When He Marvels

When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” Luke 7:9 (New King James Version)


And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching. Mark 6:6 (New King James Version)

In all of the New Testament there are only two verses that reference Jesus marveling at something. In Mark 6:6 He marvels at unbelief and in Luke 7:9 He marvels at great faith. Unbelief and faith are polar opposites and yet Jesus responds to both in the same way…. He marvels. Quama/zw is the Greek word for marvel and it also means to wonder or be amazed. In other words, a person’s response to Jesus can evoke amazement in Him over ones faith or unbelief. It was true in Bible times and it is true in our times.

Each day I am given ample opportunities to respond in faith or unbelief toward God and my response has the potential to amaze Him. The question is not whether or not God is amazed but at what is He amazed. As I ponder that, a slew of questions begin formulating in my mind, as to how I will respond. Will it be with great faith or unbelief? When I see weaknesses in myself? When I am faced with a test or trial? When people are unavailable? When I am placed in a new situation? When life falls apart? When the future looks uncertain? When medical diagnoses are grim? When I am outside my comfort zone? When personal choices lead to painful consequences? When I am unable to control what I most want to control? When I don’t get my way? When others get what I want? When I do not see change in myself? When I sin? When life gets hard?

When I am faced with those or any other concerns the question becomes, “Which is greater, God or my issue?” In all honesty, is God still God? Is He still loving, in control, and watching over me? Is God able to do what He says He can do? Is He trustworthy?

I have spent the past couple of weeks in introspection and tonight I am determining that if God is going to marvel at anything in my life, I want it to be my faith rather than my unbelief. As a matter of fact, if I am going to marvel at anything in my life I want it to be my faith as well.


Father, the disciples once asked for their faith to be increased. I ask the same. May my faith increase to the point of causing You to marvel. May I get to the place of marveling over You and all You do. Amen.

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

In All Honesty

Jesus called His disciples and said to them, I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance. Mark 8:1-3 (New American Standard Bible)

When Jesus walked on this earth He never failed to connect with the heart of the people. That was because He knew them….not as a group but as individuals. He knew their strengths and weaknesses, where they had come from and where they were headed, and what their needs were. It is one thing to see those qualities of compassion in another individual. It is quite another thing to see them in the Creator of the universe.

Two of the most profound aspects of God that I have come to realize is His unconditional love for me and His individual knowledge of me. He knows me thoroughly and still loves me. It has taken me a long time to crawl into that truth and feel at home. It has also taken a long time for me to see that when God reveals my own internal world to me He does not do it to condemn and shame but rather He does it show me what He desires to touch, heal, and restore. Taking in that truth has done more for me than anything else to cooperate with His process.

I have found that growth on this journey is possible only as I admit to God and myself what is really going on in my heart, mind, and emotions right now. Not dwelling on the past or longing for the eventual change He will bring about in my life. But rather it is standing in His presence stripped of all pretenses, masking, and camouflaging and simply acknowledging the truth of my mindsets, my feelings, and my perspectives pertaining to God, myself, and others. It is a time of coming clean and setting the record straight. It is easier for me to “hide” with the hope that I can fix whatever is wrong and then be able to present God with a more palatable picture. Oh, how He must ache for us to step away from all that and walk in truth. When I do that, I find acceptance not rejection. I find freedom and not condemnation. I find compassion and the realization that I have moved forward one more inch!

But what of the times when I don’t walk in truth? The times that I remain in the darkness of my own thoughts. He waits until I finally step in His direction.

Father, Your ways continue to astound me. You do not see me through the lens of yesterday or tomorrow but rather this moment. I marvel that Your mercy, love, and compassion truly are new every day! Amen.

One Desire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUbbq6t0qT0&feature=related

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

It's Not What I Thought

They said to Him, "Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory." "But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared." Mark 10:37,40 (New American Standard Bible)

James and John made a request of Jesus that opened up an opportunity for learning. Jesus had just revealed His future suffering, death, and resurrection to them and their first response is to ask for prime seating in His kingdom. Jesus’ answer is a quick reminder that many things are left up to the decision of God the Father to make and He has no intention on usurping that position. Not only are the seating arrangements in Heaven prepared for specific people but so are arrangements here on earth.

