Renewed Focus, New Direction

This is an exciting time of the year for me. God faithfully uses the holiday season, from Thanksgiving through Christmas to the New Year, to stir my heart, clean out dry and useless areas of my life, and bring fresh direction for the coming year.

It begins at Thanksgiving with remembrance of God's specific faithfulness during the past year. I live in gratitude for each new day. Yet Thanksgiving seems to intensify my memory, and I verbalize my gratitude for His obvious presence in my life. Worship arises as I remember all He is and all He does for me.

In the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, He reminds me of what “preparation” is really about. Even as I sing the familiar Christmas carols, I hear a fresh call to prepare my heart for more of Him and to make room for His work.

As the New Year approaches, He gives me increased expectation for knowing His specific calling and purposes for the coming year. And then He gives direction. There is a sense of freshness and new beginning that brings hope and faith for the future.

Too often in past years, the busyness, focus on buying, wrapping and giving gifts, overload of preparations, overload of food and so many other distractions have drawn me away from sitting and listening to His voice. Quality time with Him can easily be set aside.

In the midst of "celebrating," Jesus is often relegated to the corner of the room as we focus on Santa Clause, reindeer, gifts - what we want, what others want. Each year, the mention of true Christmas, celebrating of Jesus as God with us, is not only diminished but is increasingly stripped from public areas. As that happens – and it is happening – we can easily get caught up in the world’s focus and ways. And when Christmas is over, we find emptiness and longing that has not been satisfied with events or things.

Like in the story of Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42), Jesus is God, Emanuel, right there in our midst. The gift of Christmas is not just His birth, but it is His ongoing life, with us and in us. And we have the opportunity to be with Him as Mary was, but our distracted focus causes us, like Martha, to miss His presence and the treasures He has for us.

The world’s ways continue to daily strip away at human hearts and bring deceptions of relative thinking, entitlement attitudes, and self-gratification. This will not only continue in the future, but is growing stronger in its influence.

God is not surprised at the direction of the world. So for our sakes He cautions us, Do not love the world of the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:15-27).  He tells us to make the intentional choice for Him and His eternal love rather than for the fading world. He enables us to make that choice, but He does not make it for us.

In the midst of the world around us, we sometimes forget to ask what He wants from us…what gift we are to give, first to Him and then to others. At the same time, we fail to ask in faith for what He has for us. He has given us many promises, but  as we fall short in laying hold of those promises, we fail to see them manifest in our daily lives.

God is continually pursuing us and drawing us to Himself. He has invited us to live in His love. As the pull of the world increases, those of us in the Kingdom should be aware of the increasing hunger in our hearts for things of God. Watch for it. It is there as His Spirit is giving us greater discernment between worldliness and Godliness, and He is constantly feeding us with deeper love of the King. We have only to respond to His Spirit and His revelation.

He tells us His desires is for our joy to be full (John 15:11). He wants to abundantly satisfy us with Himself, with His presence, with fellowship with Him and with other Christians. He wants us to stop settling for the empty and alluring things of the world which are void of eternal value and actually work against Him and His plans for us.

Allow this week be a time of reflection. While many people make resolutions which are often attempted in their own strength and fall by the wayside within weeks or even days, I pray that we who are children of the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, will respond to His comforting Holy Spirit, and that we will know and embrace His direction for our lives for the coming year. His plan for our lives always begins with our spending quality time building our relationship with Him. Then, as we partner with Him, seeking Him and desiring to walk in obedience, He will faithfully give us the power and strength to fulfill His purposes. He will work in us so we will become more like Him and less like the world. And He will open our hearts and minds to understand the vast extend of His amazing love for us. That is life-changing.

May 2013 find you intentional in seeking Him and receiving all the goodness He has for you.

One nation under God, indivisible...

