Repairing the Break

So that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. I Corinthians 12:25 (New American Standard Bible)

One of things Christ prayed for while He was here on earth (and I believe still prays for in Heaven) is that there would be unity within the body of believers. The same quality of unity He shares with His Father. His desire is that there would be no division in the body….His body. When I see the word division I think of separation, a pulling apart, a break, or tear. It is not meant to be that way and yet sadly it often is.

I can tell when I am unified with a believer and I can definitely tell when something has divided us. Division for me brings discomfort and difficulty in seeing them face to face. Conversations become strained and communication may become non existent. The flow of fellowship seems to come to a stop in much the same way that a faucet has been shut off…whether gradually or quickly. Closeness is replaced by distance. Warmth is replaced by a sudden chill. The scenario is all too common in my mind and the Lord is once again asking me some direct, heart searching questions. If I put up resistance to what He is trying to teach me I will lose in many ways. Relationships will sour and friendships will dissolve. It is never worth it in the long run.

For me the break down occurs when I have allowed a spirit of offense to take root and I have neglected to take care of it in a biblical way. It may have come because I misunderstood something, read something the wrong way, or took something personal. Suspicions grew, hurt set in, pride abounded, and my flesh ruled. Whether I want to admit it or not, I can usually tell the moment a shift has taken place within me and the battle of my will begins! But when I am finally ready to stop blaming others and excusing myself, the division can be properly attended to. God’s grace is so necessary as I ask Him to once again infuse within me a humble and honest spirit. If I allow Him, He will take me through a time of breaking my will in order to restore and bless a relationship within the body of Christ.

None of this comes naturally or easily for me. I would rather hide, deny, defend, and depart. I would rather not admit I have been hurt. I would rather crawl into the comfort of other relationships. I would rather give up. But I have a loving heavenly Father who is intent on teaching me that His ways are higher than my ways and His thoughts are higher than my thoughts. I will not grow and He will not be glorified if I do not cooperate fully in all areas!

Father, I need Your grace to take the necessary steps of reconciliation. I sense the division and I desire Your healing of a precious friendship. Fill me with Your love as I finally move in the right direction. Amen.

Ask, Walk, and Find

This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ Jeremiah 6:16 (New International Version)

My journey is strewn with many crossroads…..places of decisions and direction, as is yours. Many options are available but God’s invitation to me is to take notice of the well warn paths of others and discover the ways that are beneficial for me to walk. If I follow in their footsteps by implementing truth with each step I am promised an internal rest that my soul craves and needs. The pathways my mind travels down each day will either lead to rest or restlessness. Therefore, I have a choice to make. I can be like the nation of Israel whom Jeremiah spoke of and refuse to walk in the good ways or I can listen to God’s pleading and yield to His invitation. I have done both and can attest to the consequences being painful or pleasant.

The Bible is full of individuals who are intended to be examples to me. I have the opportunity to learn from their failures as well as their victories. There are also countless historical figures who left me examples long after the Bible was written. And I am surrounded by individuals in my life time who serve as examples as well. I want to take note of the ones who walked paths that I would do well to follow. That I would step right into the footprints they left and reap the rich rewards of such a course of life. Then I in turn would be able to leave a trail that others could follow. What a precious cycle!

I have met individual Christians who leave such an impression on me that I desire to have what they have in their walk with God. Each time I voice that to God, He invites me to observe what they are doing and begin doing the same. Even the Apostle Paul urged believers of his day to follow him as he followed Christ. For me that means, watching their life, taking in their advice, and choosing the good way they have marked out for me. This all fits very well into my “show me an example” personality! Countless have been the times God has placed an individual in front of me and said, “See? THAT is what I am talking about!” He created me as a visual person and never fails to show me visual examples to follow. I thank Him for each one. Their words, actions, and life speak volumes to me as I open my ears, eyes, and heart to them. They are the ones who have cheered me on, encouraged me to seek God, and corrected me when I was heading in the wrong direction. May my life continue to bear fruit from their tree of influence. Their labor of love toward me has not been in vain.

Father, my spirit eyes are searching for the ancient paths. May each step I take lead me in the good way. I embrace the journey! Amen.

Freedom Through Exposure

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. Isaiah 61:1 (New King James Version)

Initially this verse refers to our salvation experience and then it becomes the banner of freedom to all those who would take God at His word! As each one of us seek freedom in various areas of our life, God readily offers keys to unlock the bars and doors of our heart. He knows what holds us captive and imprisoned and He will systematically reveal those places to us if we would but ask. It is a process I am becoming familiar with. Wrong behavior and choices are causing me to go to Him for the truth of what is behind it all. As He reveals the truth to me, I must acknowledge it and embrace it for myself. With the truth often comes steps of obedience in order to implement change. As I cooperate with Him I experience the falling of chains and opening of prison doors!