There are certain things I would like to do that are not for me. They have not been chosen and ordained by God for me. I watch as others step into rolls and relationships that I desire for myself. The ache of disappointment and the sting of dissatisfaction reveal my own heart attitudes that need God’s redemptive touch. The enemy of my soul wastes no time in parading his lies across the foreground of my thinking. Not good enough, not favored enough, being punished, the list goes on and on. When it is all said and done God’s character, heart, sovereignty and wisdom are what come under attack.

He longs for me to trust Him and His plan for me. He stands ready to remind me that His plans and thoughts are better than my own. He has had His hand and eye on me from the moment of my conception and He knows the end of my story. But I keep squirming and straining. I keep thinking my plan would be better and that I would be happier if given the things I want. How foolish and how childish of me. I am limited in my perspective, my abilities, and my vantage point. I have the “here and now” view and God has eternity past, present, and future.

Each day I am invited to exchange my thoughts for His. To believe His intentions for me are good, honorable, and precious. To open my closed fists and reserved heart to the very reason for which He created me. To poise myself for His work and design in my life. I am not looked over, ignored, invisible, or forgotten by Him. I am loved and I am His.

Father, You keep showing me these truths with the purpose of changing my view of You and myself. Thank you that You continue to invest Your time and heart in my life. Help me to stop looking at the things You have not prepared for me and start embracing the things You have! Amen.

Your Name - Phillips, Craig, & Dean
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=othYj8jWSwc&feature=related

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

Knowing Yourself

But Peter said to Him, "Even though all may fall away, yet I will not." And Jesus said to him, "Truly I say to you, that this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny Me three times." But Peter kept saying insistently, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" And they all were saying the same thing also. Mark 14:29-31 (New American Standard Bible)

One of the many dangerous pitfalls in the Christian life is to not know yourself. Although Jesus spelled it out plainly to Peter, he refused to accept the truth about himself. Refused to see the weaknesses that resided within him. Refusing to see them did not make them go away, but instead, kept him unprepared for the surfacing of those weaknesses. Peter was in denial even in the physical presence of Jesus. How imperative it is for each of us to be willing to know ourselves and admit the truth.

So what is it I must know and admit about myself? I must know where my wounds are for they are the very things the enemy will use against me. I must know those things to avoid because of how easily they will pull me in the wrong direction. I must know my own tendencies to attach myself to the wrong sources. I must know the basis and birthing of faulty reasoning and perceptions. I must know the truth about my flesh…that it will always be weak and will perpetually stand in opposition to what God wants for me. I must know which direction my thoughts will lead me and resist the ones that are directed toward pits of self pity, discouragement, and hopelessness. I must know in which areas I am mistakenly and prematurely assuming victory. I must know that in this life and in this body I have a sin nature and it is persistent.

It is just as necessary that I know the full truth. While I possess a sin nature, I also possess a new nature in Christ. I am defined by what God says about me. My worth, value, and significance are derived from Him and my relationship with Him. My weaknesses are the very opportunities for His strength to be displayed. I possess God’s spirit, God’s nature, and God’s Word. I am never alone and I am never out of His watch care. His purposes and callings on my life will be fulfilled. I am a work in progress and that progress is made one step and one lesson at a time.

Self examination and seeing the truth about myself is not meant to be a time of beating myself up or delving into the trap of self loathing. It is meant to be a reality check that ends in a climax of praise and thanksgiving to the One who knows me best and loves me most!

Father, with You I am safe to see the truth, admit the truth, and live out of the truth. Amen.

The Motions - Matthew West
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaHmiFaX_pk&feature=related

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

The Need for Prayer

And He said to them, My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch. Mark 14:34 (New American Standard Bible)

Jesus’ grief was not only felt in the Garden of Gethsemane, it was expressed to His closest friends. He let them into the darkest moments of His life. The One who created the world, performed miracles, and eventually died to bring salvation to the ones He created, felt grief to the point of death and He asked others to pray for Him during that time. The One who Himself answered prayers was asking for prayer. That truth broadens my view of how much Jesus can relate with us when we experience the painful, sorrowful, heart wrenching, disappointing, depressing, and “point of death” moments and seasons of life.

