These Things Remain....

Now we see only an indistinct image in a mirror, 

but then we will be face to face. 

Now what I know is incomplete, 

but then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 

Right now three things remain: faith, hope, and love. 

But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:12-13

FAITH

I have faith. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Messiah and Lord. In His power to heal and save. I have faith. Faith in our heavenly Father who created all things through His breath and His Word.

Or so I think.... Or so I say....  But do I? Do I really?

A series of unfortunate events have entered our family scenario over the past five years or so. Small but significant in our lives. As time goes on, they bare increasingly collective weight upon us emotionally, physically and financially.

Things have intensified during the past several months in almost all these areas.  As Jacob did, I found myself wrestling with God on more than one occasion about many of these things.  Asking for His blessing. I've been on my knees in prayer many hours for many months over many of the same things. I do recognize the testing here. Waiting for the mountain to move. Waiting for the persistence in prayer to pay off. Waiting for resolution or absolution, whatever the case may be. It has not come. The pressure increases. The waiting is difficult. I know in my mind that the waiting will bear fruit but I struggle still.

Hard questions like this one come forth in hard times. The testing and trials of this life.  God wants us to back up our words with action. We say we have faith in Him but do we really mean it? He will test us in our faith. Guaranteed.

Do I have faith that He exists? Yes. Do I have faith that He sent His son to die for my transgressions, be raised again on the third day to new life? Yes. Do I believe that by confessing, repenting and receiving His gift of salvation, I receive His grace daily and have a future in eternity. Yes and Amen!

But yet....  Do I have true faith? If I don't have true faith, then I don't trust Him, do I?

Faith and Trust

Faith and trust go hand-in-hand.  Only through pure faith can you have complete trust in the Lord Almighty.  After all, He is unseen and often works in mysterious ways. You can't see Him, touch Him, smell Him. Not in absolutes like the things of this world. He defies explanation. He is beyond human comprehension. He is not of this world. Not of flesh but spirit. His instruction manual is one book, His Holy Word. Sounds simple but yet it isn't. He talks through prophets, apostles, angels, kings, parables and His Spirit. His technical school is on-the-job training through the school of 'hard knocks' in walking through this life one day at a time.  It takes a lifetime to learn His will and His ways.

Faith earns its muscle through the testing and trials of this life.  We do believe yet we lack faith. Our faith is often shallow.  We like to live in the faith that fulfills our human desires rather than the desires that God has for us. He desires us to become more like Him and acquire the things that are not of this world. To live in the Spirit rather than the flesh.

As long as things are flowing smoothly in our lives, we stand confident in our faith. However, when the winds of change blow our way and our world is turned upside down by the unforeseen, unexpected circumstances, we waiver. We grasp to hold onto something secure, something within our sphere of influence. We want to take control. We often put our faith in our own abilities to fix things. Our pure faith falters. Our trust walks right out the door taking our faith with it.  We fall on our faces suffering the consequences of lack of faith.

But then we remember Who is always in control.  Of EVERYTHING.

Who has ascended to heaven, and then descended? 

Who has collected the wind in His hands? 

Who has wrapped up waters in a garment? 

Who has established all the farthest points of the earth? 

What is His name, and what is His son’s name? Surely you know! 

Proverbs 30:4

HOPE

As this journey continues, I find myself taking things one day at a time most of the time. Thanking Him for life and breath, for blessings, and focusing on the positives. Having faith.  But then, the darkness will begin to close in, the oppressiveness of the situation looms large, and I cry out in desperation and fear. I have lost hope.  I have lost sight of the One Who is control of everything.

I must walk by faith and not by sight.   For we live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7  If I lose hope, I have a faith that falters. I forget that He is in control. That He works all things together for good. That He is for me, not against me.

In the trials and the testing, do I falter in my hope because of fear and doubt? Do I take Him at His Word and believe ALL of His promises or do I subject His Word to my own interpretations? Most importantly, is my love for Him conditional upon a smooth, trial-free life?

I need to remind myself that I can make my plans but He directs my steps. Do I place my hope in myself or in other people?  Do I place my hope in the things of this world?  My reasoning is faulty at best because I don't see the whole picture. I lack His vision.

LOVE

Perfect love casts out fear.  When I have doubt or fear, my love for Him is wavering. If our love for Him is pure, then we can boldly stand in victory no matter what the circumstance. We can trust in His ways and His will.

