Freedom

Freedom… It cost…… Somebody.

Today is what is called ‘Memorial Day’ in America. A day to remember the sacrifices that made possible the freedoms we enjoy. Freedom is costly.

I haven’t paid any of that price. But many did, and do at this very moment.

I am so grateful.

I do not minimize these blessings. Yet there is another freedom I cherish even more.

“…if the Son sets you free…you will be free indeed.” (Jesus, speaking in John 8:36)

I am proud and thankful to be an American, I cherish the freedoms I have enjoyed my entire life, and want them guarded. Yet they can’t compare with the freedom given me by my Lord Jesus the Christ.

I wonder that we can’t really appreciate the freedom of America, we’ve never known anything else.

But I have known the bondage of sin and law-keeping. I know the difference of being set free.

How I pray that I never experience a difference in my freedom as an American.

God help us as ‘ your people, called by Your Name, to humble ourselves and pray and seek Your face and turn from our wicked ways….then You will hear from heaven and will forgive our sin and will heal our land.’ ( 2 Ch. 7:14 personalized by me)

Memorial...

Memorial… a reminder. To exercise memory, recollect, be mindful of.... remember

This is a holiday week-end we call ‘Memorial Day’. I wonder what will be remembered?

Last year’s bar-b-que?

The rain that spoiled the plans one year?

The beautiful weather for the big party at the lake?

The family reunion?

Or what it cost to have those opportunities....??



Let us not fail to remember those who paid that price. And when you remember….jog somebody else’s memory so they won’t forget either.

I can’t fathom having lost a child to war. Many a mother will spend the next 3 days remembering, God help them all……

Delivery

Delivery.. Hospitals have rooms that are specified for deliveries. Stores have big doorways for theirs. Kevin the UPS guy and Jerry the Fed-Ex guy do a lot of our deliveries…

I’m expecting some deliveries today at the salon. In years past, I was delivered of two healthy baby boys. Big ones, I might add…9 pounders. I was quite ready to be delivered of them too !


Webster defines ‘deliver’ .. to free, to release, rescue, save…to give or to transfer, put into another’s hand or power, pass from one to another.

It can also mean to utter or pronounce, to send forth in words. ( I guess I’m making a delivery as I type this :) … )


Jesus has ‘rescued me from the coming wrath.’ (1Th. 1:10)

“Giving thanks to the Father…for He has rescued me from the dominion of darkness and brought me into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in Whom I have redemption..’ (Col. 1:12-14 personalized by me)

He has delivered me in many difficult seasons of life. “..I was under great pressure, far beyond my ability to endure, so that I despaired even of life….He has delivered me from such deadly peril….on Him I have set my hope that He will continue to deliver me’ (2 Cor. 1:9,10 personalized by me)

Why? Simply because He is God, He created me, and He loves me. And He loves you too.

He wants to restore us to what we were meant to be before we chose differently…choosing to know evil. ( that tree of the knowledge of good and evil…remember? Be careful, they‘re growing everywhere !! We are wise to stay away from choosing the knowledge of evil…)


That evil is defined for us. It is summarized in Ten Commandments. They were delivered to God’s people thru Moses.

Now, God’s people are delivered from the impossibility of keeping them…. and delivered from the penalty of not doing so. That delivery is called ‘grace’.

‘Set free from sin…and become slaves to God.’ (Rom. 6:22) ‘slaves to righteousness.” (Rom. 6:18) ‘ ..not free from God’s law, but am under Christ’s law’ (1Cor. 9:21)


‘ I am no longer shackled to that domineering mate of sin, and out from under all those oppressive regulations and fine print, I am free to live a new life in the freedom of God.’ (Romans 7:6 The Message, personalized by me)


I am delivered. Are you?

Defining...

Defining… Webster says it is determining the limits, describing the properties… to define is to determine or decide…

What is it that defines you? What determines the way you live your life, the way you spend your time? What factors determine the significance of your very existence? Or who/Who…..?

Can you give a definite answer to that ? It gets complicated to think about for me…and has changed somewhat over the years. My desire is that Jesus Christ is the Who that defines my choices. I don’t always get it right, but I keep trying, and He keeps helping and forgiving.