Jesus knew that prayer could go beyond the words and sympathies of others. Even when we can finally find the words to speak and have the opportunity to let someone know what is tearing our life apart, there comes a time when the conversation will end and we will be left alone with our thoughts. Prayer goes beyond the conversation and comfort of others. It carries the person when all human support and help is unavailable. Even if one were able to physically be with you throughout a difficulty, there would still be the sense of aloneness. A place only God can enter and touch.

I have been in that dark place and know first hand the necessity and benefit of others praying for me. They listened when I poured my heart and story out to them. Their concern and willingness to listen held me as much as their arms did. They reminded me often that their prayers were with me and I knew there were actions behind what they said. What they could not do for me themselves they trusted God to do for me. For the most part, that dark season of my life is behind me and I can now say I am out of the cave that had been my abode for two years. Many were the times I did not think I would make it but they knew I would and so did God. Their prayers and reminders strengthened me.

This morning, my heart aches and my prayers are being raised for a close friend who is just now entering a season of extreme darkness. The same words Jesus spoke to His disciples were in essence the words my friend spoke to me last night. As I prayed with her on the phone, I couldn’t find all the words to express her heart and mine, but I know the same God who carried me through my grief will carry her. I know that the same Power that brought me through will bring her through. I know that the same Spirit that sustained and strengthened me will sustain and strengthen her.

Father, even when I can’t find all the words to speak, You still hear and answer my prayers. How faithful and tender You are! Amen.

Prayer for a Friend - Casting Crowns
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN3D0Carn3U&feature=related

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

A Marvelous Sight

This is from the Lord and is His doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Mark 12:11 (Amplified Bible)

Unless we see that something is from the Lord, we are left with our own perceptions and Satan’s deceptions. Life is hard enough but it is made even harder when we don’t understand or accept the fact that God is working in certain ways in our life. Our reactions and responses to our circumstances and situations reveal who we think the things are coming from.

Often were the times God did something with the children of Israel and then gave them the reason He was doing it. It was for their good. It was to test their heart. It was to show Himself. It was to remind them from where God had brought them. It was to fulfill His promise to them. It is no different with us. The things that happen to us happen for a reason. When we don’t understand and can’t see the truth because of all the lies that are at the forefront of our thinking, we need to remember that we walk by faith and not by sight…not by our feelings, emotions, or ideas.

This was apparent to me recently when I was drawing all the wrong conclusions. As I poured out my heart to God, I admitted that I could not see the truth that I knew because the lies seemed so much more plausible. His answer to me was to once again choose to walk by faith instead of by sight. As I made the decision to do so, His way began to unfold in front of me. I began to see new options and actions to take. As I obeyed, peace began to replace the storm that was previously raging in me. I decided to act opposite of how I was feeling on the inside and the feelings began to lose their hold on me. Several hours later I could see some truth I had been unaware of. I could see what God was doing and it really was marvelous in my eyes.

Two things stood out to me. God’s actions were intended to bring me freedom and they were meant to draw me into a more dependent relationship with Himself. Those are two things I want but have gone about it in the wrong way far too many times. Once again, His ways are higher than my ways and His thoughts are higher than my thoughts. He knows the plans He has for me and they are good plans.

Father, may I learn to rest in You during the times of pruning, molding, leading, and teaching. May my heart stay tender and teachable to all that You are doing. Amen.

Draw Me Into Your Presence - Maranatha Singers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWsuQGVHvek&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

The Power and Purpose of a Rebuke

Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; He rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. Mark 16:14 (New International Version)

That which the Lord strongly disapproves of is the very thing He will express in a rebuke. It happened to His disciples on numerous occasions and always pinpointed heart issues and actions that needed to be exposed, admitted, and changed. He still does the same today. His rebuke is conveyed through the convicting work of the Holy Spirit. Growth and change come when I receive the rebuke, acknowledge the truth of my own heart, and by His grace do an about face in cooperation with Him. Denial and hardness of heart are the recipes for disaster in the Christian life.

