Considered Clear

For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter. 2 Corinthians 7:11 (New King James Version)

From time to time, God will allow a phrase from Scripture to jump out at me to clarify a point. It will usually have to do with something I have struggled to grasp and see clearly. Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians was one of commendation for heeding his words in the first letter he sent. They took his rebuke to heart and sought change of their own heart and behavior. Hence, they proved themselves “clear in this matter.” THAT became God’s picture to me of forgiveness…..being made clear in a matter. To be considered innocent even though wrong doing and guilt had marked my path. To no longer live a life whereby I define myself by my past behavior.

Seeing my personal failure in an area often leaves me with shame and regret. Long after the issue has been “settled”, the voices in my head continue to scream accusations. There seems to be a persistent, “I am forgiven BUT….” feeling deep down inside my heart and mind. As a young Christian, this scenario played out over stuff I had done prior to salvation. It took years to gain a sense that I was clear. As an adult, I would look back at teaching experiences in the classroom and cringe at the way I handled situations. Once again, the sense of being clear took much time and God’s persistent work. Presently, the accusing voices still persist concerning a failed mentoring relationship. Each time I mentally kick myself it is evident I am not living with a sense of being clear in that matter.

God desires my freedom and acceptance of His truth about forgiveness even more than I desire them. He longs for me to embrace the reality of the clearing of a matter. As He said to Peter so He says to me, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean!” (Acts 11:9 NIV) and that includes the way I view myself. Freedom for me will come as I stop living under a sense of condemnation from myself or perceived condemnation from others, and start accepting the fact that God has cleared me in matters that have been confessed to Him. Each day becomes another opportunity to revel in His forgiveness rather than cower in old garments of regret that are no longer meant for me and never were meant for me.

May each of us take off the chains of past regret that Christ has already unlocked!

Father, help me to see what You see…..one who has been clear in a matter…. and to live like it! Amen.

Shackles (Praise You) - Mary Mary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ9XjqUaVZM&feature=related

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

Beyond Mere Endurance

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 (New International Version)

David said in Psalm 119:161, “My heart trembles at Your Word.“ This morning I know what he means. God is showing me a truth that literally has me trembling like I have just taken in a huge amount of caffeine! My mind is racing, my heart rate is up, and I am trying to contain the joy because of something I am seeing for the first time.

I have often read 2 Corinthians 12:9 without fully realizing what God was saying to Paul, and in reality, what He was saying to me. Paul had asked God to remove a thorn of some sort from his life. Possibly this was in the area of a physical weakness…maybe poor eyesight or an actual disease of the eye. Whatever the case may be, the answer was “no” with the promise of God’s grace being sufficient for him. All that meant to me was God was going to give Paul the ability to endure. To be quite honest with you, that gave me little comfort. It felt more like a disappointment then an assurance because I could not see what God was really saying.

I am seeing the meaning of three very important words and it is causing this verse to come alive. In this verse, grace is referring to God’s loving-kindness, favor, and strength. Sufficient not only means to have enough to defend or ward off but to possess unfailing strength in a satisfying and sufficient amount. And rest means Christ’s power descending upon one, working within him, and giving him help. When I put all the puzzle pieces together I am seeing God’s promise to EMPOWER me with His strength in the midst of whatever has come into my life….especially those things that are not going to go away. It is in my weaknesses, infirmities, and inabilities that God’s strength and power will be evidenced and showcased in my life. It will come upon me, work in me, and help me physically, spiritually, emotionally, and mentally.

In the midst of tremendous loss, earth shattering news, devastating medical diagnosis, financial crisis, weather related catastrophes, or any other life altering dilemma, I can tell myself and any other child of God, that His power will mightily infuse them. It is the same power that raised Christ from the dead! It is not simply endurance. It is victorious empowerment!

Father, I need these words this morning as I look ahead to the things I can’t face, handle, or survive on my own. I admit my weakness and embrace Your strength. May the manifestation of Your power in my life be magnified and multiplied! I stand in awe at the implications and importance of Your words to me. Amen.

Praise You in the Storm - Casting Crowns
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHdcyue0bSw&feature=related

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

His Continued Work

As you do not know what is the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, so you do not know the works of God who makes everything. Ecclesiastes 11:5 (New King James Version)

Just over fifty-one years ago, God finished forming me in my mother’s womb. I don’t know how He caused me to grow and develop inside of her, yet that did not stop Him from doing so. And I don’t understand all the ways He has chosen to work in my life since the day of my birth, but that too has not stopped Him from doing so. With that said, this is becoming a day of reflection for me.