When I was a child, my parents were the defining element. There were boundaries, very tight ones. I somewhat resented them at the time, but realize as an adult that there was much security in them. Most of my limits were plainly set and decided for me.

As a teenager and young adult, I struggled with defining who I was…it began to be up to me to determine, and it was hard…

I am a wife. When I was a young married woman in a new community, my home-town husband defined me. I got a little frustrated sometimes at being ‘Pinkham’s wife’….the badge he wore defined him, and rightly so…but it sure didn’t define me ! I loved being ‘Kerry’s wife’….but seemed to seldom hear myself to be defined that way.


I am defined by my work. I am a hairdresser. When I meet someone in the grocery store, excuses are offered for the bad hair day. (I promise ….I’m really not inspecting every head of hair I see… :) ….I am NOT the hair police either!!! …)


When we had children, I became largely defined by them. I am a mother. Their mother. My life was lived out meeting their needs and participating in their activities…making choices for them and trying to help them learn to make good decisions.


Now they are grown, one has children of his own. My definition changed… I’m being re-defined… I am MiMi…. (it’s great, by the way… )

It is a process that will be ever-changing as long as I exist. The roles change, the circumstances of life change, and we grow and change with life as it passes.

Moses asked for a definition…he wanted a name....

“Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM’. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”(Ex. 3:13-14)

God says ‘I AM’…. and He IS… Eternal and unchanging in power and character. Stable and secure. He has His very Being of Himself…only Himself. Hard to comprehend….

He says “I AM”…..and I say ‘Yes….You ARE !!’

But I am ever changing, '...being transformed into His likeness..' (2 Cor. 3:18 NIV)'..our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like Him.' (2 Cor. 3:18 The Message)

Hallelujah.

Adventure

Adventure… to risk, dare, chance…. a bold undertaking, staked upon unforeseen events, of which one has no direction…

When our boys were small and we loaded up in the car to go on a trip, they began asking questions. You know the kind… ‘ where are we going?’… ‘why?’… ‘where are we now?’… ‘when are we going to be there?’ My reply became ‘think of it as an adventure.’

Those who know me best know how ridiculous that really is. I am not very adventurous. I like ordinary. Familiar.

But God is adventurous. And He has said ‘Follow Me.’ (some twenty times in the New Testament)

Following Jesus is simple. Yet very demanding. Certainly adventurous. Never was there a more bold undertaking than stepping out of the glory of heaven into the flesh of humanity, knowing the death that loomed there. He has walked this road, lived this life, and ‘has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet without sin.’ (Heb. 4:15)

And He says ‘Follow Me.’

And I ask ‘where are we going’…. and ‘why?’….

‘Come, follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’ (Mat. 8:22) He asks me to follow Him above family approval, financial security, or any other condition I might set. He demands complete loyalty. He is first. Period. Nothing is to be placed over a total commitment to Him.

That is tough.

But experience has taught me that when He calls me, He equips me. He secures me. He provides for my needs.

Come on the adventure…. Follow Him !!

Warnings....

Warnings… Fever, swelling, headache…. Flashing red lights, sirens…..


When our bodies have something amiss, they are designed by The Creator to message us that something is wrong. We ache, run a fever, etc.

When we see red lights flashing on the highway, we know there is something to pay attention to in order to avoid danger for ourselves.

We hear the sound of a smoke alarm in our home and we get to our children and crawl out, having been warned that we could die if we stood up. Warnings…

Our oldest son has always had a morbid curiosity about snakes. It’s a love/hate relationship. We warned of the danger. He liked to stomp them with the heel of his boot. We warned again. Firmer. He stomped them still. Until the day the fangs stuck in the leather of his boot. I don’t think he’s stomped another one.

He told us yesterday, (with the hair on his arms standing up), about seeing a cottonmouth water moccasin on the road. Of course he had to stop and look. The snake had been killed, it’s head was missing. Blood was pooled around the headless snake, drying on the hot pavement. Then…the body of the snake moved, slithering itself into an s-shape, writhing.. ( he shuttered as he told it..)