In 1892, these words, so familiar to Americans, were written into what is today called the “pledge of allegiance” to the flag of the United States of America. The author was a Baptist pastor named Francis Bellamy. Interestingly enough, the words “under God” were not added until more than half a century later, in 1954.(1)

This pledge was written after the Civil War in which we were a radically divided nation whose citizens went to war against each other. The pledge focused on the concept of a “republic.” I will not take time here to delineate between a “republic” and a “democracy” though the differences are critically important. Yet, the principle written in these words is not an earthly governmental concept, but is a spiritual Kingdom-of-God truth.

God has been building into my life in practical ways, the perspective of His church being “one body” and “one head.”

We hear much to day about “identity.” As God is bringing us into a greater understanding of our identity in Him, we must have revelation of our corporate identity in the Body of Christ. If we focus only on our individual identity without understanding the strategic view of where and how we are linked into Him and into each other, we have only a partial and sometimes fragmented view. God clearly shows us that we are part of something far greater than we have yet understood.

• For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same  function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.(2)
• And (God) put all things under His feet, and gave (Christ) to be head over all things to the church, which is His body…”(3). 
• We are “fitted together” as stones of a building (4) , and together are a dwelling place for God’s Spirit (5).
• God instructs us to be of “one mind” having compassion for one another (6) and tells us to guard, to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (7).

How can this be practical in our lives? Is that even possible? God has given us a picture of how He sees His children, living and functioning under God, the head, and truly indivisible. But is that more than a concept for our minds and theology, or is it something we can apply to our daily lives?

God will not tell us His will and His plan without giving us the ability, the grace and power to walk in His Word.

Our earthly concept is that there are many Christian churches and many denominations in many states and nations. We readily acknowledge the theologies and beliefs that divide us. But God says there is only ONE body, ONE Church. We are not a pile of body parts which is a mutilated body with no life. We are connected, and we are to keep our focus on the head, Jesus Christ, who gives us life. If we are willing to grasp that the Body of Christ is truly one and not fragmented parts, it will change how we think, how we pray and how we treat other Christians.

Recently, the husband of a friend was critically ill. As I spent time with my friend, I found myself praying for her as though it was me. The Lord brought to mind His instructions to remember prisoners as if you were in prison with them; and remember those suffering ill-treatment, for you yourselves are still in the body (8). That told me that I was to live as though I were in her situation. I experienced, in a deeper way, the amazing supernatural work of unity and oneness that the Holy Spirit brings into our hearts.

However, a few days later, the Lord said that until I prayed for her husband as if it were my husband who was in the hospital in a coma, I was not praying effectively. The thing that broke my heart was that after the Lord said that, my prayers did change. I began praying with a deeper urgency and crying out to God desperately for his life. I realized I had been praying for her husband as if we were separated, not as if we were one body. The Lord shifted my understanding and my heart, which changed my actions. God's instructions for us to bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (9) is practical rather than theological.

It is time for us as Christians to grasp the concept of only one Body of Christ and begin to live with His love for one another. As we do, we will find our prayers expanding for people that we have never met in nations we have rarely if ever heard of. We will feel compassion that is beyond us. And we will begin to walk in deeper unity and love that will demonstrate to the world that we are His disciples (10).

Unity is a principle of the Kingdom of God. The world cannot duplicate it, so will present a  counterfeit based on tolerance and void of Truth. Without being “under God” we can only have a distorted understanding of unity. But with the Lord's wisdom and His leading, we can grasp the reality of being one body under and connected to one God, and we can move into a new dimension of life in His Spirit.

In the days ahead, I pray we will understand this truth and walk in it in practical ways, treating each other with the unprejudiced and undivided love and care Jesus demonstrated.

(1) http://www.oldtimeislands.org/pledge/pledge.htm
(2) Romans 12:4-5
(3) Ephesians 1:22-23
(4) Ephesians 2:21, 1Peter 2:5
(5) Ephesians 2:22
(6) 1 Peter 3:8
(7) Ephesians 4:3
(8) Hebrews 13:3
(9) Galatians 6:2
(10)John 13:32

Yesterday, my husband spent all morning in the small town near our home. He used his chain saw to cut up a very, very large pecan tree that was struck by lightning last week. The tree split and fell to the ground. Because it was a hazard, it was going to be cut up and hauled away. Some would be thrown away and some used for firewood. But Charlie brought home large pieces of wood from the tree to use to make beautiful bowls and other wooden articles.