I know what it is like to be in bondage to an attitude or action and I know what it is like to taste freedom in an area by hearing and heeding God’s rebukes. It requires operating in the truth rather than making excuses, accepting the status quo, laying claim to do as I want, and experiencing enough discomfort to take the necessary steps for action.

Rebukes do not feel good and for that reason they often make me cower and run for cover. Having something unacceptable exposed in me was and still is a difficult pill to swallow. My nature is such that I want others to see me at my best. I want to exhibit strength and maturity as a believer. Under it all though, God is bringing to the surface the imperfections of my heart. The wrong motives, the moments of self-pity, the desire for attention, the hunger for sympathy, and the perceived need to be under the nurturing care of people. He is letting me know those are the things that keep me from experiencing the abundant life He offers.

As I have come to see that truth, I have begun to hunger for it. That which use to taste so sweet has now soured in my mouth and I want the change God desires for me. Out of love and graciousness, He is honoring that desire and giving me the steps to take in order to see my own transformation. For me, the first steps have been to admit the truth to myself and to one other individual. Those are the necessary doors I must go through in order to leave the places that have become comfortable and confining for me and to enter the open spaces of freedom. It will take time and will entail uncomfortable moments but in the end it will be worth it.

Father, keep exposing that which keeps me from walking in freedom and joy. I trust Your heart and Your words. Amen.

Change My Heart Oh God by Eddie Espinosa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEtsHWFE6-w

I welcome your questions and comments to any devotional thoughts. I am honored and delighted to share my journey with you and privileged to hear of yours.

What Was Missed

Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again. Mark 10:33,34 (New King James Version)

Jesus spoke very plainly on a number of occasions of His impending death and resurrection. Today’s passage is just one of many times that He was very clear on the truth of what lay ahead for Him. Therefore, I often read with amazement that His disciples missed what He was saying. When He was eventually crucified they did not anticipate the resurrection…it never entered their mind. Instead of looking for His rising again, they lived with sadness, confusion, and fear. Although that was not the end of their story, it is a chapter within their story that I often experience.

Truth that can be crystal clear to others can sometimes elude me. By the time I see it and really get it, others may be amazed at my missing such an elemental truth. One of the first of those truths for me was the fact that God’s love was not dependent on what I was doing. I was a Christian for over 30 years before I began to understand that the Christian life is about relationship with God NOT performance for God. The change that came with that truth was phenomenal!

Recently the light came on for me regarding another truth I had somehow missed and it is this…..my emotional well being must be attached to God rather than people. In the 35 years of being a Christian, I have not known that truth or lived my life out of it. Anyone who has known me or read my devotionals for any length of time can attest to the constant battle I have fought to find the balance between looking to God and looking to people. I saw only two options: look to people to meet my emotional needs or ask God to kill any desire in me to even be in relationship with people. How God must have ached to see me miss His offer of help and healing, which includes people, with Him as the Source.

I am not meant to walk solo through life without the counsel, input, and advice of godly friends. I am not meant to close off my heart to every one but God. The body of Christ is His body….His representation. What He wants me to see is while I look to Him and depend upon Him, He will minister to me in ways that include people. Once again, His ways are higher than my own and I am in awe.

Father, I have lived with a famine mentality when all the while You have been calling me to feast on You and all that You provide. I love You! Amen.

He Believes in You - Point of Grace
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIKsimvJlPI

I welcome your questions and comments to any devotional thoughts. I am honored and delighted to share my journey with you and privileged to hear of yours.

Necessary Amputation

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you…. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you …. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you. Mark 9:43-47 (New King James Version)

I am facing the necessity of amputation this morning. Not of my hand, foot, or eye, but rather of disparaging thoughts. I have no doubt it is better for me! So much of my journey entails turmoil, despair, and sadness because of thoughts that I dwell upon and allow to lead me down paths that are not intended for me. They may be innocent in and of themselves but by the time I am finished with them they are poisonous and destructive to my spiritual, emotional, and intellectual well being.