Love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Everyday and in every circumstance. Faith, Hope, Love. Fully devoted in heart and soul demonstrated by a fullness of walking life out in faith in His promises. Having the mind of Christ, to walk like Him, talk like Him, do what He would do. Living in the power of His love and pouring it out on others.

And, if love is the greatest of these, then we must walk out our lives in fullness of faith and hope knowing, beyond a doubt, that He is true to His Word always.  That He is LOVE. His love is honest, pure and unconditional. Our love for Him should be rooted in Who He is and not what He does for us.

FAITH, HOPE and LOVE

Faith, hope and love--they work together for our good. Faith and hope produce trust, obedience, surrender, peace, and the unsurpassed, unconditional love that He desires.  We want what He wants. Our will becomes as His. We must have a secure faith and unrelenting hope in Him to love Him as He deserves. Our relationship with God becomes more important than anything. As we draw closer to Him, He draws closer to us. The darkness will gradually fade and everything will be brought into His marvelous light. 

Faith, hope and love. They give us humility and confidence as we approach the throne of grace. With purity in these three things, we win the spiritual battle and attain perfect peace. His is our peace. We are solely devoted to Him through a pure faith, hope and love. Nothing can separate us!

But now, in union with the Messiah Jesus, 

you who once were far away have been brought near 

by the blood of the Messiah.

For it is he who is our peace. 

Ephesians 2:13-14

May the God of peace Himself 

make you holy in every way. 

And may your whole being—spirit, soul, and body—remain blameless 

when our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, appears. 

1 Thessalonians 5:23

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers,

 nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 

  nor anything above, nor anything below, nor anything else in all creation

 can separate us from the love of God

 that is ours in union with the Messiah Jesus, our Lord. 

Romans 8:38-29

HELP SOMEONE

Matthew 25:

³¹ “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit upon His glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered in His presence, and He will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will place the sheep at His right hand and the goats at his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.  

³⁵ For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. ³⁶ I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’


We often read these words and think of His instructions as physical--food, shelter, clothing--and indeed they are indicating provision for the physical life sustenance of others.
 
What image pops into your mind when we talk about preaching the gospel?  A sermon in church perhaps?  A Christian magazine article about the Good News? Going door to door and talking to others about salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord?  

Let's take a deeper look at the meaning of these words with spiritual eyes. Let's see them with an eternal vision rather than just temporal.

'For I was hungry, and you fed me.'  The Bread of Life [Jesus]

'I was thirsty and you gave me a drink.'  The Living Water [Jesus]

'I was a stranger and you invited me into your home.'

 Open doors to the Body of Christ and His Eternal Home without judgment.

I was naked, and you gave me clothing.  To be clothed in His righteousness.

'I was sick and you cared for me.'

Ministry to the spiritually wounded and broken 

through prayer, encouragement and edification.

'I was in prison and you visited me.'

Ministry to those in spiritual bondage 

breaking the chains of addiction, idol worship, and generational sin.

Herein lies the gospel message in two forms: 1) the physical needs and 2) the spiritual needs.  

So often we hear about and/or focus upon the physical needs of others.  We reach out to those who are lacking with donations such as money, food and clothing. We provide work programs for the unemployed. We serve at soup kitchens. We give our used clothing, canned goods and toys to those less fortunate. 

Those who are physically less fortunate come to mind very quickly. I don't know about you but my mailbox (both snail mail and email) are constantly full of requests for food, clothing and monetary donations. There is a huge need for ministry of all types in this area at home and abroad.


“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? ³⁹ When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

But, there is more....!  How often to we think about the spiritual needs of others? We think about eternal life and internal peace. But how often do we consider the gospel message in terms of spiritual well being and provision?


  
⁴¹ “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. ⁴² For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink.  I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

⁴⁴ “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’


There are those among us who need to hear THIS gospel message. The spiritual healing and life transforming side of the gospel. Those who are churched as well as unchurched.  Those who don't know of His saving grace and His unconditional love. Those who have already received Christ as their Lord yet their walk with Him has gone astray.  They may live in abundance physically but they are struggling spiritually with carnality yet claim to know the truth of our Savior. They are not living the abundant life. Not walking in the His light but still in bondage to darkness.