I’ve not been able to shake it from my mind, this headless, therefore venom-less snake of snakes. ‘Cottonmouth’ is a name everyone around here knows and fears. They are deadly, and they are aggressive. Most snakes will run from people. Cottonmouths will come for you.

It dawned on me almost as I woke this morning, the parallel of this snake story and the sin in a believer’s life.

I am saved. I don’t deserve it. I can not be holy and perfect, therefore I could not stand in the Presence of a holy God. I fall short…it’s called ‘sin’. The death that I DO deserve, the eternal and spiritual death that separates from God,…it is paid….FOR me…BY Jesus Christ. It is finished, settled.

“I will put hatred between you and the women. Your children and her children will be enemies. Her Son will crush your head. And you will crush his heel.” (Gen. 3:15 NIrV)

The venom is gone. It can’t take my life. But there is still danger of sin. It still writhes and can curl itself around in my life. It can ruin my credibility as a witness.

Our enemy strikes over and over. His venom is deadly to those who are not saved from it. His fangs can sink in deep, do tremendous damage, and bring on an eternal death.

Don’t mess with the snake…don’t try to stomp its head…let Jesus do that for you.

And then stay away from the writhing body, “…throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”(Heb. 12:1)

Changes

Changes… I remember choosing that name for the salon. Now, I often think about the impact of a name, and marvel at how many changes have come to pass…

Oh, we’ve changed a lot of hair styles and hair colors. We joke that we all need to change up our hair every now and again. But the changes in the lives of those of us who spend our days there…and the changes that happen in the clients we become so close to…those are the changes that matter.

I am so far from perfect. So very far. But I testify that I am changed. I still struggle against my flesh and against the lies and traps of our enemy. I still make wrong choices, behave in wrong ways. But when I do, I want to feel the prick of The Holy Spirit and hear His reprimand…and I want to respond in obedience. He is always right. Always.

Everything changes. A look in the mirror will confirm that fact. Things droop and slide, grow in strange formations, bulging here and there…hair thins and looses it’s color. (that is job security for me..) All of the physical changes. Often not for the better.

But what about the other part of us? As the wrinkles form on our faces, do we have corresponding wrinkles of soul? Or do we find that spiritual place within us becoming smoother, more at peace, and wiser? God forbid that our spirits should wither like our bodies do !

I sell services that fight against the signs of our aging. My trade involves hiding and camouflaging the evidence of age. But my mission and ministry is to make people aware of the cure for our disease, the remedy for the slow death that we are all experiencing. (..for the moment life was conceived, the process of death is inevitable…)

I want to look as good as I can look, and I want that for you too. But far beyond that, I want you to know the assurance that I know… ‘Listen, I tell you a mystery: we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed…’ (1 Cor. 15:51)

You can be the cutest, most beautiful or most handsome person around. But ‘ I declare to you, brothers, (and sisters), that flesh and blood can not inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.’ (1 Cor. 15:50)

Changing your hair won’t fix what is wrong with all of us. Changing the natural is just a temporary fix. But God can make changes that are permanent. Permanently permanent. And He wants to. But you get to choose. He give you that right and will not take it from you.

“In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your Hands. They will perish, but You remain…Your years will never end. The children of Your servants will live in Your Presence…”(Ps. 102:25-28)


He is the only thing that does not change.

Work

Work… Warning !! Grouchy alert….

It is raining as I sit here this morning for my quiet time. How I’d love to just stay here today…read and listen to it.

My sweet husband and I were wishing for rain yesterday as he helped me put out petunias in my flowerbeds. Our garden needed some fresh moisture too. This morning, the Lord has granted us rain.

We work in this family. My husband works his job, then comes home and works till dark on chores here at home. I work a job, then come home and prepare meals, though now only for the two of us. Our sons work. Then they do other activities. One will fish every spare moment. One will play a guitar with every free second he has.

Where did the notion come from that people are not required to provide for themselves?

