Beyond Imagination!

In 1966, a vibrant beautiful 17 year girl dove into the Chesapeake Bay and broke her neck. She survived, but without use of her body due to paralysis! Surrounded by other people in similar circumstances, she hated what she had become and wished for death. Today Joni Eareckson Tada is a well-known author and speaker, founder of national ministry of encouragement.

God spoke to her heart, changed her perspective, and from the ashes of her broken life emerged something unimagined in her teenage years. Has her vision and work made it an easy road? Not at all. Joni speaks honestly about the pain, the disappointments, and the hardships that are regular visitors. She, however, knows the voice of the Spirit leading her to God’s purposes. (https://joniandfriends.org/) Do you? 

The inspired Word reminds us "Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good." (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21, NIV)  At the core of those instructions is the truth that God is speaking, calling each one to His plan, asking us to know and live beyond mere survival.  In our highly secularized culture we are not taught to ‘see’ or ‘hear’ the Divine. 

Even Christians can become captives of reason to such an extent that they lose the ability to recognize the voice of the Spirit. But, He is speaking; through the Scripture, through our circumstances, and through inspiration.  Are we open to hear Him? Are we willing to evaluate our feelings, our sense of His leading, our dream against the truth of the Scripture and with the help of mature Christians?  If we are, we can be led into a life that reflects God’s goodness into our corner of the world.

He will not lead most of us to found national ministries or write best-selling Christian books.  He will lead everyone who desires to serve to be a light of hope and a person of love.

C. S. Lewis said that “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” (The Problem of Pain)  Vision that sees God’s purpose is frequently born out of great need and/or deep sorrow. Neither need nor sorrow are things we willingly experience. In fact, we will go to great lengths to avoid feeling the pain in life, dulling the pain with noise, distraction, and frenetic activities. In those things the quiet voice of the Spirit goes unheard, the vision of the Spirit unseen.

Don't be one of those people who focuses his dreams on Self: who looks for a way to escape 'real life' with some quick fix, instant access to money, a new lover, or something equally selfish! That is not at all what God wants for you. Instead, take the situations of your life - good and bad, desirable and not so wonderful, 'hopeless' and promising - and lay them out before God. With faith like that of a little child simply ask Him - "Lord, what can you do with all of this?"

Are you in a situation that causes you great pain? Or is there some circumstance that you see, day after day, that breaks your heart? Consider that from that very soil God may be wanting to grow a vision for transformation in you!  Don’t quench the Spirit!   Timothy was a young pastor attempting to do God’s work in a hard place. Paul, his mentor in faith, urged him to step up! “I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you … For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." (2 Timothy 1:6-7, NLT)  Blow on the embers in prayerful praise to God. Ask the Spirit to burst in flame in your life leading you to light!

Every Christian can know God’s voice, be led by God’s Spirit, and live in God’s purpose. How? Here a few suggestions:

1. We must use our faith if we want it to consume us.  If we live timidly, retreating from every challenge, choosing only ‘safe’ paths, avoiding every calling that might be costly; faith will cool.
   
   
2. We must continue to pursue the Truth. Subtle deception is a constant threat. We open our minds to the Scripture, we challenge our assumptions, and this adds fuel of Truth to our faith.
   
   
3. We must commit ourselves to the Body of Christ, engaging in regular, corporate worship.  If a log in my fireplace tumbles off of the pile, the flame on it goes out, and a lump of charcoal is left in the morning. We need to be together, our mutual gifts feeding a passionate faith.
   
   
4. We must deal with the sinful nature.  When the Spirit speaks, when our conscience aches, we have a choice:  silence the Voice, deaden ourselves by refusing the call; or making a turn-around, to repentance and confession. These will keep us in Spirit’s Presence, blazing with holy fire.
    
5. And, finally, we must remember that Glory that draws us on. The fires of faith are fed by keeping the promises of Heaven always in sight.