I am a visual person and many times God has to give me a picture of something before I can fully understand it. That is exactly what He has done in the area of diseased thinking. I am picturing wrong thoughts as small tumors that attach themselves to my brain…much like moss on rocks or shelf mushrooms on trees. If I allow them to stay, they grow and pull me into a downward spiral. That happens when I make the choice to dwell on them, play out scenarios with them, and eventually allow them to master me which in turn affects my actions, attitudes, and demeanor.

God has used today’s passage to implore me to cut them off and out! I can do that by meditating on Scripture (such as Philippians 4:8), depending on His Spirit to infuse me with truth, keeping my thoughts on what brings life instead of death, remembering past counsel I have received from friends and books, voicing my praise and thanksgiving to God, filling my life with music that is full of spirit and truth, continually seeking communion and communication with God, and refusing to allow the wrong thoughts to be introduced, entertained, or sustained.

I have a choice in the matter and God is more than willing to help me make the right choice. His desire for me is to live in spacious freedom rather than the confines of emotional dungeons. He wants to release me from all that binds me to earthly weaknesses. He longs to lead me into living out of my spirit rather than my flesh. One step at a time He is showing me how to do that!

Father, You have once again stoked the fires of my teachable spirit. I accept Your invitation and Your help to be made whole. It will take time but it will be accomplished. Amen.

He Sends His Love - Point of Grace
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SatL1vr_Cvs

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

Seeing the Impossible Made Possible

Looking at them, Jesus said, With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God. Mark 10:27 (New American Standard Bible)

Continual defeat in an area can lead one to believe that area stands outside the realm of all things being possible with God. Where there seems to be no strength, power, ability, or possibility is the place that most needs the realization and reminder of the availability of might, fortitude, virtue, and the ability to excel. One’s focus must be redirected from personal failure to the all inclusiveness of God’s promise and pledge. Everything collectively in one’s life is to be wrapped in the power and provision of God’s Word. Nothing, absolutely nothing is excluded from future victory.

These thoughts have found a home in my heart as I have come to see the Christian life as a walk of progress rather than a demand for absolute perfection. God’s call to me on a daily basis to review and compare. Review the times I have failed in a certain area and compare those times to present instances when situations were handled in a better way. I find that God will often have me go through similar circumstances to help me see that growth really has taken place….even if in a small amount. The very things I use to strain at or cringe over exude a less threatening presence, if I will but look for the smallest ground gained in victory rather than repeated failure.

It is imperative that I find the measurable aspects of an impossibility becoming possible. Maybe it is simply seeing that patience held out a little longer or that there was an improvement in my tone of voice. Maybe a thought that use to send me spiraling down is beginning to be defeated by actively choosing to think on something or someone else. Maybe for the first time a thought of thankfulness overcame a heart of discontent and grumbling. Whatever the case may be, whatever the area of struggle and turmoil is, God urges each of us to look for progress, not perfection.

Some areas see progress more quickly than other areas. God is willing to take our entire life time to bring about the deliverances and victories that He as well as we want so badly. God’s willingness to work over time gives me permission to do the same. It becomes a journey of learning to cooperate with Him, acknowledge my weaknesses and failures, and seeking His work in me as I walk with Him. He of all individuals is urging me forward and compelling me to not give up! Any victories in any area stand as banners of hope in the face of all “impossibilities.” With God is the power and the promise.

Father, hopelessness marks the walls of no area in the life of ANY child of Yours. I wrap myself in the truth of You! Amen.

When I Call on Jesus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwMw16eocuU

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

The Necessity of Abandonment and Acceptance

And He was saying, "Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will." Mark 14:36 (New American Standard Bible)

Frances J. Roberts wrote that joy is possessed by “the abandonment of selfish demands and the acceptance of the Father’s will.” Jesus simply stated it this way to His Father, “Not what I will, but what You will.” They are words I desire to speak but have spent the last number of days realizing my own hesitancy at living them. There is no such thing has having it both ways…..my will and His. Unless my will is brought into conformity with His will. For the embracing of God’s will is only possible as I abandon my own.

