and laughed at how crazy that sounded. She went on to explain, but it's one of those you had to be there kind of stories.
I tell you this because there wasn't something wrong with every guy we dated, there was something wrong with us.
We were driving with hazard lights, bright lights and sirens. We were more like a tow truck hauling our past wrecks along with us. No one had a chance.
Gems I guess what I'm trying to say here is use wisdom in all your relationships but don't be such a defensive driver that you miss out on meeting some amazing people.
Don't junk a perfectly good vehicle just because it occasionally breaks down. Even the most dependable car needs a tune up.
Slow down and enjoy the ride. It's always better to share it with someone, whether it be a friend or possible spouse.
Allow yourself to take new journeys with a clean slate and allow others to have a clean slate too.
Everyday with Jesus is a new ride. Thank God He doesn't bail on us every time we need an ambulance to pick us up or the person we ran over.
If your not ready to get back in the driver seat that's OK. Just pull into the nearest rest stop and spend time healing.
When your ready, get back on the road and flow with the traffic. Be courteous to your fellow drivers and let people in when you can.
Before you decide to get back on the road of life ask yourself, how's my driving? And if you get the green light proceed with caution but don't be a traffic jam.
I was so baffled because I couldn't figure out why he decided to change lanes when they were both turning lanes and neither one had a line of cars ahead of us.
We both stopped and I said to him, still confused, “you just hit me” he answered back, just as confused, “I know” I said “I just washed my car!”
Thankfully no one was hurt and I ended up sharing Jesus with the adjuster who came to look at my car, thank you Lord!
I tell you this because before the accident I didn't pay a lot of attention to the car next to me when I was driving down a road. I was pretty confident in my driving skills.
Since the accident I find at times I'm almost paranoid when I see a car come too close to me or the line dividing us.
I mean really, how is that one white line or two yellow lines going to stop a car? I get a bit nervous when I'm changing lanes and I triple check before I move over.
I hope this will eventually go away because it's, well it's annoying .
It got me thinking about people. You know people you meet and get close to and before you know it someone has gone over a line and you crash.
Either one of you is injured or both of you are.
Some crashes are worse than others. Sometimes you have an incident with a friend, relative, loved one or coworker and you lick your wounds and move on. Other times the injury takes a little longer to heal and sometimes it's a fatality and your relationship is over.
What happens when your on the road again? When you meet someone else do you become paranoid that they are going to cross the line and you will crash with them too?
Do you double and triple check before you let them get close to you to avoid another “accident”?
I wondered in my own life how many people I passed by because there was a chance I might get injured.
How many people took the hit for the person that actually caused my emotional wreck?
Do we get paranoid and think someone right out of the possibility of having a friendship or relationship with them?
If your not careful your life can become more like bumper cars, just slamming into one relationship then into another. Taking or giving a hit then moving on as fast as possible.
Or maybe your more like a NASCAR driver. Looking all spiffy and cool but never slowing down long enough to actually meet the other drivers.
I wonder what kind of lines we have drawn that a person cannot cross over. Some are good lines made by past experience but others are more like road blocks.
Life is a ride there's no doubt about that. We definitely need to exercise caution but let's not decide everyone is a wreck waiting to happen.
Years ago my friend and I were sharing stories telling the reasons we broke up with men we were dating. It seemed there was something wrong with every man we went out with. She was telling me about a guy she ran into that she dated and how he looked so great and what a nice guy he was. I asked her “why did you break up with him again?” and she said “because he had a post office box.” I said “didn't he work for the post office?”
We both laughed and laughed at how crazy that sounded. She went on to explain, but it's one of those you had to be there kind of stories.
I tell you this because there wasn't something wrong with every guy we dated, there was something wrong with us.
We were driving with hazard lights, bright lights and sirens. We were more like a tow truck hauling our past wrecks along with us. No one had a chance.
Gems I guess what I'm trying to say here is use wisdom in all your relationships but don't be such a defensive driver that you miss out on meeting some amazing people.
Don't junk a perfectly good vehicle just because it occasionally breaks down. Even the most dependable car needs a tune up.
Slow down and enjoy the ride. It's always better to share it with someone, whether it be a friend or possible spouse.
Allow yourself to take new journeys with a clean slate and allow others to have a clean slate too.
Everyday with Jesus is a new ride. Thank God He doesn't bail on us every time we need an ambulance to pick us up or the person we ran over.
If your not ready to get back in the driver seat that's OK. Just pull into the nearest rest stop and spend time healing.
When your ready, get back on the road and flow with the traffic. Be courteous to your fellow drivers and let people in when you can.
Before you decide to get back on the road of life ask yourself, how's my driving? And if you get the green light proceed with caution but don't be a traffic jam.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
The Purpose Of A Gift
I was reading in Exodus 25 (New JPS translation) this morning and the first few verses really got my attention.
The LORD spoke to Moses saying: "Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves him. And these are the gifts you shall accept from them: gold, silver and copper; blue, purple and crimson yarns, fine linen; goats' hair, tanned ram skins,dolphin skins, and acacia wood; oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for the aromatic incense; lapis lazuli and other stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. Exactly as I show you- the pattern of the Tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings-so shall you make it.
God was telling the Isrealites what supplies they would need to build the ark of the covenant. This is where He would dwell as they traveled.
The blueprint for the dwelling place was divinely given by God. The part I want to talk about is the free will gifts to build it.
