Friday, May 18, 2012
A New Picture of God's Faithfulness to His Promises
Well, I've never done this before but I wanted to share a post that I put on my other blog http://praiseworthytales.blogspot.ca/2012/05/unlikely-promise.html. I hope you appreciate the lesson that I recorded there!
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
If You Knew...
I was listening to John 4 in the car last night and something struck me that I couldn't wait to dig out this morning. Jesus and His disciples were travelling from Judea to Galilee and passing through Samaria. It's around noon and the disciples leave Jesus to go and find some food in the nearby village. Jesus is sitting by a water well when a Samaritan woman comes to draw water. Jesus asked her for a drink and she is shocked.
I have heard and read this passage many times. I have heard it preached but something registered for me as never before. Verses 9-10 say, "The Samaritan woman said to him, 'How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?... Jesus answered her, 'If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you; 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." (emphasis mine) So what did she know? Her reality was that she had had her 3 strikes and she's out!
First, she was a Samaritan. To us, those may be just words, but in Jesus' day, the Jews and the Samaritans hated each other so much that a Jew would never condescend himself to speak to a Samaritan!
Secondly, she was a woman. In that culture, women held very little worth. For a man to address a woman was not the common practice.
The third strike hasn't been disclosed to us by this point but you can be absolutely assured that it was ever-present in the woman's mind and we're told later (vs. 17-18) that Jesus Himself was completely aware of the details of this woman's life. This woman had had five husbands and the man she was with at that point was not her husband! Even by today's standards, that would cause some eyes to roll.
Does that help you understand her shock at being addressed by Jesus? Now hear what He says to her... If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you... you would have asked him... These are the words that captured my attention! If you knew the gift of God... What is the gift of God? It's the Good News of grace! This woman's reality to this point was condemnation. She had 3 strikes against her and the people she encountered had written her off. Grace was an unknown commodity, but then, she had never met the Savior before!
Do you hear what the Savior is saying? No matter who you are, where you're from, what you've done and how the world views you, He is like no one you have ever encountered before! Grace - undeserved favor - getting a gift we don't deserve - is His specialty! And if we could get our minds wrapped around this truth, we'd be running to Him and asking Him for that living water which satisfies our deepest thirsts and makes us truly live!
Romans 3:23-25 (ESV) says, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
Here's the same passage in plainer words... Since we've compiled this long and sorry record as sinners and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ. (The Message)
Lord, no matter the apparent reality of who I am and how I've messed up, may I recognize that I've never met anyone like You before! You know everything I've ever done and yet You extend to me that precious gift of grace! May I continually receive it from Your nail-scarred hand!
I have heard and read this passage many times. I have heard it preached but something registered for me as never before. Verses 9-10 say, "The Samaritan woman said to him, 'How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?... Jesus answered her, 'If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you; 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." (emphasis mine) So what did she know? Her reality was that she had had her 3 strikes and she's out!
First, she was a Samaritan. To us, those may be just words, but in Jesus' day, the Jews and the Samaritans hated each other so much that a Jew would never condescend himself to speak to a Samaritan!
Secondly, she was a woman. In that culture, women held very little worth. For a man to address a woman was not the common practice.
The third strike hasn't been disclosed to us by this point but you can be absolutely assured that it was ever-present in the woman's mind and we're told later (vs. 17-18) that Jesus Himself was completely aware of the details of this woman's life. This woman had had five husbands and the man she was with at that point was not her husband! Even by today's standards, that would cause some eyes to roll.
Does that help you understand her shock at being addressed by Jesus? Now hear what He says to her... If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you... you would have asked him... These are the words that captured my attention! If you knew the gift of God... What is the gift of God? It's the Good News of grace! This woman's reality to this point was condemnation. She had 3 strikes against her and the people she encountered had written her off. Grace was an unknown commodity, but then, she had never met the Savior before!
Do you hear what the Savior is saying? No matter who you are, where you're from, what you've done and how the world views you, He is like no one you have ever encountered before! Grace - undeserved favor - getting a gift we don't deserve - is His specialty! And if we could get our minds wrapped around this truth, we'd be running to Him and asking Him for that living water which satisfies our deepest thirsts and makes us truly live!
Romans 3:23-25 (ESV) says, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
Here's the same passage in plainer words... Since we've compiled this long and sorry record as sinners and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ. (The Message)
Lord, no matter the apparent reality of who I am and how I've messed up, may I recognize that I've never met anyone like You before! You know everything I've ever done and yet You extend to me that precious gift of grace! May I continually receive it from Your nail-scarred hand!
Friday, March 9, 2012
Who Said It Would Be Easy?
I am coming to the conclusion that a lot of discouragement could be avoided if I changed my expectations. Not lowered them. Not raised them. Just changed them to be in line with truth and not buying into subtle lies. I was reading in 1 Timothy 6 the other day and was struck by these words...