“By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Gen. 3:19)

I love the street language of The Message…
“ Don’t you remember the rule we had when we lived with you? “If you don’t work, you don’t eat.” And now we’re getting reports that a bunch of lazy good-for-nothings are taking advantage of you. This must not be tolerated. We command them to get to work immediately--no excuses, no arguments--and earn their own keep. Friends, don’t slack off in doing your duty. If anyone refuses to obey our clear command written in this letter, don’t let him get by with it. Point out such a person and refuse to subsidize his freeloading. Maybe then he’ll think twice.” (2 Thes.10-14 The Message)
I do have compassion on those who are in need. I know there are situations where people are unable to work. Yet so often, people who are ‘unable’ to work, are ‘able’ to do a lot of other things ! And simply choosing to be idle is choosing to have an idle mind…and a mind not employed in good, will likely be doing evil. ( ever hear that old saying, idleness is the devil’s workshop?…)

Sigh… Lord, help my grouchiness and unforgiving spirit. I thank You Father that I am able to work. Thank You that I do have a job and a great workplace. Thank You that You have provided for all my needs, given in abundance, not just bare necessities… and thank You that you have even empowered me to help others.
And thank You for the rain.

Blessing

Blessed… Are you? How do you know? What gives it away that you are, or are not? Can you measure it ? How? ….

I thought of what we call ‘The Beatitudes’ this morning when I wished a friend a happy birthday. I’ve heard those verses preached so many times…heard the word ‘happy’ substituted for ‘blessed’.

Defining it in the negative…. ‘not miserable’, ‘not wretched’, ‘not deficient’ …or ‘not lacking anything’

I’ve heard people respond to ‘How are you?’, with a simple statement… ‘Blessed’.

What does that mean exactly? Do we all have the same criteria for defining what it is to be blessed?

‘Makarios’ = blessed in the original language of The Beatitudes in Matthew 5. It has to do with having the favor of God. It has little to do with luck or favorable circumstances. (I’m afraid I tend to categorize things as being blessings by the favorable circumstances involved. )

I do know from my experiences with God that He can, He desires to, and He will bring blessing out of even the most difficult of circumstances, if I but place the entire thing into His Hand, trust Him with it completely, and wait. (waiting is really hard for me..)

I believe the only thing that truly defines a state of blessedness is the Presence of God within the heart. When His Spirit is within, it doesn’t matter the circumstances without. The blessedness manifests itself even in the worst of circumstances.

“When God raised up His Servant, He sent Him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.” (Acts 3:26) The state of my right standing before God, because of the death and resurrected Life of Jesus Christ, is my greatest blessing.

He entered into our situation to change it. And because He did, I can be ‘happy’ even in
mourning (vs.4), in persecution (vs.10), or any number of situations….because He ‘will never leave me, never will He forsake me.” (Heb. 13:5)

So for any one who feels wretched or miserable…for those who feel like they have some deficiency, some facet of their life lacking somehow…my Savior has just what you need.

Don’t fall for the enemy’s lie…don’t expect blessing to look a certain way. Don’t miss it because it seems to contradict. God’s way usually does contradict the world’s way…

Don’t court a shadow, follow Jesus Christ. You’ll be counting your blessings !

Harvest

Harvest…. I’m looking forward to it already. The tiny little plants are promising…

There are a few blooms on some of the plants…yet another promise. The ground was properly prepared, tilled and rid of clumps of grass. Rain came at a perfect time, releasing the fertilizer into the soil and providing the moisture necessary for germination. Seeds were planted and have pushed up thru the soil with amazing speed.

Life. The process is amazing.

There will be a harvest. I want to be prepared and ready. Pea sheller…check. Jars and lids…check. Freezer space…check Freezer bags…woops…Even though there is a lot yet to happen before that time, I want to be ready. (better buy more freezer bags ! )

Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” (Luke 10:2) What is your role in that? Do you realize you are in the middle of His field? There may be soil ready for a seed to be planted. It may be time to pluck out a weed that threatens to choke out the life of a seedling. There may be a need for watering.

There IS a plentiful harvest, whether you think so or not…whether you see it with your eyes or not. Take the time element out, God is not limited by time…the harvest is there. He sees beginning to end, it is you and I that think within time limits.