The word from the Word is one of my favorite passages.  Hear it with joy today! "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being … Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:16, 20-21, NIV)

(Video of this blog at this link)

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Word Of God Speak

I'm finding myself at a loss for words

And the funny thing is it's okay

The last thing I need is to be heard

But to hear what You would say

 

Word of God speak

Would You pour down like rain

Washing my eyes to see Your majesty

To be still and know

That You're in this place

Please let me stay and rest

In Your holiness

(Word of God speak)

 

I'm finding myself in the midst of You

Beyond the music beyond the noise

All that I need is to be with You

And in the quiet hear Your voice

 

I'm finding myself at a loss for words

And the funny thing is it's okay

 

Bartt Millard | Pete Kipley

© 2002 Songs From The Indigo Room; Simpleville Music; Curb Wordspring Music

CCLI License # 810055

In the middle of the mess

By nature, I am a person who likes order and yet, in spite of my efforts, life tends to be a mess. Without constant effort, clutter accumulates. One simple example is that automobile that you cleaned out last week that once again has a couple of coffee cups on the floor, dirt on the mats, and papers on the seat. Do they multiply on their own? Despite our work at ‘controlling’ life’s outcomes, moments of chaos arrive. That dream job becomes a nightmare when the new supervisor turns out to be a tyrant. A storm blows through leaving wreckage behind, literally or figuratively.  The spouse with whom we vowed ‘til death do us part files for divorce; a child grows into rebellion; sickness arrives.

Then, too, our inner life can get real messy very quickly, can’t it?  In a moment, we can make a sinful or stupid choice that turns us inside out.  Some of us walk around looking serene while storms rage inside. You know what I am talking about, I am sure, for I have yet to meet a person who has lived more than a day, who has not experienced messy moments.

Here is where I find comfort in the middle of this mess - JESUS is present!  We are about to enter the season of Advent, when we prepare our hearts and minds to celebrate His Birth and to renew our hope in His Promise to return to bring the Kingdom of God to this broken planet. 

A key fact in the story is that God entered the mess, walked with us in the moments of chaos, and gave us hope when all seemed beyond restoration.  Even a superficial reading of the Gospels (those books that tell the story of Jesus)  shows us a Man involved with real people, in real situations. He did not hide in the hills to escape them. He did not go to the palace where He ignored them. He moved among the sick, the suffering, the sinful offering to make things to new.

Mark 9 tells us the story of a father whose son was possessed by evil, a boy who showed evidence of seizures, epilepsy perhaps. The man was living in a mess and his son was suffering. Jesus engaged with him. That Dad reveals an inner mess, too, when Jesus asks him to believe for his son’s healing.  “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”  Jesus spoke healing and deliverance to that boy and he was made whole.

A woman who had made a mess of life was dragged by harsh, judgmental men to Jesus. They demanded His judgment on her for her sin. He spoke to the mess of their own lives - ripping away their religious façade. "When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”  (John 8:7-8, NIV)  Quietly the accusers left the scene! Then, He spoke to the woman’s mess -“Neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”  (John 8:11, NIV)  He freed her from condemnation and challlenged her to new life! What grace.

His own disciples found themselves in a chaotic moment. "A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (Mark 4:37-38, NIV)  Two storms raged - one in those men full of fear that erased their faith, another on the lake!  Jesus is there in the boat, in the mess. We love His response that day, don’t we?  He spoke to both of those storms. "He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?  (Mark 4:39-40, NIV)

He is with YOU, today, even if your life is a mess. The promises remains for us. The closing words of Matthew’s Gospel are Jesus’ words - "surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20, NIV)

One more thought today. Some Christians work at escaping the mess - their own and those of the people with whom they live - by retreating from the world, isolating themselves in little holy huddles, hiding behind simplistic slogans and favorite Bible verses. Jesus asks you and me to be willing to deal with life as it is, not as we might hope it to be.  Christians share the mission of Jesus to engage the messiness of life.

We are ‘ambassadors’ of His kingdom, representing hope. We are ‘light’ bringing clarity to dark places. We point the way to the path of life to those who are on the road to death. The Gospel of Jesus is entrusted to us and we are sent into this world, though we remain distinct from its values, to do His work.

Are you in a mess? Jesus is there.  He has not abandoned you, nor will He turn away from your pain or your sin. He walks with us, lifts us up, and saves us from sin.

Today will you, Christian friend, engage with those around you whose lives are chaotic? In this, you are life your Savior.

Here is a word from the Word.
Jesus says - “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world.