On our few acres in the country, next to our old farm house we have a large horse barn. Because Charlie and I don’t have horses, we turned one side of the barn into a storage room and Charlie built a workshop in the other side.

The outside of the barn is not much to look at. But the inside, where he works, is really an amazing place. It is where he creates works of art on his lathe, and where he cuts and prepares molding and trim to use in remodeling our old house. He has done a great job on the house, though the remodeling is going very slowly. That’s because the two of us are doing all the work ourselves.

Charlie calls his work place, “Redemption Workshop.” He chose that name because the tools and supplies used to build it were mostly discarded from other peoples’ projects. The excess lumber and roofing material from a new house nearby was thrown in a dumpster. Evidently laws restrict builders from using wood purchased for one project on another project, even though it is brand new lumber. So the extra supplies are normally thrown away, and either taken to the dump or burned…unless someone finds and redeems them. Charlie was able to rescue much of the lumber and tiles from the dumpster and use in his workshop.

Many of Charlie’s tools came from peoples’ trash because they were broken. Some were purchased at garage sales from people who had previously bought them and no longer had a use for them. He has spent much time rebuilding and repairing broken tools that people threw away. And with little money and a few part replacements, the tools work as good as new.

Redemption…to purchase back, ransom, rescue or liberate; to regain possession of a thing; to save. (1)

To redeem something that was once valuable and restore it to usefulness requires, first of all, vision to see beyond the present condition or circumstances. My husband has the ability to see “beyond!” He can look at an old piece of furniture and imagine what it would look like if it were repaired and restored. If complete restoration is not possible, he can envision how parts of it can be used to make something else beautiful… recycling it, if you please.

Redemption takes someone who will stop, consider, and is willing to see with a different perspective. It takes the ability to see potential that may not be obvious to the casual viewer.

To redeem something is often costly. It takes investment…investment of time, energy, and willingness to continue working until that object has been restored.

Perhaps redemption of an object or tool seems easier than the redemption of a person. But God’s heart is to redeem mankind. Redemption was so important to God that “…God gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people…” (Titus 2:14). And, that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believed in Him might have everlasting life”
(John 3:16). God loves people and gave His own life for the purpose of redeeming them.

There are many people in the world that some would consider beyond repair, or worthless. Other people themselves feel that they have been abused, broken, and even discarded, disqualifying them from any future value, purpose or destiny. They spend their lives in hopelessness.

But redemption looks beyond. God see us, not as we are, and not as we see ourselves. He looks past the faults, the cracks, the broken places. He knows what caused the brokenness and He is able to bring healing. Not only can He bring healing, but His work will go beyond healing and turn the broken places into places of strength.

God sees potential. He knows the original design – His original plans and destinies for our lives. He knows what we can become. And He already knows how to heal and restore us to our original purpose. Out of His great creative power, and His amazing grace and love for each of us, He has already set in motion all that is needed for our redemption.

Will you enter God’s “Redemption Workshop” and allow Him to repair, rebuild and restore your life? Will you let Him make you into a vessel of honor? Will you yield to His plan and let Him chizel away what does not belong, and mold you into what He intended you to be?  He wants to. He is able. He is waiting with delight, knowing the vessel of beauty you can become in the hands of the Master Craftsman.

(1)  American Dictionary of The English Language Language, Noah Webster 1828, c 1967, Vol II 52.

Solid Ground

My husband and I live in an old farm house that was a one-room school building in the 1890’s. The house is not built on a slab foundation, but sits on very large tree stumps. 

The school was turned into a house in the 1930’s and then more rooms were added during the next 20 years.

Over the years, the stumps have sunk into the ground. The crawl space below the house is not big enough for any larger than a skunk. We did discover that it was big enough for a skunk when she moved in to build her nest and have her babies. But that is a story for another time.