God has woven together the pieces of my life which have included joy and sorrow, tears and laughter, relationships and loneliness, successes and failures, gains and losses, and so on. I have not always understood what He was doing and why He was doing it, but I am realizing more and more that He really is doing what is good for me and glorifying for Himself. Peace and joy abound when I embrace His choices, plans, and purposes for me. When I strain against Him, I lose every time.

Several years ago, God began showing me what He was like. His heart has been revealed to me through His Word as well as through the body of Christ. As He has corrected my distorted view of Himself my life has been changed. Those revelations and corrections have often been the subjects of many devotionals. He still has much to teach me but I marvel at what He has done so far. Up until recently much of the journey has been about learning the truth about God. But God is clearly letting me know He is now choosing to help me learn the truth about myself. In His wisdom He first allowed me to feel safe with Him. And now within that safety I can open myself up to His view and knowledge of me.

He is tender yet persistent in showing me where I am broken, where I have been affected by childhood experiences, my misunderstandings of relationships, and my mistaken ways of getting needs met. He is also showing me where I fail to trust Him and accept what He offers me each day. Just a short while ago I bent the knee and shed tears over my refusal to embrace His reason for bringing in and removing individuals in my life. The inability to move forward has finally been removed as His forgiveness and mercy have been extended to me once again.

I share with you each morning NOT as one who has ‘arrived’ but as one who is learning. I struggle and I succeed on a daily basis. I bleed when I am cut and I cry when I am hurt. The difference is I have finally learned to admit it all to God and other believers. I choose to continue to live my life with the perspective and power that comes from God’s heart and hands as I walk with Him.

Father, sometimes I feel like I barely know You or myself. Continue to reveal Yourself to me and expose me to the truth about myself. With You I am safe to see both. Amen.

Warrior is a Child/Do I Trust You - Twila Paris
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Pzu-jWpcdw

Fixing my eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith!

The Way of Love

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Proverbs 3:3 (New International Version)

There are times when I want to pull away from everyone I know. My mind makes a decision to not answer phone calls, emails, or letters. It is called shutting my heart down, resisting the urge to need anyone, and safe guarding myself from disappointment, dissatisfaction, discouragement, and depravation. But God is letting me know that is not the way He would have me live. That is living out of my flesh instead of out of my spirit. It will grieve Him and do no one any good whatsoever.

God’s Word tells me to love others. I must allow His command to be more than words on a page and a sound in my ear. On a practical level, loving one another means I keep myself open to fully receive others as God brings them across my path. I welcome their conversations and listen to what their needs are. I ask God to show me ways to minister to them and allow His Spirit to infuse me with the love, desire, and ability to do so.

It also means setting aside the thoughts of who I would like to be involved with and watching for how God intersects my world with the ones of His own choosing. It becomes a time of anticipation rather than frustration. It also becomes a way of life whereby I receive abundance from Him and become a conduit of encouragement to others as I give to them what He has graciously given to me.

Will He encourage me through others? Absolutely! Will He allow others to be His conduit of grace to me? Most definitely! But He will choose the person and the timing. His desire is that I learn to rest in His hands and in His ways. Not squirming! Not sulking! Not closed off! But rather open to all that He intends this day to bring forth through me and to me.

Above each activity and each moment I need to display the words, “His ways are higher than my ways. His thoughts are higher than my thoughts. His plans are good. His love is enough. He is God!” Learning to live in trust and cooperation with Him and sensing His presence and His smile throughout my day is what will make today unique, powerful, and precious. May I go forth with praise on my lips, joy in my heart, and arms open wide to give and receive.

Father, thank you for the way that only You can redirect my thoughts and actions. I bow to the wonder of You. Amen.

Worship Song - Maranatha Singers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMpbm2p-1mo

Fixing my eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith!

When All Is Stripped Away

Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord GOD is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds' feet, and makes me walk on my high places. Habakkuk 3:17-19 (New American Standard Bible)

In a time and place when agricultural supply was a necessity this passage shows the bleakest of circumstances. Without the number of stores and safety nets we have available to us today, a famine or crop failure was devastating. No fruit, no yield, no flocks, and no cattle, meant no sustenance, source, or security. It would be the picture of the Great Depression in Biblical times. Some who are reading this devotional may at this time be without a job or facing the prospect of losing the job they have. It is one thing to know all is well when a paycheck is being drawn each week and there is money in the bank for needed expenses. It is another thing to have all stripped away and no relief in sight.