It’s not time to pick peas. But I have, and expect to again.

I may not witness a changed life today. But I have…. Praise God !!… and expect to again.

I dedicate my skills and abilities to Him, (parable of the talents, Mat.25).
I am dependant on His ‘equipping me for every good work’ (2Tim.3:17)
I am sent. ( Luke 10:3, Mark 16:15)

Now…if I can just find the right row…..

Necessity

Necessity… Coffee in the morning. Chocolate. A good pillow. Books. Reading glasses. Phone.

What would you put on the list?…

My husband fusses because I take a bag of books everywhere we go. But I never know when I might have an opportunity to drag one out and read a while. It really depends on the circumstances…but we all have those necessary things, things we think we can’t do without.

I can’t do without books. Especially my Bible.

I don’t do well without my morning coffee.

My friends know I have to have at least a bite of chocolate after I’ve eaten.

I can’t read anymore without help from reading glasses.

Like most of us these days, my phone is almost always close by.

But are any of these things really as necessary as I tend to think? I doubt it…

What is necessary? Really ? Food. Water. Air. Is there anything else that is really necessary?

Jesus said there was one thing. “ One thing only is essential…” (Luke 10: 42 The Message)


Let’s not miss the one necessary thing. Sit at His Feet today.

Complicated

Complicated… When asked about relationship status, I often see or hear people say ‘it’s complicated’….

All relationships are complicated. Some more so than others I suppose. It seems to me that the relationships we have that are so very complicated have gotten that way from our own poor choices.

This morning I read the story of Abram and his childless wife. (Gen.16)

There was a promise of God. There would be a son. God said so. Yet, it hadn’t come to pass yet and Sarai thought perhaps she needed to help God out a bit. So, according to the custom of the day, she sent one of her female servants to her husband. (I can’t fathom that…but I read that it was common in the culture of that day.) A child born to this servant would be considered the child of the servant’s master….Sarai would finally get what she longed for.

Then it began to get complicated. (An understatement, I’m sure !!)

Jealousy. Resentment. Mistrust. Blame. Regret.

I’m prone to think Abram could have nipped this problem in the bud. But he didn’t, and after the relationship with the servant girl was established, it could not be un-done. The literal history of the world was changed. Ishmael was born. The Arabs are his descendants.

Complicated ? Indeed so. But God is not hindered by our complications. He IS hindered by our refusal to deal with the consequences of our own choices. It is never wise to manipulate circumstances. But when we have done so, the best thing we can do is run TO God, not away from Him.

Facing our complications face to face with the God of the universe is the best way to unravel any complicated situation. He has the most amazing way of cutting right through all the complicated messes we make. But we have to make that decision, be brave enough to look at it honestly, with ourselves and with Him….and trust Him enough to act on what He says.

It won’t be easy. It won’t be fun. But it will always be harder and more painful when we refuse to do so.

There is absolutely nothing that is too complicated for God. And the amazing thing is….when we obediently place all of it in His Hands, He brings blessings out of those awful messes !

He is so good.

Aroma

Aroma… just a scent, a smell….a little whiff of a fragrance. Can stir all sorts of sensations up can’t it? I walked into a store yesterday and smelled strawberries…

Can you guess what I had for breakfast? The power of smell is amazing to me. An aroma can’t be seen but it can sure invoke some power!! Make me hungry…make me ill. Make me sleepy….or refresh and awaken. Soothing or invigorating.

What smells good to me might not smell nice to you. I can’t fathom that anyone would not love strawberries…but some people don’t.

“We are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” (2 Cor. 2:15)

I want to be the aroma of Christ, don’t you? But we need to know that that won’t smell good to everybody. To those who are perishing, it may have a stench.

The message of Christ is life. But to those who refuse it, it is death…. ‘for the wages of sin is death…the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom. 6:23)

“To the one, we are the smell of death: to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity..like men sent from God.” (2 Cor. 6:16-17)

The message of Christ is the sweetest of any aroma. I can’t fathom that anyone would not be drawn to it. But some are not.

That does not negate my role…I am to BE the aroma of Christ…in whatever place I am…whatever role I play.