Because of how the house is built, when it rains, the house settles. And when there is draught for months, the house settles. That means that with Texas weather, the house is constantly shifting.  When it settles, doors will not lock, walls crack, floor tiles separate, along with other challenging situations which all require constant maintenance and repair.

Our lives can be like that. When we are not built on solid rock, our lives will shift and form cracks. Doors can remain open to our hearts for things other than Truth to enter.

So, how do we know what is a solid foundation, worthy of building our lives upon?

Scriptures tell us that life should be built on the solid rock of Jesus Christ. The promise is that then, when the storms come, we will stand. Building on Him as a foundation means that we live trusting in His unlimited and unconditional love for us, His death on the cross for our sin, and for His provision of eternal life. These blessings come only through faith in Him.

Because God is love (1 John 4:8 ), everything He does flows out of His heart of love for us, His creation. We were created to be in close personal relationship with Him. He desires that, and has made a way for it to be possible.

So, in the spiritual world, what is considered “sinking sand,” or ground that is not solid?

When we do things man’s way, our own way, we shift and change. When we try to earn love, earn favor and earn eternal life, we sink deeper and deeper. Salvation is not something we can earn. We cannot be “good enough” to enter heaven.  Heaven is what we call eternal life in God’s presence.

We cannot earn what is given freely. Because God knew man could not be “good enough” to earn eternal life with Him, God came in the form of man and gave His life to pay the price for sin and selfishness that we could not pay.

God’s grace and mercy are absolutely free, but, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer says in his book The Cost of Discipleship, grace is not cheap. God’s gift of eternal life requires a response from us. We must accept His free gift. That takes humility. We must accept the fact that we cannot acquire eternal life through good works or doing things our own ways; it comes only God's way. When we accept that God knows alll things, and we do not, then we ask Him to come into our lives, to guide us, and to give us what He knows we need. And He does. We then freely receive from Him what He died in order to give to us.

We must believe God. May people believe “in God.” But we must believe God; we must put our trust in what He says is truth. We must believe what He says and not rely on our own opinion, reasoning, education, or what other people decide. Theories of man can easily rob us of truth. God’s word is Truth. If we believe anything contrary, then we are believing lies which causes us to sink further and further into the unstable ground.

God’s word is truth. Jesus Christ is called “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6.) He wants us to know Him; He wants us to know how to live with Him for eternity. He desires to bless our lives abundantly here on this earth, as well as in eternity. If we seek Him, He promises that we will find Him.

Rather than continuing to build our lives, our ideas, and our perspective on things that shift and change, things that cause fear, doubt, anxiety and worry, we can put our trust in the solid rock of Jesus Christ. Let us lay hold of that which is absolute truth and which will not change. Let us stand firm, trusting Him, and living a life of peace, contentment and blessing…all that comes when He is allowed to guide our lives. Then our lives are built on solid rock and we will not be moved, no matter what the circumstances.

What is truth?

If you took the time to examine what you believe and why you believe those things, then perhaps you have done some deep thinking.

As I asked myself the questions, again, and searched for honest answers, I came to some interesting realizations.

The reason “why” I believe or do not believe some things goes back to the source of information, and how reliable I felt that source was. If I didn’t believe certain things, it was because I didn’t trust the messenger. If I did believe things, it was often because I did trust the person who told me.

Who you believe is critical in the process of developing your belief system. However, it is rarely wise to believe anything people tell us without verifying truth for ourselves.

Every person has limited understanding and perspective. There are many who share “information” with us. That information is usually presented as “fact” or “truth.” We are familiar with some advertisers, politicians, even religious leaders as well as numerous other people who freely give us their views and even selective information in order to persuade us to believe them and maybe even join them in their cause, or, in some cases, send them our money. As I have shared, we choose who we will believe or not believe.

And those who love us the most also share their knowledge with us. But even their knowledge is limited. They may be sincere about what they believe, but their understanding may still be wrong, or partial, at best.