Putting this in writing sounds so easy but making it a part of my every day life is another story all together. It is one thing to see that change in my life is needed but it is a huge step to go from that to actually asking God to reveal my heart to me. While it would be easy to focus on changing my behavior God is letting me know it will require an awareness of my heart motives. Transformation is only possible as the root causes of behavior are exposed and dealt with. For a person who is accustomed to hiding behind masks and fearing exposure, these steps are only possible by His grace.

God is presently walking me through some steps to freedom. They are often uncomfortable but I am discovering the benefits as I trust Him and cooperate. For awhile it involved simply asking Him to reveal my heart and then confessing back to Him what was going on. This morning He has introduced a new requirement and sheer terror was my initial response to Him for it involved admitting to another individual the truth God was revealing to me about myself. Talk about leaving ones comfort zone! Initially I didn’t want to do it but once I did I experienced freedom. In my case, exposure is a key that has unlocked a door I have been trapped behind. Now that this person knows the truth about me I will be less likely to continue a particular behavior. God has blown my “cover” and that has set me free!

Father, hiding has robbed me of joy and peace far too often. Truth has set me free and grace has helped me to walk in that freedom. Seeing who I am and admitting what I am like is accompanied by the sound of falling chains. Amen.

Peaceful Anticipation

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. Psalm 130:5 (New International Version)

Recently, I have had several conversations with several different people pertaining to several different issues and yet the message I keep receiving from God through them is the same…..wait on God. Being the kind of person who wants quick fixes and easy answers, this phrase is a challenge for me. The truth of the matter is that I don’t LIKE to wait and often don’t know HOW to wait. Far too many times than I care to admit, “waiting” becomes an opportunity for me to take matters into my own hands in order to “help God out.” How absurd to think that God needs my help and how even more absurd to think that I could actually help Him! After all, He is the One with the perfect timing, perfect view, perfect wisdom, perfect plan, and perfect character. I on the other hand exude imperfection in all of the afore mentioned categories!

I find it interesting that the words “wait” and “hope” are identical in meaning. They come from Hebrew words that mean to wait, look for, hope, and expect. They do not imply an inactive twiddling of thumbs but rather active anticipation. I am not waiting and hoping in the right way if I am bothered, disturbed, anxious, doubtful, or fearful. And that is often the case when I feel the responsibility rests on my shoulders. It is times like that when I realize I am not waiting for God and hoping in His Word, but rather I am relying on myself and the people in my life to bring about a desired end.

As with so many areas in life, waiting stems from trust and truth. My trust in God must be a confident reliance in His unchanging, unlimited, unending character. What I really know and believe about God will greatly affect my trust in Him and hence affect my ability to wait on Him. And what do I do during the wait?

Faithfully carry out His day by day instructions to me and review the truth that I matter to Him and He is passionately involved in my life. It all goes back to my relationship with Him and living my life out of connection with Him. Jesus said it best when He said, “Abide in me.” I have also heard it referred to as practicing His presence. It is getting into His Word and allowing His Word to get into me. Talking to Him and listening as He speaks to me. Meditating on the truths He teaches me. It is not a formula, it is faith and it is based entirely on who God is! My waiting is not in vain and will be rewarded beyond my wildest imagination.

Father, I wait on You for healing, direction, and opportunities! You really do make all things beautiful in YOUR time! Amen!

The Heart of the Matter

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9 (New King James Version)

God answers Jeremiah’s question for me in Isaiah 66:18 when He says, “I know their works and their thoughts.” My mental imaginations, thoughts, schemes, and purposes are an open book before God. He clearly sees every aspect of my inclinations and determinations. Therefore, it is imperative that I go to Him for self revelation. Otherwise I will live in a state of deception and denial. While there are times I am relieved that God knows when my motives are pure behind my words and actions, there are other times I have to poise myself to allow Him to reveal to me when that is not the case.

This morning I am aware of the numerous wrong motives that often drive me to do the things I do. Part of that list includes pride, fear, confusion, doubt, and an endless desire to have needs met and appetites satisfied. God always requires truth in the inward parts and I am humbled when I stand before the mirror of His Word and see the reflections of what I often want to hide from Him, myself, and others. When this searching is done with a teachable spirit and an awareness of His unfailing love it abounds with repentance, forgiveness, growth, and joy. But if the enemy of my soul is allowed to be a part of it there is shame, condemnation, and self loathing. I have no trouble distinguishing the difference between the two.