God’s answer to Israel through Habakkuk is His answer to us as well. Rejoice in Him. See Him as our salvation and strength. See Him as the One who will help us walk above and beyond our circumstances. He is not weakened or limited by what is going on around us. Many times, when all is well, we can easily take our eyes off God and rest in a false sense of security. We can forget who He really is and all that He can do in our life. When what or who we trust in apart from God is removed (temporarily or permanently) we are forced to see what our opinion of God really is.

I will admit, I have never been financially destitute. I have never been given a devastating medical report. I have never been in dire straights morally. I have never been stripped of honor and dignity. But I have been emotionally bankrupt and wondered if the darkness would ever leave or even diminish. At that time, I had to reevaluate my dependency, trust, and view of God. I had to stay in His Word and see His unchanging nature. I had to view my situation through the grid of His truth and presence. I had to see that at all times I was still in His hands and under His care. In order to rejoice in Him and in His promises, I had to pull in closer to Him. Whether the situation is in the area of the physical, spiritual, social, mental, or emotional, seeing that He is still God and still in control is the only means of survival and abundant living.

Father, though the things and people around me change, You do not. You are my Source. You are my Security. You are my Provider. You are my God and I praise You and rejoice in You. Amen.

You're Still God - Kathy Troccoli
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvclzwpAMxg

Holiness is a furnace that transforms the men and women who enter it. - Eugene H.Peterson

Following the Examples

For I have given you this as an example, so that you should do (in your turn) what I have done to you. John 13:15 Amplified Bible

Who has influenced your life greatly? Who stepped in and reshaped the meaning, direction, and purpose of your life? Who nurtured your spirit, lifted your sites higher, and gave you a godly nudge in the right direction? Who did God use to impact not only your life, but your character, vision, and potential? For some, the list might be endless. For others it might hold the names of a precious few. They may have been members of your immediate family, part of the body of Christ, classmates, neighbors, or professionals. They may have remained in your life for years or for a brief span of time. But you know without a doubt you were forever changed because of them.

I would challenge you to do two things if possible. First, let them know. So often people have no idea how they’ve affected another individual and are quite surprised when they find out. Your words could bring a gift of significance to them. It could be just the reminder they need to see that God in fact did work through them. Your card, visit, email, or phone conversation could brighten their day and world in a special way. Don’t just tell them they impacted your life….give the details! With each word you will be celebrating their life, your life, and the combination of both!

The second thing you can do is be a living tribute of them. Determine by God’s grace and help you will take the opportunities to influence other lives. Ask God to show you creative, profound, and unique ways to shape another person’s existence. If nothing else, simply duplicate the words and actions that meant so much to you. Take the time to listen to others and learn what their needs are. There are people in your sphere of influence that no one else has the opportunities to reach like you do. Ask God to open your ears, eyes, and heart to another student of life.

That person who so greatly touched your life was the living example God placed in front of you at the right time and in the right place. Now you are that example to another person and God delights to see the interaction that is about to take place. What is forthcoming will be the greatest expression of “thank you” toward God and the people He used in your life.

I believe Heaven will be filled with revealed influences but let’s not wait until then. Sit back, close your eyes, make your list, share your appreciation, and then live your life determined to continue what was so graciously done for you!

Father, with a heart full of gratitude I thank you for the gifts you have given to me in other people. May I experience the joy of now being on the giving end! Amen.

Go Light Your World - Kathy Troccoli
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVSHCbolJew&feature=related

He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food. Job 36:16

Squelching or Quenching the Thirst

As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Psalm 42:1,2 (New King James Version)

Julie Ackerman Link said in her booklet Loving God With All My Heart, “The thing that frustrates me the most is a reliable indicator of my highest desire, and my highest desire indicates what I worship.” Desires are the very things that drive us to do the things we do and to chase after the things we chase after. I so often want to just squelch, ignore, or deaden the desires that remain unfulfilled in me. But God is nudging me to bring the desires to Him and allow Him to meet them.