The question is,” How can we know truth?” Is there really an absolute truth? Aren’t all things relative? If so, how can we find what is true and what is not?

There is an ancient story about a person who built a house. He loved the ocean and decided that he wanted to be as close to the water as possible. So he built his house right on the beach…on the sand. However, when the weather became rough and the wind blew, and the rain came, the house fell apart because it was built on the sand. It’s foundation was not strong enough to hold the house together when the storms came.

My husband and I live in a very old farm house. It was built in the 1890’s. It is built on very large stumps of hardwood trees called Bodarc. When the weather changes, the house shifts. There are times when we are sitting in our study and the doors on the closet will open by themselves…because the house has shifted and the lock on the door no longer fits together.

The rest of that ancient story is about another man who built his house on a very large piece of solid rock. The weather never affected his house. It stood for centuries, because the ground it was built on never shifted or changed.

The story leads us to believe that the strength of a house is as good as the stability of its foundation.

If we translate that analogy to our lives, then our lives are as stable as the foundational truths in which we believe. Those foundational truths impact our thoughts and our actions. Our beliefs are not only important, they are critical to the strength and endurance and quality of our lives.

If our beliefs are based on the economy, or political figures, or anything that is made by man, they will change because people and man-made institutions do not stay the same.

If that is so, then where can we find truths that do not change?

And that is the life-changing question. What is truth and where can we find it?

There is absolute truth that is dependable and does not change. It is found in the One who created the universe, the earth, and mankind. Truth is found only in God, the Source and Creator of all things.

And then you ask…”which God?” Aren’t there many? And if so, how do you find the right God? Aren’t there many God’s because different people need different things? Can one God supply all things to all people?

There are many gods. But there is only One who was before all things.

We are told, “In the beginning, God…” He existed before anything was created.

Because He is the Creator of all things, it is for Him to teach and inform the ones He created. Who are we to teach the Creator what is true and what is not? We were not here in the beginning. He was. He alone would know.

If you do not know this God who created you, I encourage you to simply tell Him that you want to know Him and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. He will do that. He wants you to know Him. And He wants you to know truth…absolute truth.

What do you believe and why?

I am in the school of “faith.”That is not unusual for a Christian. Faith is basic to Christianity. Actually, faith is basic to all religions and to life in general.

Every person has the innate ability to believe. Faith –believing – is an active part of our lives. Daily we put our trust and confidence in numerous things or people, without even thinking about it. Often we take faith for granted, rather than stopping to consider what faith really is and what, if anything, it means to our lives.

It is important to know WHAT we believe and determine the focus, or object(s) of our faith.

· As we sit on a chair, we believe in the law of gravity and assume that the chair will support our weight. 

· When we go to sleep at night, we trust that the sun will come up in the morning and we will have a new day. We trust in and depend on the seasons of nature.

· Healthy people, without even thinking, walk and move with no problems and build their lives around a busy schedule that involves physical strength and activity. We take for granted our next breath.

· Many people get up in the morning and go to work at a job, trusting that they will receive a pay check for their hours of work.

We walk through life, rarely considering what we believe, until those things we have trusted fail.

· For example, if, when you were young, you ever had someone pull the chair out from under you just as you sat down, causing you to fall on the floor, you might hesitate before you put your whole weight on a chair.

· You may take food, shelter and a job for granted…until you lose your job. Then you begin to question how you will feed and clothe yourself or your family.
· Your life may be active and routine until you have an accident or are diagnosed with a major health issue which can change your life instantly.

These are some simple examples of how we live our lives believing and expecting certain things to happen.

Our beliefs are influenced by our experience, what our parents or teachers have taught us, what we have seen in the media or in other peoples’ lives, or a convincing friend. Often we are trained to believe certain things. But personal experience can completely and instantly change our belief system and override what we have been taught.

It is absolutely critical for us to understand the power and the responsibility we have to examine and choose what we believe and what we do not believe. We are not to simply accept statements as fact without considering them first. If we do not have a sound foundation for our beliefs, we can be easily influenced by advertisers, politicians, or anyone with a personal agenda who uses emotional and persuasive speech. I personally do not want to be ignorant or manipulated by emotions or human reasoning that sounds good but is not truth. Our choices are our responsibility.