When I look at the synonyms of abandon and embrace my view is broadened. Abandon has the idea of dumping, deserting, ditching, discarding, disposing of, throwing away, and throwing out. Embracing has the idea of accepting, welcoming, adopting, taking up, supporting, and holding. That is easy to do when my heart and security is not tied to that which I am abandoning. But when I have wrapped myself up in a plan, person, or possession the battle is on! My resistance and hesitancy for relinquishment is a “red flag” that I am in bondage. Bondage of my own choosing. For all the while, God is letting me know that if I would abandon that which I hold on to so tightly, it will be the key that unlocks that in which I have imprisoned myself. Until then there is no peace or joy.

So why the battle? Why if I know in my head that what God offers is better than what I am holding on to, do I still tighten my grip? Fear. Fear that losing what I am holding on to will mean losing a part of myself that I am convinced I cannot live without. Distrust. Distrust that God will be able to do for me all that whatever I am holding on to can do for me. Rebellion. Refusal to walk in obedience to Him. Idolatry. Centering my life in any thing or any one other than God. The list goes on but I will stop there. My point is this, when I refuse to abandon whatever it is I am to abandon, I am reversing Jesus’ words and saying, “Father, not Your will, but my will be done.” I cringe at such arrogant pride.

Yesterday was a day of letting go of some things I was holding on to. While the realization of what was necessary entailed some tears, an ache, and a certain amount of fear, the act itself brought about internal peace and a sense of freedom I have been craving. I have awakened this morning not with a desire to have those things back but rather to experience more of the joy that comes from embracing my Father’s will.

Father, continue to help me loosen my grip on the things of “my will” until I stand with empty hands which are open to receive all that Your will entails. Amen.

I need Thee every hour - Selah
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIRJNgNSqok&feature=related

The Meaning and Result of Following

And Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." Mark 1:17 (New American Standard Bible)

I have often missed key phrases within a verse and in doing so I have missed precious promises given by God. Within today’s verse is one command and one promise. Jesus told two brothers to follow Him. That was the command. Then He gave the promise, “I will make you become fishers of men.” If I miss the fact that Jesus is the one making them what He is calling them to do and be, then I will in turn miss the fact that He is making me what He is calling me to do and be as I follow Him. It is the epitome of Isaiah’s words that He is the Potter and I am the clay.

Following involves obedience and trust. It always sandwiches me between God’s command and His promise. It is not a matter of figuring things out for myself, determining my “game plan”, and then mustering up the strength and ability to carry it out. It is a matter of learning to listen to God’s voice throughout my day and doing what He tells me to do. Following Him is not a one time event but rather a moment by moment yielding. And what does that look like?

When someone offends me, my “following” is forgiveness. When I am going about my day at work, my “following” is doing my job faithfully and to the best of my ability. When an opportunity for witnessing opens up, my “following” is to share what I know to be true about God. When things do not go my way, my “following” is acceptance and submission to my Father’s will. When I am aware of sin in my life, my “following” is confession and repentance. No matter what the situation is, God’s Word and God’s Spirit in me will always let me know what the “following” is to be. And it is His grace, not my self effort, that will help me to follow.

As I walk in obedience, He is the one making me whatever He chooses to make me. I don’t have to worry that time will run out before He is finished. I don’t have to help Him out. I just simply need to follow. He created me and called me with a full picture of my life in view. He will use many tools, people, and situations to make me His masterpiece. Today is just one of many days whereby I do the following and He does the making.

Father, I trust You to finish the work You have started in me. Give me the wisdom, discernment, and desire to hear You clearly and follow You whole heartedly. Amen.

Oh, To Be Like Him

And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, saying, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. "They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again." Mark 10:32-34 (New American Standard Bible)

Jesus is telling His disciples in very explicit terms what is going to transpire in His life. He leaves no details out. Betrayal, the condemnation of a death sentence, mocking, being spit on, scourging, death, and a subsequent resurrection. If I were telling someone such future difficulties I would want them to enter into my suffering with me. I would want some sympathy and a sense that they would stand by me through it all. But Jesus received none of that and quite frankly He was not looking for it. He knew the hearts of His followers, His enemies, and the whole of mankind. His sharing of His impending death and resurrection was for their sake not His. I marvel that He did not need the very things I so often crave.