When He becomes my desire and the One I look to for the satisfying of my desires then my life takes on a whole new dimension. I begin to feel more at home in my skin because I am finally turning to the right source and living life as God intended. Freedom and growth come as I once again realize I was created with desires that were given in order to draw me to God. But Satan loves to dangle counterfeits in front of me and convince me the desires can be met in them rather than in God. He will even take the things God meant as gifts and use them as possible means for satisfaction.

For instance, it is all too easy for me to look to relationships to make me feel loved, affirmed, accepted, and complete. But the need for those things run deeper than any person can possibly reach. It is like trying to quench my thirst with a thimble full of water…it is just not going to be enough. So in an effort to not feel the disappointment from my counterfeit sources, I condemn myself for wanting to be loved, affirmed, accepted, and complete, and try to deaden the desires. To live my life in a state of numbness becomes my answer.

But God says there is a better way to live my life! Look to Him for the fulfillment of those desires. Bring the longings and cravings to Him. He is the only One who is fully available and able to do for me what no person can do. Will He ever use people in my life? Absolutely. But never as the primary source. NEVER!

Why did the Psalmist proclaim God as the One He most desired? Because he knew there was no other way to quench his thirst. He longed to drink freely and completely from the only Fountain of Living Water!

Father, You alone can quench the thirst that persists in me. May I learn to drink my fill of You. Be the core desire of my inner person! Amen.

All Who Are Thirsty - Robin Mark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrnvSf2dX18&feature=related

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

In Need Again

Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:21, 22 (New American Standard Bible)

It is one thing to consider Peter’s question when you are in need of forgiving someone. It is quite another when you realize you are the one standing in need of forgiveness on a continual basis. Wanting to kick yourself for repeated patterns of behavior and seeing little change. Knowing that the person you are asking forgiveness from AGAIN is one who has seen the worst in you and still sees it. Not always sure of the response you will get, it is easy to walk with a sense of shame and embarrassment. Eye contact is minimal as is conversation. It is one of the most uncomfortable positions in which to be.

This morning I am asking myself why so many of us as believers walk with a sense of condemnation after we have failed when Scripture clearly states there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. For me, there are numerous reasons. My actions remind me of how opposite of God I really am. I cringe at imperfection and I have so much of it to cringe at! Repeated offenses remind me that change is slow in coming and at times I doubt it will ever come. Insecurities come to the surface and work to convince me that I have now given another person every reason to stop loving me and I fear they will. Ultimately, I know I don’t deserve another chance. I wonder how many of these thoughts plagued the prodigal son on his trip back home. Fearful he would receive the kind of reception his brother eventually gave him and not at all expecting what his father lavished on him. I know those thoughts too well.

It is times like this when God’s forgiveness or anyone else’s forgiveness is too extravagant to grasp or hope for. When the sin stains seem too numerous and the reputation too damaged. When the stench of our sin nature still lingers in the air.

Today will be a day of learning how to not only ask for forgiveness but how to receive it. How to feel safe in it. How to feel cleansed and refreshed by it. How to sense everything is okay once again. That is what I am in need of and that is what I seek.

Father, when You see the sins of my heart and actions I cringe. But when others see those things I cower. Restore to me the joy of my salvation within the corridors of forgiveness. Amen.

What Sin? - Morgan Cryar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3Wdzzx6-f4

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

If We But Ask

My God in His loving kindness will meet me; God will let me look triumphantly upon my foes. Psalm 59:10　(New American Standard Bible)

When emotions take a nose dive and our faith takes a blow, it seems that our quickest response is a desire for release and a helping hand out of the proverbial pit. Our prayers become pleas for a return to stronger moments. I have a number of “life preservers” that I attempt to grab hold of when storms come my way on the sea of life. A phone call to a trusted friend, a truth filled book, soul enriching music, solitude, Bible reading, or extra rest seem to be my first options for a return to spiritual strength and fortitude. They use to work so well…so why not recently?

I have spent the past 48 hours searching for some answers. Trying to find that one “thing” that would cast some light on the darkness that had settled over me. I wanted the cloud gone. I wanted the gloom to vanish. I wanted to regain a sense of well being. In the end, I couldn’t pick up the phone and books, music, and rest did very little to change my internal world. So my next recourse was to hunker down and wait it out, but that only filled me with additional fear and foreboding over how long the wait would be.