We have a mission field in our neighborhoods, in our churches, in our communities! Right in our own backyard. so to speak. Hurting, needy people who need to know the depth of the love of our Lord and the power of His Spirit.  Even those of us with a roof over our head, food in our bellies and clothes on our backs. We may not be physically deprived but we are suffering spiritually in many ways.

• In an increasingly darkening world, we all need His Living Water and the Bread of Life to sustain us daily. 

• We need to be clothed in His righteousness to discover His grace and be able to extend it to others so they, too, can be clothed in righteousness. 

• We need to extend hospitality in our churches, in our homes and in our hearts as a beacon of hope and comfort, a safe haven.  Without judgment.

• We need to bear one another's burdens, pray for one another without ceasing, repent, speak life to one another.

• We need to provide ministry to truly set the captives free by teaching and preaching truth with boldness. We must die to self daily to be made new again and again. Hearts will be made new. Chains of bondage will be broken. Lives will be healed.

This message is the whole Gospel of Jesus the Christ.  This gospel is how we change the world and prepare a people for the coming Day of the Lord!

⁴⁵ “And He will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these My brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

⁴⁶ “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”


It is not enough to say "yes" to His gift of grace.  We cannot reject His gift of transformation, of healing, and spiritual renewal. We must say 'yes' to ALL of His ways and be changed from the inside out.  It is a package deal!

Be a witness for the WHOLE GOSPEL MESSAGE. Live holy lives. Profess His truth. Share your testimony and your grace with others. Let us ALL be ready for the return of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Let no one be left behind but lead everyone down the road to eternal life!

IN THE EYE OF THE HURRICANE

For the past six months, I've been on a boat in the middle of the sea....with Jesus, Son of the Living God.

He invited me there. I stepped out in faith, out of my comfort zone, into uncharted waters. Reluctantly. In submission to His will. Not my choice but His. Surrounded by uncertainty (to some degree). Waiting....

My sea has not been one of glass just yet. Still some waves crashing on the sides now and then. The wind was still, quiet sometimes, leaving us a drift which left me wondering a bit. Nonetheless, I remained in the boat as I know it is not time to get out of the boat just yet.

God has been faithful, during this quiet time, in providing blessings along the way to bring me peace and focus while I wait. He has given me an abundance of opportunity to spend time with Him in prayer, in fasting, in study and in fellowship.

Sailing was relatively smooth until January. Then I was hit by a very unexpected storm. It built slowly but, in a matter of days, it became a hurricane!

I came down with pneumonia. A very serious case of pneumonia. So much so that I became hospitalized. First time ever!

At first, the doctors weren't sure it was pneumonia. The antibiotics didn't appear to be effective. I was poked with way too many needles, hooked up to a symphony of noisy machines, exposed to too many gamma rays (my husband tells me I don't yet glow in the dark) and had a thermometer stuck in my mouth more times in a week than I did a fork! A good night's sleep was reduced to multiple catnaps during the course of a 24 hour period. A shower consisted of dry soap used in the important areas; the rest of me had to wait for a week for the kind of soap you use with water. Not the hotel of my choosing!

My heart missed my family. I missed my own bed, my own pillow, my shower and my kitchen. The thought of death did cross my mind (as people do die from pneumonia)......

......but only for a moment! All those weeks of abiding in Him were beginning to bear fruit! From the first moment in the doctor's office, into the ER, and once admitted. In an instant. I did not recognize myself.......because it wasn't me, it was the power of His Spirit.

My normal questioning, anticipating-the-worst self took a hiatus! No feelings of stress or panic. I surrendered to His will at that moment and became transformed. I had peace, I was calm. My eyes were on Him. I was truly in the eye of the storm! I heard Him speaking to me in chaos and through circumstances, saw Him in the people who came to visit me, those who helped with meals for my family, and helped out with home schooling. I sensed His love and saw His provision.

   It is not that I am looking for a gift. 

No, I want to see that you receive the fruit that increases to your benefit.  

 I have been paid in full and have more than enough. 

I am fully supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus what you sent—a fragrant aroma, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.   

And my God will fully supply your every need 

according to his glorious riches in the Messiah Jesus.   

Glory belongs to our God and Father forever and ever! Amen. 