But as for you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called..." 1 Timothy 6:11-12a
Note the words that the Apostle Paul used... flee, pursue, endurance, fight, take hold... None of those are passive words! Each one demands action and energy! So why do I seem to live with the expectation that if I am living in accordance with God's will that life should be easy, blissful, without struggle? This is not biblical! I don't know how it happened. I know this with my head but somehow I lost track of this truth in my emotions...
Why are we told to flee unless there are going to be things that try to take hold of us? Why pursue if godly traits were going to characterize us without effort? Who needs endurance unless they feel the urge to give up? Why about fight or take hold? Friends, we are told that each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34). We're told that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood - but we do wrestle (Ephesians 6:12)! We are told to press on toward the goal, straining towards what lies ahead (Philippians 3:12-14). That assures us that we are going to experience resistance pushing against us! Expect it! Be alert for it and don't be discouraged! We are told to "take heart" Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33)!
Father, thank You for showing me that I was discouraged because I was listening to lies. I fell into the trap of believing that You were somehow letting me down and that I was failing because walking on the narrow way was difficult. Father, when I think that way, my eyes tend to fall from You and put all of the pressure on me. When I try to live this Christian life apart from You, I do fail, but when I trust You with all of my heart and not lean on my own understanding, You bring me through victoriously! And Father, please help me to remember in all of this, to not listen to lies on the other extreme. You really do have good plans for me. Plans to prosper me, not to harm me. Plans to give me a hope and a future. Thank You that I can always take You at Your word.
But as for you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called..." 1 Timothy 6:11-12a
Note the words that the Apostle Paul used... flee, pursue, endurance, fight, take hold... None of those are passive words! Each one demands action and energy! So why do I seem to live with the expectation that if I am living in accordance with God's will that life should be easy, blissful, without struggle? This is not biblical! I don't know how it happened. I know this with my head but somehow I lost track of this truth in my emotions...
Why are we told to flee unless there are going to be things that try to take hold of us? Why pursue if godly traits were going to characterize us without effort? Who needs endurance unless they feel the urge to give up? Why about fight or take hold? Friends, we are told that each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34). We're told that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood - but we do wrestle (Ephesians 6:12)! We are told to press on toward the goal, straining towards what lies ahead (Philippians 3:12-14). That assures us that we are going to experience resistance pushing against us! Expect it! Be alert for it and don't be discouraged! We are told to "take heart" Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33)!
Father, thank You for showing me that I was discouraged because I was listening to lies. I fell into the trap of believing that You were somehow letting me down and that I was failing because walking on the narrow way was difficult. Father, when I think that way, my eyes tend to fall from You and put all of the pressure on me. When I try to live this Christian life apart from You, I do fail, but when I trust You with all of my heart and not lean on my own understanding, You bring me through victoriously! And Father, please help me to remember in all of this, to not listen to lies on the other extreme. You really do have good plans for me. Plans to prosper me, not to harm me. Plans to give me a hope and a future. Thank You that I can always take You at Your word.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Transform Me
O LORD, You're not at all like me.
Your ways - they pure and holy be!
O LORD, I'm not at all like You
So full of grace and mercy too!
O LORD, I need Thee every hour!
I need Thy great transforming power.
Please change my heart and thinking too
Until, O LORD, I look just like You!
Your ways - they pure and holy be!
O LORD, I'm not at all like You
So full of grace and mercy too!
O LORD, I need Thee every hour!
I need Thy great transforming power.
Please change my heart and thinking too
Until, O LORD, I look just like You!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Get Up and Go!
By faith Abraham, when called to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. Hebrews 11:8
Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you..." Genesis 12:1
I don't know if you're like me, but I am the type that really likes all of the details before I make a decision. I want to see the whole picture, consider all of the possible scenarios, weigh my options... You get the picture. I know that the LORD made me with a contemplative, cautious personality but He's also calling me to new depths of trust. Unreserved trust. Lately, He's been painting a picture of Abraham's journey for me and He's helping me to obey and go, even though I don't know exactly where I'm going.
Abraham trusted God. He believed. I imagine the LORD telling Abraham to leave all that's familiar and "go". I can almost hear their dialogue...
"Where would you have me go, LORD?"
"Head southwest."
"To where, LORD?"
"Just start out in that direction. I'll show you as you go."
Can't you just imagine God telling Abraham to follow that mountain range as it heads south? When Abraham came to the land of Canaan, God could refine the directions... now head to Shechem. And as Shechem approached, head to the giant oak of Moreh. From here, Abraham "proceeded to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east." We're told that "there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD." I wonder if he worshipped the LORD for the ways that He led him... I wonder if he called upon the name of the LORD asking if this was where he was to stop or were they continuing on from here... And "Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev."