My mind is being drawn to the many ways Jesus acted and reacted differently than I do. When He performed miracles He didn’t poise Himself waiting for applause and recognition. When He went against popular opinion, He didn’t fret over the loss of acceptance. When He became the recipient of people’s criticism, rejection, unbelief, and scorn, He didn’t let it bring Him down emotionally. He didn’t begrudge the fact that many followed Him merely for what He could do for them. And why?

Because every bit of His identity, direction, ministry, and life came from Who He was and Who His Father was. Although He experienced grief, heartache, disappointment, pain, and sorrow, He let none of those things change that which He stood for, on and in. He was the epitome of being in this world but not of it.

He invites each of us to learn to do the same. He calls us to identify with Him, depend upon Him, seek Him, follow Him, and place our expectations upon Him. That which I think I need and those who I think I cannot live without must give way to Him. Only then can I begin to see hints of His reflection in and through me. May He increase my ability and desire to receive all that He is offering me.

Father, loosen the grip I have on the world and the world has on me. May I dare to open my hands and my heart to You. Amen.

All Inclusive and Possible

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” Mark 10:27 (New International Version)

Jesus’ answer to His disciples regarding their confusion over something He said, is quickly becoming a needed ray of hope for me. While I could have quoted this verse with ease many times, I am finding there are places in my life where I have failed to appropriate it and believe it with confidence. Like the rooms of a house, there are areas I have conveniently closed the door to with the mind set that those parts of me will never change. I have come to view them as permanent and unfixable. Although the desire for transformation has been strong the hope has been non existent. While I could express it in many different ways, the bottom line is that I didn’t believe God would ever do a radical work in me. Others could be changed, healed, and set free but not me. I felt like my particular strongholds, addictions, and weaknesses were my permanent lot in life and it would simply be a matter of asking for the grace to fight them. But true change and deliverance was not what I dared to hope for.

It was this realization of resignation that God has used to actually give me hope. In light of today’s verse, I can now see that what I believed to be hopeless and permanent was simply another bold faced lie of the enemy! When God says “all” He means ALL! All things are possible with Him and that includes (not excludes) my personal areas of struggle and sin. I am not an exception. I am not a lost cause. I am not unfixable. I am not an impossibility. I am a prime candidate for His miraculous work of transformation and deliverance. In my day to day life, I can experience old things passing away and all things becoming new!

So starting TODAY I am choosing to believe God for a number of things. I am believing Him for transformation of my mind and heart. I am believing Him for the breaking of ALL strongholds and addictions. I am believing Him for freedom. I am believing Him for a new way to live life. I am believing Him to do all that is impossible for me to do. By God’s grace I am point blank believing Him. And with that belief, I choose to live with a renewed hope. My self imposed life sentence has just been revoked and I am stepping out of the prison of lies and limitations. I am now ready to live as if the miracle has already taken place!

Father, I confess my sin of unbelief to You. I look to You to do what only You can do in me. I receive Your promise of healing and wholeness. Amen.

When the Words Were Spoken to Me

And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Tal-i-tha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked. Mark 5:41,42 (KJV)

This is one of the few instances in Scripture where Jesus is called upon to heal a sick person but does not arrive until after the person has died. The people who hoped to see a healing saw a resurrection instead! They could surely attest to the fact that God’s ways were higher than their ways. While there was ’hope’ when the loved one lay sick, impossibility marked their situation at the point of death. They thought this was the instance that placed them outside of God’s ability to intervene. Once again they were witness to the fact that with God nothing is impossible.

I have come to realize that God is still intent on doing the impossible. He loves to do the very things we consider impossible and hopeless. He is still in the business of taking each one of us by the hand and whispering ‘arise’ to us. The word arise is rich with meaning. In the original language it means to waken; rouse from sleep, sitting or lying, from disease, from death, from obscurity, inactivity, ruin, non-existence. To awake, lift up, rear up, stand, take up. In Bible times it was spoken to the crippled, paralyzed, and dead. It was a life changing, destiny altering word that empowered an individual to do what was considered unlikely or impossible.