It is not what I do..but what He may do through me…not on what I am capable of, but what He is capable of accomplishing through me, in spite of my weaknesses. I can do nothing out of my own merit….but ‘I can do everything through Him Who gives me strength’ (Phil. 4:13)

I want to smell like Him. And I pray that that scent will be pleasant to everyone around me…. and make them want Jesus.

He is so good.

Can't

Can’t… I’ve been told many times in years past… ‘Can’t can’t do any thing…’ ( cain’t is the way we say it around here…)………..

There’s a lot of truth in that. If you decide you can’t. You probably can not. You decide up front, decision is made…

I was reading this morning about Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome going to anoint the body of Jesus. On their way they thought about the big stone that would be blocking the entrance. They knew that stones were rolled over tombs. Perhaps they didn’t think about that obstacle before setting out that early morning.

“…who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?’ (Mark 16:3)

The stone was already gone. NOT to let Jesus out… He later appeared into locked room. No, the stone was gone in order for us to enter.

The stone is still gone. If you think you can’t enter, you’ve just decided you ‘cain’t’.

Don’t give me the excuses…I don’t need them. Tell Him your excuses.

“I just don’t have time”
“I can’t comprehend”
“I don’t understand”
“It is too hard”
Add your own excuse for not entering…what stops you?

That empty tomb is a fact. And it testifies to you and me that Jesus did what He said He would do. He IS Who He said He is. He kept His promise to rise from the dead, defeating the ultimate enemy of all mankind. He kept that promise, so we can believe He will keep all the others as well.

Don’t decide to not make the trip because you think there’s a stone in the way. He will see that there is no stone to block your way. But you have to get up and make the trip. If you decide that an obstacle will stop you…. It will.

And the enemy will rejoice.

Groaning

Groaning… ‘anachah’. A moaning or sighing response brought on by physical, spiritual, or mental despair involving both the body and soul.

“I am worn out from groaning, all night long I flood my bed with weeping…” (David in Ps. 6:6)

Bless David’s heart. This is the same guy who stood with only a slingshot and stones to face a literal giant from an enemy army. I just love how God has given us so many people whose lives we can learn from…people who are the same as me. And you. These characters in the Bible aren’t super-heros. They aren’t from another planet endowed with supernatural powers. They just serve a super-natural God…the God I serve. The God you serve.

David had a lot on his mind when he wrote this Psalm. And I am so thankful that he was so brutally honest. He pours his heart out, in tears, completely honest with the God whose love he was so secure in. He didn’t feel inclined to paint a prettier picture and pretend it was real. He didn’t fake it. He didn’t deny what he felt. He faced it within himself and took it to God. All the ugly of it…

Paul teaches this in 2 Cor. 10:5. “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive EVERY thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (my emphasis)

This thing doesn’t happen by accident…this taking captive every thought…(or any thought at all!) I believe it is an ‘on purpose’ thing. We have to realize FIRST just what our thoughts are…and we can be wrong !

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9)

We can not know and trust our own heart. For we don’t know what may lie there, Peter certainly didn’t. He, like David, was brave. He proceeded to attack when the soldiers came following Judas, to take Jesus from the garden. Then during the long night ahead, Peter hid like a scared animal and swore he didn’t know Jesus. “Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know the man!!’ ” (Mt. 26:74)

I wonder how many nights Peter might have groaned all night, weeping in his bed. Regret. Sorrow. Shame.

Not many. I don’t think so anyway.. “Don’t be alarmed…you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He has risen !…go, tell his disciples….and Peter…” (Mark 16:6,7)
“…he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.” (1 Cor. 15:5)

That is the Jesus I love.

Miserable

Miserable.. Pity party alert ! I am miserable.

It has been years since I’ve felt this misery. Oh, aches and pains come and go. The occasional virus finds it’s way into my body and makes me feel icky for a few days. I get down in the dumps about situations. My body gets tired quicker than it used to and I can’t keep up the pace I once could.

But not like this misery…

Have you ever just considered how powerless we really are? Just stop and think about what can stop us right in our tracks….shut us down like flipping off the electricity. I am reminded that I am absolutely at the mercy of God and His universe….and the whims of my own choices.