Isn't it awesome! If the LORD had told Abraham back in Haran to head to such and such a tree or such and such a mountain, Abraham would have had no frame of reference. It's as those things appear on the horizon that we can appreciate where the LORD is directing us. My tendency is to want every direction, every turn, every landmark before I ever set out! But He's teaching me! The more I know Him, the less I need to know where I'm going. He is faithful. He has a plan.
I like Paul's description of genuine faith in 2 Timothy 1:5. The Amplified Bible puts it this way...
...your sincere and unqualified faith (the leaning of your entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness)...
Joyce Meyers puts it this way, absolute trust and confidence in His power to be able to do what needs to be done, His wisdom to know what needs to be done and His goodness that He works all things together for my good.
Dear LORD, please help me to lean my entire personality on You no matter when or where you ask me to go. Help me to know You more every day because when I remember Who You truly are, it's so much easier to put absolute trust and confidence in You. Forgive me, LORD, for holding back my obedience because I want to have all of the details. In Jesus' Name... So be it.
Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you..." Genesis 12:1
I don't know if you're like me, but I am the type that really likes all of the details before I make a decision. I want to see the whole picture, consider all of the possible scenarios, weigh my options... You get the picture. I know that the LORD made me with a contemplative, cautious personality but He's also calling me to new depths of trust. Unreserved trust. Lately, He's been painting a picture of Abraham's journey for me and He's helping me to obey and go, even though I don't know exactly where I'm going.
Abraham trusted God. He believed. I imagine the LORD telling Abraham to leave all that's familiar and "go". I can almost hear their dialogue...
"Where would you have me go, LORD?"
"Head southwest."
"To where, LORD?"
"Just start out in that direction. I'll show you as you go."
Can't you just imagine God telling Abraham to follow that mountain range as it heads south? When Abraham came to the land of Canaan, God could refine the directions... now head to Shechem. And as Shechem approached, head to the giant oak of Moreh. From here, Abraham "proceeded to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east." We're told that "there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD." I wonder if he worshipped the LORD for the ways that He led him... I wonder if he called upon the name of the LORD asking if this was where he was to stop or were they continuing on from here... And "Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev."
Isn't it awesome! If the LORD had told Abraham back in Haran to head to such and such a tree or such and such a mountain, Abraham would have had no frame of reference. It's as those things appear on the horizon that we can appreciate where the LORD is directing us. My tendency is to want every direction, every turn, every landmark before I ever set out! But He's teaching me! The more I know Him, the less I need to know where I'm going. He is faithful. He has a plan.
I like Paul's description of genuine faith in 2 Timothy 1:5. The Amplified Bible puts it this way...
...your sincere and unqualified faith (the leaning of your entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness)...
Joyce Meyers puts it this way, absolute trust and confidence in His power to be able to do what needs to be done, His wisdom to know what needs to be done and His goodness that He works all things together for my good.
Dear LORD, please help me to lean my entire personality on You no matter when or where you ask me to go. Help me to know You more every day because when I remember Who You truly are, it's so much easier to put absolute trust and confidence in You. Forgive me, LORD, for holding back my obedience because I want to have all of the details. In Jesus' Name... So be it.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
An Offering...
LORD God, You are so dear to me,
more dear than any else could be
and yet i often fail to show
this love that i profess to know.
i fail to live like one set free
by Your sacrifice upon that tree.
i tend to try to balance the scale
and live by works - oh, how i fail!
But You continue to draw me near.
You wake me early and speak to my ear.
You tell me that You love me still.
You loved me first. You always will.
You forgive as i confess.
You lead me forth, correct and bless.
You alone are worth all praise!
i surrender all my days
into the Hands of the Three-in-One,
Beloved Father, Spirit, Son...
more dear than any else could be
and yet i often fail to show
this love that i profess to know.
i fail to live like one set free
by Your sacrifice upon that tree.
i tend to try to balance the scale
and live by works - oh, how i fail!
But You continue to draw me near.
You wake me early and speak to my ear.
You tell me that You love me still.
You loved me first. You always will.
You forgive as i confess.
You lead me forth, correct and bless.
You alone are worth all praise!
i surrender all my days
into the Hands of the Three-in-One,
Beloved Father, Spirit, Son...
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Missed Something...
Earlier this year, I read a phenomenal little book called "Union and Communion" by Hudson Taylor. The LORD really used it to speak to me about how He sees me. We journeyed through Song of Solomon and the story laid out in chapter 1 has become very dear to me. Just like that bride, I so often say that I don't look like I'd like to look for my Lord. I'm dark, world-scorched, and yet... He thinks I'm lovely!