Hopefully, each of us can look back at a time when Jesus said “Tal-i-tha cumi” to us. The first time would have been at salvation when we went from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive! It was from that point that we walked away in newness of life. I still recount with joy the day it happened for me on July 13, 1973. I sensed the shift internally and knew my life had forever been changed.

Some thirty years later in February of 2004 He once again took me by the hand and said the equivalent of “Tal-i-tha cumi.” Not for salvation but for an invitation to walk away from legalism, emptiness, and distorted views of Himself. Once more I sensed that internal shift that let me know my life would never be the same.

There have continued to be times of when He has spoken that phrase to me in times of turmoil, distress, heartache, and pain. Each time I receive His words I am astounded at the ability to walk anew!

Father, thank you for such tenderness and healing. Amen.

It Took a Second Touch

Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly. Mark 8:25

A blind man is brought to Jesus for healing. Jesus takes him by the hand, leads him out of the city, spits in his eyes, lays His hands on Him, and then asks him what he can see (Mark 8:22-25). After reading many accounts of instantaneous healings, one would expect perfect 20/20 vision. But this man’s vision was still with distortions. Jesus then lays His hands on his eyes a second time and he is then able to see everything clearly. The uniqueness of this second touch miracle has gotten my attention this morning.

I am near-sighted. Actually, I would be considered legally blind without the use of contacts or glasses. To read a book without my aids would require holding it just inches from my face. For all practical purposes I could not function outside my home if left on my own to see. And yet for years I lived with a type of blindness that was worse….spiritual blindness.

I knew Christ as Savior but failed to see so much truth about Him. My view was distorted and it caused me to live my Christian life in the dark so to speak. In the spring of 2004 God touched my spiritual eyes and I began to see things about Himself that I had never seen before. I have spent the past couple of years taking in truth that has revolutionized my life, my thinking, and my person. But God knew my “healing” was not complete. There were still some distortions. He knew that while I was taking in truth and it was filling me with excitement and passion for Him, I was still not fully taking it in. Learning truth and embracing truth are two different things. I was still living my life with a lot of mental assent.

What God had to do was show me some reasons for some core beliefs I was still holding to. As soon as I could admit to Him and myself my own continued blindness He opened my eyes fully! And all the truth I have been taking in is now sinking in! I am living with a freedom I never knew before. It is changing everything for me. With joy I spend my days going, “OH! Now I see!” Praise Him!

Father, I thought my vision had been corrected, but my healing was not complete. The fog has been lifted and the focus is clear. Thank You for a second touch that has made all the difference in the world to me! Amen.

Plainly Said and Still Missed

And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And He was stating the matter plainly. Mark 8:31,32

I marvel that Jesus was so precise in the things He shared with His disciples and yet they missed it! They could not see the meanings behind His words. Therefore, when those things He told them ahead of time began to happen, they were filled with fear, confusion, and misunderstanding. Truth had been presented to them but they were unable to take it in, due to preconceived ideas, unreceptive hearts, and their own personal agendas. They thought Jesus had come to overthrow the Roman government and set up an earthly kingdom. Words like suffer, rejected, killed, and resurrection did not quite fit their picture! However, once all these things came to pass and God’s Spirit took up residence in them, their eyes were opened and they could exclaim, “Now I see!” Life would never be the same for them from that point on.

I have had things plainly told to me and still missed what was being said. Even with the Holy Spirit in me and the complete Word of God before me I was not getting the message. Have you ever lived your Christian life knowing you are on the right track but sensing something is still missing….something is still wrong? This past week has been filled with eye-opening moments for me. Allow me to share just two truths that became clear to me.

God opened my understanding to the fact that if I live my life desiring to be anyone other than myself I will miss what He has intended for me. Out of my own sense of worthlessness and self loathing, I found it safer to just be someone other than who I am. God gently let me know I was settling for less and missing what He desired to do in me. Idolatry, camouflaging, and pretending actually closed the door to what I was really craving.

He also showed me that taking in truth about Him is not the same as living in relationship with Him. He wants a personal, intimate relationship with me and that is what we are now cultivating.

Father, it has taken two and a half years for the first drops of truth to get from my head to my heart. I marvel and I weep. Praise You! Amen.