God’s answer? Invite Him into the place I was presently at. Ask Him to meet me in my abode of failure, weakness, turmoil, tears, discouragement, and restlessness. “Meet me, Lord, in this place I find myself,” became my prayer, and His response was to meet me with loving kindness. He was the One I needed to sit with me, hold me, and comfort me. It sounds so simple when I see it written out yet it was profound. What I could not discard on my own, simply left as He entered and met with me.

He did more than lift my mood. He handed me a key to use in the future whenever needed. Inviting Him into a place will expel what should not be there. Will friends, books, and music still minister to me? In many respects, yes, but I hope to come to the place more and more whereby I ask God to meet me.

Father, You came. I noticed Your presence and all it affected. Thank you! Amen.

He Knows My Name
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXsiWoyjw60

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

Inseparable

You have dealt well with Your servant, O LORD, according to Your Word. Psalm 119:65 (New King James Version)

David’s relationship to God and His Word was incredible! Actually, they were inseparable to him and they should be the same for us. A right view of God will entail a right view of His Word. Struggle with one and you will struggle with the other. I speak from experience. When my view of God was that He was a harsh Judge, I viewed the Bible a harsh book! When I felt God was unapproachable, I rarely opened His Word. When I sensed that God merely tolerated me more than loved me, Scripture appeared to house more condemnation than encouragement. The two were so meshed together in my mind that I kept both God and His Word at arms length. I can attest to the fact that it was not a good way to live my Christian life! God offered me a better path to walk. He opened my eyes to the truth about Himself and the truth about His Word. It didn’t happen over night and I am still in the process of new discoveries DAILY, but with David I now proclaim, “You have dealt well with Your servant, O LORD!”

As I read through Psalm 119:65-80 I couldn’t help but take in David’s delight of God and His Word. His view of God was such that he gushed with adoration. He proclaimed that God was good and did good, that He was his Creator, that He was right and faithful, that He was merciful and kind, and that He was full of tender mercies. These were statements made in the midst of affliction not merely reserved for when life was going well. David knew the necessity of defining God by the truth not by the events of his life. He saw the benefit of reviewing the truth about God especially when walking through difficult moments as a result of his own sinful choices or those of other people.

Hence, David’s relationship with God’s Word was one of belief in , obedience to, passion about, delight in , hunger for , learning from, hoping in, and meditation upon. He knew that Scripture was God-breathed and he wanted to be filled and influenced by that breath! This is astounding when I consider how little of the Bible was even written and available during David’s life time. Could it be he was speaking of both God’s written Word as well as the words God spoke to him individually? The words of comfort, encouragement, correction, and direction. I would like to think so, for David is my example of what it is like to house oneself between the Word of God and the God of the Word. What a precious place! If this is not you today, ask God to make it so. Tell Him the truth of where you are at in relation to Himself and His Word. Ask Him to show you His heart in Scripture and watch it come alive. It’s not too late for Him to bring about the necessary changes in you and in your view of Him. I pray so!

Father, You cannot be separated from Your Word and I cannot be separated from You. What a trio! Amen.

Word of God Speak - Mercy Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JK_6osCH74

Choosing to Stay

But if the slave plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,' then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently. Exodus 21:5, 6　(New American Standard Bible)

Why would a slave choose permanent slavery over complete freedom? The love for his master, wife, and children out weighed his desire for liberation. When placed in this context it is understandable and even admirable. Yet, this morning, God is bringing to the forefront two phrases that He wants me to see…..”I will not go out as a free man……he shall serve him permanently.” Why those two phrases? Because I asked Him to show me a biblical example of what I am presently doing in regards to addictions in my own life. Something in me hesitates to ‘go out free’. To completely let go. Just the thought of it sends a ripple of fear throughout my internal world. It is not the picture of this person who chooses to stay a slave out of love, but rather it is a picture of the two and a half tribes who halted, hesitated, and refused to take up residence in the Promise land of God’s choosing.

I wept through a couple episodes of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew late last night. As I saw the hold of alcohol and drug addiction on the residents and listened to Dr. Drew explain the signs of addiction and those things that were necessary to bring about change, my own personal addictions stared me in the face. I come from a family of addicts….both alcohol and drugs. Neither one had a pull on me and yet I find myself addicted to my own food and relationship choices.