I chose to weed my flowerbeds. And I chose to put that little ivy twig in the pile to be picked up ( in my bare arms ) and thrown over the ditch out of my yard. I had the knowledge of that evil…(that pretty little green ivy twig only LOOKS pretty). I have the knowledge of the truth..( the little ivy twig is poison).

So…now I am miserable. One touch and I am slowly becoming a mass of whelps that hinder every aspect of my life.

I thought about Job. “If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales! It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas..”(Job 6:2)

I suppose I’m being a little dramatic, but there’s a lesson to be learned here…a lesson far deeper than not handling poison ivy.

When I know the danger and warnings about something…pay attention! Don’t think ‘I can handle this…’. ‘I will be really careful’ ‘Just this once..’

As it is with poison ivy, so it is with all the things God has cautioned us about. ‘..let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with perseverance the race that is marked out for us.’ (Heb. 12:1)

I pray often to be easily taught. I haven’t had a lesson like this in years….and I doubt I’ll soon forget the misery of this itch that I suffer as a result of my own arrogance and poor choices . Who am I to think that I can change the rules of nature?

And who am I to think that I am ever safe outside the boundaries of God’s will for my life? I can’t even handle a little twig of ivy….

Babbling

Babbling… I fear I’ve done a lot of babbling. I wonder how much harm and hurt I have done with some of them. I wonder if I’ve been in social settings so long that I don’t even notice….

Paul said to shun them. He said they would only increase to more ungodliness. (2Tim. 2:16) Matthew Henry says in his commentary on this passage that error is very productive. Is that not a horrifying thought?! Error…produces itself. And he goes on to say that error can overthrow faith. God forbid.

The NIV calls it ‘godless chatter’ and tells us to avoid it. (vs. 16) The Message always drives home the point in street language… ‘ Stay clear of pious talk….words are not mere words, you know. If they are not backed by a godly life, they accumulate as poison in the soul.’ I sure don’t need any poison injected into my soul, especially by my own mouth!

So my babblings are some pretty serious stuff. I determine to examine the words I speak…and the words I write…and ask God to reveal to me how HE sees it. I can justify my words I’m sure…we all can project the guilt onto someone else, justify our actions and words because of someone else’s WORSE actions and words.

Who gets to decide that? Not me. And not you. It is God who determines, and he sees my heart. And yours.

Let’s make a deal…tomorrow, I’m going to begin to monitor my babblings and see if there is any godless chatter going on. With ME. I am sure the devil will point out a LOT of it coming from someone else’s mouth. But I’m asking God to reveal to me what I am blinded to in myself. For if it is there…it needs to go.

This may hurt.

Re-start

Re-start.. Seems like every time I get in the very middle of something on this computer, it has downloaded upgrades and needs to ‘re-start’…

I’ve wondered what all that upgrade stuff is about, if it’s really necessary. Sometimes I liked things better the old way, before the so called improvements. When things work and fill my needs and requirements, why change it? If it ain’t broke…don’t fix it ! The downloaded upgrades are bad enough, but then I have to stop what I’m doing and let this thing turn itself off and back on.

Then this morning, I was reading over some things I had written a while back, and I realize…there’s an upgrade ! New information.

God will never get through with me. (..or you..) There will be regular upgrades. But we can refuse to download them…and we can refuse to install them…and we can refuse to re-start.

The data that is downloaded onto this computer is useless until it is installed into the brain of this machine. And even then, until the machine is turned off and starts up again, the data just sits somewhere inside the technological mind, doing no good, making no difference.

So what kind of downloads are available? Scripture spills over with truths that are current to my situation and circumstance…‘now‘. And tomorrow, there will be truths that are current for that ‘now’. And next month, next year…every ‘now’ that I walk on this earth in this body there will be truths that are current for that ‘now’.

Just because you may have read the Bible doesn’t mean a thing. The scripture you read for that ‘now’…is not necessarily the scripture for this ‘now’. Every time I open my Bible, seems as if some phrase or concept will leap off the page and I wonder… ‘surely that hasn’t been there…how could I have missed this?’