For me, this journey has been strewn with victory as well as defeat. There are times I walk in truth and times I embrace lies. There are times I run to God alone and times I crawl into the security of people. I don’t always do it right and don’t always get it right. In spite of it all and by the sheer grace of God I see progress. I close with a portion of the song FALLING FORWARD written by David Hamilton and Tony Wood.

There are moments on this journey if you ask me how I feel,
It seems I’m moving backwards or at least just standing still.
When I’m frozen in my failure, there’s a whisper,
“Don’’t forget!
Your Redeemer somehow uses even what you most regret.”
Step by Step, day by day, I’m completely undone by the miracle of grace,
And I’m amazed, so amazed.
Even when I fall I’m falling forward.

Father, in my weakness I have Your strength and in my seeking You are found. This heart of mine that You know so well is held in the palm of Your hand. I rest in that this morning. Amen.

The Only View That Counts

But I said, I have toiled in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely the justice due to me is with the LORD, and my work with my God. Isaiah 49:4 (New American Standard Bible)

It is easy to judge the success or failure of something by the reactions or lack of reactions of the people in our lives. We mistakenly think the things spoken to us and the results we see tell the whole story. If that were really the case, our efforts would be in vain and amount to nothing. But that is earth-centered thinking. God takes notice and makes good use of my labors. He has the only complete, true view of the whole story. The results, riches, and rewards are with Him. It is His response to my actions that are the litmus test.

When someone does not respond to something we say or do it is easy to get discouraged and say, “What good did it do?” We walk away feeling we accomplished nothing because we limited our interpretation and conclusion of the matter to the immediate, visible result. We forget that our words and actions are seeds that are being planted all the time. After all, how many times have you continued to think about a conversation or something you read long after it took place? When you heard it, you took in that seed. Many times it lay dormant in the soil of your spirit but it possessed the power of life and potential of fruit.

This is much like a farmer. He sows his seed in the ground. He knows it won’t grow and produce fruit in one day but that does not mean it was all for nothing. As the seed lies buried in the soil, the surface of the ground remains unchanged. But he knows and anticipates what is coming. The sowing, tending, and growing is not the harvest but it certainly leads to it. The harvest of our words and actions may not be seen for years. It might not be seen until eternity. But eventually it will be seen. My conclusion? Stay connected to God and keep doing and saying what He desires.

If it is with Him, by Him, and for Him there will never be a crop failure. He will see to it that the whole picture becomes evident. It is not in vain and it does not amount to nothing. May we know that His view is the only one that really matters.

Father, keep me from limiting Your view and usage of the things I say and do. When I do not see the results and reactions I hoped for, help me remember that is not the full or finished picture. Amen.

Telling What You Know

And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard; the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them.” Luke 7:22 (New American Standard Bible)

When asked by John’s disciples if Jesus was the One they had been looking for (the One promised by God to come as Messiah), Jesus chose to highlight the visible evidences of His earthly ministry. Every Jewish person knew these were the works that would mark the ministry of the Messiah. In a sense they added validity, authenticity, and credibility to the things Jesus said.

I love the progression of the miracles! The healing of the blind, lame, lepers, and deaf is climaxed with raising people from the dead and preaching the gospel to the poor. At first I wondered why the part about the poor having the gospel preached to them would be part of this miraculous passage. Then it occurred to me that when one hears the gospel and accepts the truths of the gospel the biggest miracle of all takes place. It is the only way for a person to have their sins forgiven, be reconciled to God, become a new creature, and gain eternal life in Heaven.

But I also saw similarities in all of the miracles. This reads like the Who’s Who list of rejected individuals of society. In Bible times these folks were considered the outcasts of society and unable to change their own circumstances. The blind, the lame, the lepers, the deaf, and certainly the dead had no resources whereby they could improve on their conditions. Indeed they were poor! Jesus not only knew how to value them and see them as special individuals but He was able to do what society couldn’t. He was able to heal them.

His words to John’s disciples are meant for us as well. “Go and tell what you have seen and heard.” Whether it is your personal experience or that of someone else, God’s intent is that we tell what we know. He’ll bless our words as we tell others of His accomplishments.

Father, let me be found bragging on You today! Your Word is full of Your wonders and so is each day. Open my eyes and ears to it all! Amen.