The materials used came from every person whose heart so moved him to give.
Today, because of Jesus Christ, God's tabernacle is us. He dwells in us but the same rule applies. The tabernacle is built by each person who is so moved to invite Him in.
The part of the verse that really hit me was God asked the people to bring gifts. It's not like God needed man, He could have built it Himself. He was working with man, co-dwelling with him. Allowing man to work with God for a divine plan. He is still doing that today.
We are to use (bring) our gifts today for Kingdom building. The blueprint is still divinely ordained by the word of God but the materials are still mans gifts.
A few years ago I was at a Pastor's conference and the speaker asked what was an acceptable number of people I thought should go to hell? Was it 100, 50, 25 even 1? My answer of course was 0.
The Holy Spirit then said to me “Gena you have talents that you use in the business world to make money. You use them to some extent for reaching the lost but mostly you use them to make a living. I need you to use those gifts to share Jesus with others.”
I'm not saying it's wrong to use your gifts and talents for work it's actually the best thing to do. If your working in a place where you naturally fit you'll enjoy your job a lot more.
The above scripture listed some of the types of gifts the people should bring like gold, silver, copper, achaia wood, fine linen and goats hair.
You may think the person who had the gold was way more important than the person with the goats hair since gold would appear to be more valuable, but you would be wrong.
If God asked for goats hair then it was still NEEDED in order to complete the divine blueprint. All the materials were created by God but man had possession of them so what you had was needed.
Today the gifts are a bit different.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
You have one of these gifts whether you admit it or not. If you have asked Jesus to live in your temple (body) then you were given the Holy Spirit and He gives the gifts as He determines.
You may be saying I have faith but I definitely don't have the gift of miraculous powers so I better leave the evangelism thing to those more qualified.
If that's what you think than again you would be wrong.
Every gift is NEEDED to build the Kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 12:14-20 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
Bottom line here Gems is you have a gift to give and no one is more important than another.
I want you to imagine for a moment God speaking to you directly and asking you this question.
Your name “what is an acceptable number for you of people that should go to Hell?
Will you bring me your gift? If you will, I will accept it and use it to bring people to Jesus?”
There will be a day when we will ALL see Jesus face to face and He will asks us what we did with the gifts He gave us. What will your answer be?
What's the purpose of a gift? Could be the difference between someone having eternal life with God or not.
Please open your gift, give it to God and allow the Holy Spirit to do amazing things with it. You are the building material God is asking to use!
The LORD spoke to Moses saying: "Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves him. And these are the gifts you shall accept from them: gold, silver and copper; blue, purple and crimson yarns, fine linen; goats' hair, tanned ram skins,dolphin skins, and acacia wood; oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for the aromatic incense; lapis lazuli and other stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. Exactly as I show you- the pattern of the Tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings-so shall you make it.
God was telling the Isrealites what supplies they would need to build the ark of the covenant. This is where He would dwell as they traveled.
The blueprint for the dwelling place was divinely given by God. The part I want to talk about is the free will gifts to build it.
The materials used came from every person whose heart so moved him to give.
Today, because of Jesus Christ, God's tabernacle is us. He dwells in us but the same rule applies. The tabernacle is built by each person who is so moved to invite Him in.
The part of the verse that really hit me was God asked the people to bring gifts. It's not like God needed man, He could have built it Himself. He was working with man, co-dwelling with him. Allowing man to work with God for a divine plan. He is still doing that today.
We are to use (bring) our gifts today for Kingdom building. The blueprint is still divinely ordained by the word of God but the materials are still mans gifts.
A few years ago I was at a Pastor's conference and the speaker asked what was an acceptable number of people I thought should go to hell? Was it 100, 50, 25 even 1? My answer of course was 0.
The Holy Spirit then said to me “Gena you have talents that you use in the business world to make money. You use them to some extent for reaching the lost but mostly you use them to make a living. I need you to use those gifts to share Jesus with others.”
I'm not saying it's wrong to use your gifts and talents for work it's actually the best thing to do. If your working in a place where you naturally fit you'll enjoy your job a lot more.
The above scripture listed some of the types of gifts the people should bring like gold, silver, copper, achaia wood, fine linen and goats hair.
You may think the person who had the gold was way more important than the person with the goats hair since gold would appear to be more valuable, but you would be wrong.
If God asked for goats hair then it was still NEEDED in order to complete the divine blueprint. All the materials were created by God but man had possession of them so what you had was needed.
Today the gifts are a bit different.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
You have one of these gifts whether you admit it or not. If you have asked Jesus to live in your temple (body) then you were given the Holy Spirit and He gives the gifts as He determines.
You may be saying I have faith but I definitely don't have the gift of miraculous powers so I better leave the evangelism thing to those more qualified.
If that's what you think than again you would be wrong.
Every gift is NEEDED to build the Kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 12:14-20 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
Bottom line here Gems is you have a gift to give and no one is more important than another.
I want you to imagine for a moment God speaking to you directly and asking you this question.
Your name “what is an acceptable number for you of people that should go to Hell?
Will you bring me your gift? If you will, I will accept it and use it to bring people to Jesus?”
There will be a day when we will ALL see Jesus face to face and He will asks us what we did with the gifts He gave us. What will your answer be?
What's the purpose of a gift? Could be the difference between someone having eternal life with God or not.
Please open your gift, give it to God and allow the Holy Spirit to do amazing things with it. You are the building material God is asking to use!
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