That's where my conversation with the LORD began this morning. Oh, how I wish that I obeyed Him better, proclaimed Him louder, looked more like Him... BUT, rather than get lost in those thoughts, I remind myself that He loves me and He thinks I'm lovely. Then, rather than turn away from Him and hide my face, I can look at Him unashamed and listen as He speaks to me through His Word.
I was a little surprised when I felt prompted to go to these verses from Song of Solomon. After all, I'm studying in Ephesians. But, I'm so glad that I did! Did you know that, according to Philippians 3:1, it is not irksome that the Lord tell us and teach us things over and over? I love that! Because, I had missed something when I had been in this passage before... Verse 5 of Chapter 1 records the bride saying, "I am very dark, but lovely..."
She believed what He said about her! I have always stopped one step short of this! I have no problem with the "I'm dark" part. There are a million things about myself that I wish were different for Jesus' sake! I'm learning to believe that He thinks I'm lovely. But, did you catch what she says? "I am very dark BUT lovely" (emphasis mine). She took what He said about her and believed it about herself!
As I wrote once before (http://spaciousplace-karrie.blogspot.com/2009/08/rose-colored-glasses.html), I thought the Lord wore rose-colored glasses where I was concerned. Not true. When God speaks something, it IS. He spoke the world into being (Genesis 1). His Words do not return to Him void (Isaiah 55:11). My response needs to be like that of Mary when the Lord sent Gabriel to tell her that she had been chosen to be the mother of Jesus, "let it be to me according to Your word" (Luke 1:38).
I am so-loved, even in my world-scorched condition, that God sent His Son to die for my sins (John 3:16, Romans 5:8). He says that, because of Jesus, I am holy and blameless in His sight (Ephesians 1:4). Because of Jesus, I am lovely!
Come on friends, you've seen it before. A woman who has lived her life thinking that no one found her attractive acts the part. Her head stays low. She has low self-esteem. BUT, when all of the sudden, she comes to believe that someone thinks she is beautiful, things start to change! Her eyes lift. Her countenance changes, and she truly becomes more lovely!
Lord, please help me to truly believe that I am lovely. Help me to let that truth resonate throughout my soul this day because I know that as it does, I will become more and more who I want to be for You - who You designed me to be in You. Thank You for wooing me once again with Your Word! You are always faithful and true! I love You, Lord!
One last thing... He thinks YOU are lovely too!
That's where my conversation with the LORD began this morning. Oh, how I wish that I obeyed Him better, proclaimed Him louder, looked more like Him... BUT, rather than get lost in those thoughts, I remind myself that He loves me and He thinks I'm lovely. Then, rather than turn away from Him and hide my face, I can look at Him unashamed and listen as He speaks to me through His Word.
I was a little surprised when I felt prompted to go to these verses from Song of Solomon. After all, I'm studying in Ephesians. But, I'm so glad that I did! Did you know that, according to Philippians 3:1, it is not irksome that the Lord tell us and teach us things over and over? I love that! Because, I had missed something when I had been in this passage before... Verse 5 of Chapter 1 records the bride saying, "I am very dark, but lovely..."
She believed what He said about her! I have always stopped one step short of this! I have no problem with the "I'm dark" part. There are a million things about myself that I wish were different for Jesus' sake! I'm learning to believe that He thinks I'm lovely. But, did you catch what she says? "I am very dark BUT lovely" (emphasis mine). She took what He said about her and believed it about herself!
As I wrote once before (http://spaciousplace-karrie.blogspot.com/2009/08/rose-colored-glasses.html), I thought the Lord wore rose-colored glasses where I was concerned. Not true. When God speaks something, it IS. He spoke the world into being (Genesis 1). His Words do not return to Him void (Isaiah 55:11). My response needs to be like that of Mary when the Lord sent Gabriel to tell her that she had been chosen to be the mother of Jesus, "let it be to me according to Your word" (Luke 1:38).
I am so-loved, even in my world-scorched condition, that God sent His Son to die for my sins (John 3:16, Romans 5:8). He says that, because of Jesus, I am holy and blameless in His sight (Ephesians 1:4). Because of Jesus, I am lovely!
Come on friends, you've seen it before. A woman who has lived her life thinking that no one found her attractive acts the part. Her head stays low. She has low self-esteem. BUT, when all of the sudden, she comes to believe that someone thinks she is beautiful, things start to change! Her eyes lift. Her countenance changes, and she truly becomes more lovely!
Lord, please help me to truly believe that I am lovely. Help me to let that truth resonate throughout my soul this day because I know that as it does, I will become more and more who I want to be for You - who You designed me to be in You. Thank You for wooing me once again with Your Word! You are always faithful and true! I love You, Lord!
One last thing... He thinks YOU are lovely too!
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