I cringe at the fact that I still make things available for myself. I choose to hold on and remain rather than making a permanent decision to let go and live in freedom. Suddenly, I can relate with the alcoholic who keeps a bottle stashed away in a secret place, the drug addict who has a ‘fix’ available should the need arise, the wife who keeps in touch with the abusive husband, the sex addict who still has the porn site housed on his favorites list of his computer, etc….. Whether or not they return to that which keeps them in bondage isn’t my point as much as the fact that those things still represent a form of security to them. I understand the over whelming fear at the thought of giving something up once and for all because that same fear keeps me within reach of my own addiction choices.

Letting go for me will require a change of heart as well as change of mind. I have a heavenly Father who is well aware of every aspect of my bondage and what it will take for me to break free. May all the mental rehearsing I am doing give way to His invitation for a new life.

Father, You know me through and through. Don’t let my place of bondage be a permanent place for me. Amen.

Painting Pictures of Egypt - Sara Groves
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcIA4Cnj6j4

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

There's Much More to Come

Amaziah said to the man of God, "But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the troops of Israel?" And the man of God answered, "The LORD has much more to give you than this." 2 Chronicles 25:9　(New American Standard Bible)

When Amaziah was told to send away 100,000 soldiers he had hired to help him in battle, he not only saw it as a loss of security but a financial loss as well. He could only see things from his perspective until God gave him a word of promise, “The LORD has much more to give you than this.” Oh, that we would hear those words whispered over our own situations.

Six years ago this month, I attended a women’s conference that God used as a catalyst for change in my Christian life. I had been a Christian for just over three decades and yet the truth that God’s love was not dependent on what I was doing was enough to start me on a journey that continues to this day. As life changing as that was, the LORD had much more to give me.

When a mentoring relationship began and subsequently ended, I experienced the epitome of delight and devastation within a two year span. I walked with an emotional and spiritual limp for a number of years that followed and yet God continued to whisper His promise to me of having much more to give me.

With each relationship, each opportunity, each victory, and each failure God continues to make the same promise. He has more people for me to meet, more places of service to fill, more growth to experience, more strength, more forgiveness, more grace, more peace, more joy, more comfort, and not just more but MUCH more.

I am coming to see that as long as I live in this world there will always be much more available and given to me by my Father. I cannot exhaust His supply or diminish His heart of love. It is His words of “much more” that continue to teach me to hold on loosely to tangible things and to live with anticipation and expectation whenever He says it is time to let go.

I don’t know what the next six years hold for me but I do know this, for every tear there will be comfort, for every decision there will be direction, for every need there will be supply, for every loss there will be gain, for every step there will be light, and for every day there will be God holding and helping me. Indeed, He has more…..much more.

Father, for all the much mores that lie ahead, I thank You and I praise You. As I take You at Your Word I am indeed the recipient of much! Amen.

With All I Am - Hillsong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMrAafe7Mns

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

Setting My Hope

Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us. 2 Corinthians 1:9, 10 (New International Version)

There are times when God brings us into situations and circumstances, allows things to happen, and directs our steps in such a way as to show us our need for Him to deliver us. These are not the times to muster up strength and courage on our own. These are not the times to rely upon our own ingenuities, abilities, or creativity. These are not the times to rely upon others to set us free. When all hope in ourselves and in others finally dies, we are then in a position to finally set our hope on the only One who can truly set us free.

For too many years in my Christian life I have attempted to either set myself free of habits, addictions, and mindsets, or I have looked to others to do it for me. I can tell you now THAT is a hard way to live your life. It leaves you depleted, discouraged, and dismayed. It attempts to make people the sources they were never intended to be. Until I see God as my hope and my deliverer I will continue to live in bondage to one thing or another. Bondage to my emotions, bondage to my addictions, bondage to my longings, bondage to my needs, bondage to my idols.

Last week I came to the bottom. I was spiritually and emotionally spent. I begged for assurance from those who loved and cared for me. I asked for prayer from those whom I knew would pray. I feared that things could and would never be different for me. I knew in myself I did not possess the hope to change myself. I quickly saw that others also did not. What happened? I became acutely aware that there was still hope in Christ. That anything that was holding me captive was no match for Him.

That hope sparked in me a readiness and willingness to finally set my sites and hope on the One who was waiting all along. The realization that He is my Deliverer, my Satisfier, my Security, my Source, and my Sustainer began to set things in motion. It took the responsibility for my freedom off my shoulders and off the shoulders of those I had been looking to and placed it squarely on the only shoulders capable of sustaining such responsibilities. Learning to be consumed and obsessed with God rather than with myself or others is new for me. The battles are not over but I enter the battlefield changed.