The truth contained in scripture is ‘living and active. ..it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow…it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.’ (Heb. 4:12) It will never need upgrades, it is complete.

It is US who need upgrades. ‘Study to show yourself approved to God….’ It is us who need to install them.. ‘correctly handling the word of truth.’ (2 Tim. 2:15 KJV, NIV)

I have learned with previous computers that when I don’t keep up to date, it causes problems later on that take more than the few minutes required to install and re-start. I don’t want to live my life like that….want to stay current with the God of the universe.

So…I’m re-starting this morning. Got an upgrade yesterday, installed it, and I’m operating with new attitudes and motives today. He is ALWAYS current…

Consecrate

Consecrate.. This is one of those words that is seldom used anymore, unless perhaps in poetry….

We use words like dedicate and devote. Consecration doesn’t really make a person, place, or thing really holy,(it is GOD who makes holy)... but it declares that person, place, or thing to be set apart, to be especially dedicated and devoted to the service of God. We have ceremonies to dedicate children. In those ceremonies, the parents devote themselves to bringing the child up to know God.

Does all that ‘to-do’ really matter? Does it change the way the future unfolds? Does it really matter what we ‘say’ over a person, place, or thing? What good is ceremony? Words spoken…then forgotten….so what?

Perhaps in some circles words don’t mean much. I regret to say that our culture has lost the sense of value in them. There was a time when a thing spoken could be taken for absolute truth. Vows were said only when they were considered thoroughly and there was intention to keep them.

God spoke to His chosen people, the Israelites, “Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I Am the Lord your God. Keep My decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, Who makes you holy.” (Lev. 20:7-8) It was nothing the people did that made the difference…it was GOD Who made the difference in them.

He has spoken to me… “ ..you are a chosen people. A royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him Who called you out of darkness into His wonderful Light.” (1 Peter 2:9) ‘..from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.’ (vs. 10 The Message)

‘Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live your..life…so that your actions will refute prejudices…they will be won over to God’s side and be there to join in the celebration when He arrives. Make the Master proud of you by being good citizens…It is God’s will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of the fools who think you’re the danger…exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules.’ (vs. 11-16 The Message)

I am consecrated. My home is consecrated. I work in a place that is consecrated. I live on ground that is consecrated. Some may forget…they may disregard words that spoke vows. They may turn away and go after other gods.

I determine again today that I will not.

Enough

Enough.. What is enough? When is enough, enough? Is there such thing as enough? Who gets to decide? …

Webster says that enough is that which is adequate to the wants. A sufficiency. That which is equal to the powers of abilities.

I am thankful that God doesn’t call enough enough like I do. He has been so very patient with me for so many years. He has done such work in me, and continues to do so. He didn’t throw up His Hands like I am prone to do. “ I have had enough, Lord” (Elijah in 1 Kings 19:4)

However, I sometimes seem to hear Him say, as He did to Moses, “That is enough, do not speak to Me anymore about this matter” (Deu. 3:26) When God says something, He means it. When He answers my prayer, He has answered. And I must accept His answer.

When I have had enough… that which is equal to my power and ability, He is sufficient. “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in (your) weakness.”(2 Cor. 12:9) “I can do everything through Him Who gives me strength.”(Phil.4:13)

I wonder that perhaps enough is not about a moment in time. Perhaps it isn’t about a requirement to be fulfilled. It is about content. “..you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans do…” (1 Peter 4:3)…. “ You’ve already put in your time in that God-ignorant way of life, partying night after night, a drunken and profligate life. Now it’s time to be done with it for good.”(Peter 4:3 The Message)


“You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” (Hag. 1:6)

“You have made your way around this hill country long enough….” (Deut. 2:3) “..the Lord your god has blessed you in all the work of your hands…He has watched over your journey…you have not lacked for any thing…” (vs.7)

“I know that You can do all things..no plan of Yours can be thwarted.”(Job 42:2)

He is Elohim, Mighty Creator God, Jehovah Jireh, the God Who provides, and Yahweh Shammah, the God Who is there….

That is, and will always be…. enough.