Many people know what they believe, but don’t stop to consider why they believe it. I am examining not only those things I trust or take to be true, but even the foundations for those beliefs. Will you, too, consider the following questions?

· How do I define truth?

· What do I trust, even without taking time to consider? And why? Do I trust in the world systems of government, education, economics?

· Am I easily persuaded by the power of words or emotional appeal? Or do I need to know historical and documented facts before I accept something as truth.

· Does it matter what I believe? Or do I think that sincerity is more important than what I believe?

· What do I believe about people? Are people born basically good? If so, what makes some good and some bad? Which am I, a good person or a bad person? Why?

· Do I trust people? Do I distrust people? If so, what happened to make me distrust or trust them?

· What do I believe about God? Is there a God? If there is, what is He like? How do I know? Where did my concept of God come from? Does it matter?

· What do I believe about myself? Why was I born? Is there a purpose for my life? If there is, how can I find it? If there is not, then what motivates my life each day?

· Am I totally satisfied with my life?

These questions might seem insignificant or a waste of time to even consider. And if you believe that, then you will probably not even read as far as this sentence. Or you may quickly answer the questions without thinking or rethinking them, believing that you already know the complete answer.

These questions are important to some core issues of life and of our world. If you are willing to take a few minutes to consider each one, it could be life-changing. The concept of what we believe and why we believe it are basic to who we are and what we do. As the world changes, and as my understanding grows I periodically revisit the issue of faith and check the basis for my beliefs.

Faith reaches far in to our being and is a defining issue of our lives. Will you open your heart and mind to consider what you believe and why you believe it?

Dear Friends,

It has been far too long since I last wrote of "lessons learned." I am still learning, but the process of life has been very full and, it seems, has squeezed out the time for contemplating and writing.

However, one of the words God has given to me recently, is that I am to be "intentional." That is the opposite of hap-hazard or accidental. It seems that far too often my life goes by and unplanned things happen. The urgent begins to dominate, and the ordinary gets relegated to "later." When "later" comes, I most often don't have energy to deal with it. And when the events of life are not intentional, I wonder where my time has gone, or I spend far too much time and energy cleaning up the messes that have been created as a result of lack of planning or organizing.

Life is not meant to control or overwhelm us. When that happens, it is a sure sign to me that I am not seeking first the Kingdom of God, and that too much of my life is not under His control and blessings. So, with that as background, I am working at being "intentional" about more things in life.

1. My first priority is to daily seek God dilligently. The exciting results of seeking Him are that we find Him, as He has promised. And then, as if finding Him were not enough, He says He rewards those who dilligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). Wow. Why would we not seek Him with those two promised results?

2. My second priority in to invest quality time into the lives of my family: of course, my precious husband (we celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary next weekend), my children, and my 5 grandchildren. That has eternal impact and thus, eternal value.

3. God has told me to be "intentional" in relationships. He has given me precious friends who add truth, accountability, joy, encouragement to my life. He has also given me relationships with people who challenge my Godliness, sand off the rough edges, and sometimes simply bring me to my knees. Those all have purpose and I am grateful for each one of them. God has told me to invest time and energy in each relationship that He brings into my life.

4. I am going to try to be intentional about this blog. It will change over the next few months. Rather than writing long epistles, which can be overwhelming and boring...I plan to write shorter blogs that get more quickly to the point! And I plan to write more regularly. There...I said it. It is in print! That would be called COMMITMENT.

The subjects will continue to come from what God is teaching me through the processes of my life...because, as my husband often says, "You can't teach what you don't know and you can't lead where you don't go!" So, I share from my life and all that God is teaching me.

Today, I must go be intentional about preparing hundreds of apricots that are ripe and falling off of our tree. How like God...when He gives us fruit, there is a responsibility that goes with it. So, I am off to be responsible with the gift of apricots!