Father, I could weep for the joy of experiencing what it means to set my hope on You. Amen.

Knowing You, Jesus - Robin Mark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGbuz8QuhmE

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

Avoiding That Which Hinders

All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 1 Corinthians 6:12 (King James Version)

There are times when doing things that are good in and of themselves is not necessarily good for us. If those things get in the way of, hinder, or slow down our journey to a desired end, then it is best to avoid doing them. Those are the things we definitely do not want over powering us, controlling us, or mastering us.

Food in and of itself is a good thing. God has graciously given us a variety of things with which to nourish our bodies. Yet even though all foods are allowable for me, there are some foods I choose not to eat at certain times or at all times. Why? I know they will trigger an eating binge for me. To eat them awakens in me a desire to over indulge for long periods of time. They are my red light or trigger foods and avoiding them for the most part is necessary for me. It’s a healthy choice I have come to make and it is the best choice for me.

I am finding, that just as there are certain foods I should stay away from, there is certain behavior I should also say “no” to. There are some things that are not bad in and of themselves, yet I know that if I act upon the desire to do them they will trigger emotional responses in me that are not good. My journey to freedom, walk of victory, and life of wholeness will be hindered and blocked big time!

I am learning that in the times when I am out of sorts I must discern what brought on the thoughts, feelings, and mood. One such time was last night and I had no trouble knowing the moment the emotions were triggered and the spiraling downward began. For now, I struggle in those times and hence they last far longer than they should. So for the present, while I am able to choose, I must resist an action that will get it started. Is it an action that will forever be forbidden? No. It is simply a necessity for the time being. Until I am able to handle the emotions in the right way, it is imperative that I avoid that which stirs those emotions. Within time, avoidance will be replace by moderation and moderation will eventually be replaced by the freedom to act.

Father, it is hard but so necessary to resist the things that are enjoyable but dangerous for me. Give me the wisdom to know when an end result will be opposite of what both You and I desire. Renew me, refresh me, and restore to me the joy of Your salvation. Amen.

Spirit Song - Maranatha Singers (Evie)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqkvIhs7Ijg

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

The Trust Factor

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (New International Version)

Who can we look to for joy, peace, and hope? God! How can we have the joy, peace, and hope He offers us by the power of His Spirit? It is the result of trusting in Him. Believing Him, obeying Him, resting in Him, abiding in Him, relying upon Him….trusting Him. When am I not trusting Him? When I am trying to figure things out for myself with my limited knowledge and understanding. When I am holding on to the past instead of embracing His forgiveness. When I am placing my hope and expectation for satisfaction in anything or anyone other than Him. When I am living under the weight of my own perceptions. When I am harboring thoughts of worry, discord, and fear. When I am out of sorts with fellow believers. What is the red flag that I am not trusting Him? A lack of joy, peace, and hope.

Last night, in the course of a phone conversation, a friend shared a verse with me that took on a whole new meaning for me. It was a verse that is so familiar to me that I could say it in my sleep and yet I have limited its power and truth. The verse is Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” I use to see this as a necessary verse for times when I needed direction in life. Times when I did not know what to do. It was for times when I needed to cry out, “Lord, show me what to do!” I am not minimizing the importance of doing so but God is certainly broadening my scope of interpretation.

I instantly saw the “leaning on my own understanding” in the area of relationships. My understanding many times is based on my perceptions and what I think! The problem is that often my thinking is distorted and my perceptions are skewed. If I am not careful and discerning, past experiences, failure, and circumstances have a way of clouding and coloring my present world . What I think is true is based on my emotions, feelings, longings, prejudices, observations, and interpretations. Add to that a sense of insignificance and insecurity and my “understanding” is pitiful at best. If I live according to my understanding it gets me into trouble every time.

So where does trusting God come in? What does trusting God look like? I am to trust in the fact that He knows all things clearly. He will work all things out for my good. He will supply all my needs. He knows what is best for me. He loves me unconditionally, passionately, and always. My understanding cannot possibly come close to comparing with that!

Father, help me to see the moment I go from trusting You to trusting in my own understanding. In the times when I think I have it all figured out, help me to see I don‘t. It is Your joy, peace, and hope I want and will have as I trust You. Amen.

You Are My Hiding Place - Maranatha Singers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zej__yFPeK0

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.