Phillipians 4:17-20

And, I became empowered through His Spirit to minister to others. I took my focus off of my pain and struggle, focusing instead upon others in the hospital. I took personal interest in almost everyone who I came in contact with during my stay. Even when they were sticking me with needles, giving me treatments, or taking me to the X-ray lab in a wheelchair. Despite my illness, my mind and heart had the energy to touch the lives of others. By His provision. By His grace.

The joy it brought me to be used in this way by God is indescribable. The sense of purpose in Him was magnified in me. Through it all, He was glorified!

Our gracious Lord took a stressful, unpleasant experience and truly used it for good and for His glory. I am healed physically by His hand as I did most of my recovery at home without antibiotics. I am healed spiritually by His power within me as I yielded to His sovereignty, His authority, and died a spiritual death to self in that moment. Thy will be done.

 Jeremiah said, “They won’t turn you over. Obey the Lord 

in what I’m telling you, and it will go well for you and you will live.   

But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the Lord has shown me:  

Look, all the women who are left in the house of the king of Judah 

will be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon, and will say,

‘These friends of yours have mislead you
    and overcome you.
Your feet have sunk down into the mire,
    but they have turned away.’

Jeremiah 38:20-22

No struggle, no questioning, just obedience. In turn, He empowered me to touch lives, to bring light, to speak life into others. To be a light in a dark world, in a place filled with stress and suffering. Even when my own circumstances had dark possibilities. Therein lies the beauty of His provision. He knew the hurricane was coming and He prepared me for it during those months of quiet. He prepared me to survive it, to overcome, and to serve Him.  Not just through submission. Through surrender. This time it was my choice! He showed me the way....

I'm still in the boat riding the wind and the waves with my Savior. It is still not time to step out onto the water just yet. My hospital experience was a test run. My strength comes from my God alone. And, the victory belongs to Jesus!

EVER AFTER

I have two clocks--one in the master bath and one in the master bedroom--that are battery powered with moving hands and numbers on the face.  The 'old fashion' type. They both make a ticking sound to count the seconds.

As I sat in silence in my bedroom one morning, I noticed something disconcerting about these dueling clocks. One clock was, ever so slightly, just ahead of the other clock. I would hear a 'tick' followed immediately by another 'tick'. Again, again, again.  If I focused on the noise long enough, it started making me feel a bit nervous and unsettled. Something that is suppose to be rhythmic and soothing became rather disturbing! Praise be to our Creator for creating rhythm, balance, and order out of potential chaos. (Well, at least for me anyway...).


This ticking echo reminded me of God's timing. He is transcendent in time and space moving in and out freely without being confined to one place or one moment in time. He is everywhere all the time. Time does not matter to Him. He operates freely without the confines of time. He manages multidimensional time with ease!

How amazingly liberating! But, alas, this transcendent gift is not for us. Not yet. Now, time belongs only to Him. We are ruled by time. Not only our appointments, our calendars, our waking and sleeping, our eating but in life and in death. Even in one dimensional time, we find it difficult to manage. And, it is only by His providence that we receive the gift of time; He holds our every moment in His hands.

"Time and tide wait for no man." Geoffrey Chaucer

What a comforting picture that should be for us in the here and now. God is in control of all of it. He knows the end from the beginning and the beginning from the end. He is everywhere and in everything.  Way too much responsibility for me! Way too much to do and to be in charge of at any given moment. Too much juggling!

Let's rest in our transcendent God. Let's rest in His divine ability to manage every detail of everything simultaneously.   What a precious gift: His Word is Truth,  He Himself is love. He knows every thought before we think it, every word before we speak it, every hair on our head. (Talk about detail oriented!) His purpose is pure. We can trust Him with every detail in our lives. We can rest, truly rest, in Him. Whew! Let us manage it wisely as it is a gift to be used for His glory. Our time is in GOOD hands!

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He CARES for YOU [emphasis mine]. 1 Peter 5:7

He saves the best for last--this gift of transcendence. For life ever after. We will be transformed, a new creation, a new beginning with a divine nature. As transcendent as He is now. We will use it for His purpose, for His glory in ways that we cannot, at this moment, begin to fathom. I want to be a part of that.....when the right time has come!

 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. 

Hebrews 6:17-20

IN THE GARDEN - Cultivating Our Relationship with the Lord

The Promise

Promise.

The promise of love. Never faltering. Unfailing. Forever.

The promise of life. Then. Now. Later.