God is not a secret to be kept.
We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:13-16, The Message)

(Video of this blog at this link)

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Hosanna

I see the King of glory

Coming on the clouds with fire

The whole earth shakes

The whole earth shakes yeah

I see His love and mercy

Washing over all our sin

The people sing

The people sing

 

Hosanna hosanna

Hosanna in the highest

Hosanna hosanna

Hosanna in the highest

 

I see a generation

Rising up to take their place

With selfless faith

With selfless faith

 

I see a near revival

Stirring as we pray and seek

We're on our knees

We're on our knees

Heal my heart and make it clean

Open up my eyes to the things unseen

Show me how to love like You have loved me

Break my heart for what breaks Yours

Everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause

As I walk from earth into eternity

 

Brooke Ligertwood

© 2006 Hillsong Music Publishing Australia

CCLI License # 810055

What I have, I give

Sometimes I enjoy dreaming about what I might do for others if large sums of money were available to me. It happens more often when the lottery balance climbs into the stratosphere. (smile!)  The daydream finds me buying a working guy a reliable car, paying off a young person’s school loans, giving ‘seed money’ to another to help to start a new business, or providing funds to some struggling ministry.  Those moments can be fun, but they are just fantasy.  A much more responsible line of thought is about using what I have now.   My reading in the Scripture brought me to this phrase -  "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee." (Acts 3:6, KJV)  It is a direct challenge to me- "Jerry, what are you doing with what I have given you?"

The context of that verse is from a great story from the Church’s earliest days. Peter and John were going into the Temple to pray at 3 in the afternoon when a beggar called out to them. The man had been in that spot near the Temple’s door for years. He was dependent on the kindness of those who passed by. "Help me, show some kindness!" he yelled, holding out his hand pathetically. Peter stopped; looked right at him and said, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk." (Acts 3:6, KJV) The crippled man "stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God." (Acts 3:8, KJV)

Most of us will never have fantastic wealth that allows us to do great charitable projects but … we can be; yes, we must be, faithful with what God has given to us. I am stating the obvious, but let me remind you that there are many ways to enrich others beyond money.  We have been given amazing grace, lavish love, abundant mercy, astonishing kindness... need I go on?  

Who will pass by you today in need of encouragement?
Who needs to be loved and valued? 
Who needs to hear a word of gentle forgiveness from you?

Who would be helped by your willingness to listen carefully
as you share the weight that presses down on them today?

Ignorance of our true wealth is inevitable when we focus on what we think we lack!  Do you believe this Word? "I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way —in all your speaking and in all your knowledge— because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you." (1 Corinthians 1:4-6, NIV)   In Christ we are restored to our place in the Father’s family, given life and hope, purpose, and the promise of Heaven. God says He will equip us to fulfill His plan!

A generous spirit is the result of the transformating work of the Spirit in us. Naturally we tend to think about caring for ourselves; making certain that we have secured our place, our future, provision for our perceived needs. When we live ‘in the Spirit’ we turn our gaze outward, seeing the need around us and meeting that need with “such as I have.” When we possess the riches of God, not just in word but in our hearts, we are released from the natural way of ‘feeding ourselves first,’ holding tight to our stuff, our reputation, our privacy, etc. God’s riches of grace and love create a liberal heart in us, a generous spirit that takes notice of the hurts, the sorrows, the pain of those around us. We stop to look and listen and then to give them from the resources that the Spirit has given to us.

The word from the Word observes the principle of reciprocity - "It is possible to give freely and become more wealthy, but those who are stingy will lose everything. The generous prosper and are satisfied; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed." (Proverbs 11:24-25, NLT) Jesus states it simply - "Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.”" (Luke 6:38, The Message)  "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." (2 Corinthians 9:8, NIV)

Step out of the fantasy of great wealth to see what God has given to you, then choose to be a blessing to others - giving love, kindness, mercy, goodness - from the rich of His grace.

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Lavish love abundant beauty

Lavish love abundant beauty

Gracious gifts for heart and hand

Life that fills the soul and senses

All burst forth at Your command.

Lord, our Lord, Eternal Father

Great Creator, God and Friend

Boundless power gave full expression

To Your love which knows no end.

 

Who am I that You should love me

Meet my every need from birth?

Why invest Yourself so fully

In a creature made of earth?

In Your loving heart You planned me

Fashioned me with greatest care;

Through my soul You breathed Your Spirit

Planted Your own image there.

 

I am Yours, Eternal Father

All my body, mind and heart.

Take and use me to Your glory

Form Yourself in every part.

Lord, Your love brings joy and gladness

Flowing forth within my soul.

May my very breath and being

Rise to You, their source and goal.