The promise of safety. Strong tower. Shelter. Shade.

The promise of purpose. In Spirit. In Truth. In Love.

The promise of hope. Seen. Unseen. Eternal.

The promise of tomorrow. Here. There. Beyond.

The promise of blessing. Imagined. Unimagined. Impossible.

The promise of accomplishment. Purpose. Plan. Empowered.

The promise of forgiveness. Certain. Faithful. Done.

The promise of faithfulness. In the good. In the dark. In the storm.

The promise of wisdom. Ask. Receive. Impart.

The promise of friendship. Brothers. Sisters. Family.

The promise of compassion. Grace. Love. Life.

The promise of freedom. Healing. Spirit. Die to live.

The promise of rest. Freed. Restored. Redeemed.

The promise of joy. Fire. Anointed. Salvation. 

The promise of victory. Overcomer. Greater. Lord.

The Christ.

Jesus.

Son of Man, Son of God.

Beauty unfolded; Love Divine.

THE Promise.

THE Gift of God.

For you. For me. For love.........

Forever!

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,  that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,  whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,  receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 1:6-9

THE GAP FILLER

The 'gap'.  As Christians, we hear this term often throughout our walk. It is usually used in the conjunction with the word 'separation.' Most appropriately. Our separation from God: the gap between sinfulness and righteousness.

A friend and fellow servant of mine has been in the midst of intense spiritual battle for many moons now. Attacks on health, emotional well being, and physical temptations among various family members.  She has been on her knees constantly and asking others to do so as well. She wants to make it right. She is worn out and desperate. She needs rest.

My friend recently used the word ‘gap’ when describing her feelings of separation between truth and emotion. How poignant!  Knowing God's Word, knowing what she should do but being unable to separate herself emotionally from the pain and suffering to do what she knows she should. Wanting control but not being in control. Wanting to do 'the right thing' but not knowing exactly what that looks like.

“I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one." Ezekiel 22:30

She needs a gap filler, THE gap filler. It is His grace that fills that ‘gap’! In His grace, and only there, will we find true rest.  Not absolution of responsibility. Not a free ticket to do what we like. A willingness to let go and let God do what He must.  A heart surrendered to Him knowing He knows best.  Not trying by our own might to make it right. Just knowing that He already has....

We don't need to fix it. He has done that for us. We need to experience the fullness of spiritual rest in not feeling like we need to be perfect in word and deed at every moment.  Rest from the pressure that we need to orchestrate every moment of life constantly planning and preparing to avoid the next catastrophe. Freedom to live our lives, love our families, and accept our appearances just as they are and as God has intended them to be (especially as Christians). Perfection is unattainable to us in this life yet we constantly strive to achieve it on our own.

Picture Jesus in the garden before His crucifixion…  Few looked upon Him as being perfect yet He was/is Perfection.You just know darkness was closing in, the weight of the evil one’s presence, the burden of sin.  Heavy on His heart and mind. He saw it, heard it, experienced it, bore it. He prayed, He struggled, He was obedient. He chose to submit all to the will of the Father. He let go and, because he let go, He bridged that gap for us then and He does it now. By His grace. Christ alone is THE Gap Filler. Nothing we do can compare or ever fill that place....

Strive for peace not for perfection. He knows your struggle. Experience freedom in Him. You are not expected to react ‘perfectly’ in every situation. You are human and of the flesh. He knows.  He uses this time to draw us near and draw near to us.  He knows your heart. He covers us, especially during these times, with His gift of grace.  Embrace that gift; it will bring you peace. Experience rest in Him. It is truly not meant to be easy; it is meant to grow us in ways that are often difficult and painful as we let go and let God have His way. Your beautiful obedience will help you through the darkest of times.

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. Isaiah 9:2

I’ve been there, in my own ways, many times before. Those dark, lonely places. Gather together with like-minded brothers and sisters to pray and chat. I can think of nothing more important for this journey through despair than precious prayer and fellowship! Surround yourself with light. Edify and encourage one another and remind each other of His constant grace that overcomes our weakness and love that conquers all. His grace that fills the gap and shines light to shatter the darkness.

So, rest and rejoice. Repent and recommit as He breathes life and light into your life through His amazing grace. I pray for your peace as you become perfected through the pain and trial and for you to see the beauty in the struggle as you become more like Him! Praise Him for His goodness and grace!