Eyes of Grace

I just want to throw out a reminder that is on my heart today after talking with a friend last night...

Don't judge people's heart motives; judge only their fruit. That's what the Word says. Instead of saying don't judge, we would be better to say don't condemn. Judgement, we are instructed to do...it is when and how that we need to get straight.

Don't compare yourself or your family or your anything to any other...only to Jesus...The Word.

Remember when we read in Colossians about Paul encouraging them not to judge about how people do things...whether they observe certain festivals or not, etc...? Really ask God to make it revelation to you that there is now NO condemnation because you and your Christian brothers and sisters are IN Jesus.

Don't fall into any condemnation about how your family celebrates this time of year. Walk out what God puts on your heart. Don't compare your family or traditions to others...examine them before the Word.

I remember last year watching a lot of strife in the Body of Christ on whether we should be in a church building on Christmas because it fell on a Sunday. At a time we should have been lifting up Jesus everywhere because we ARE the Church, sadly many high and lofty opinions were being lifted up and separating the Body instead.

Who are we to say what another's walk should look like? The Bible is full of examples that didn't look like good ones on the surface, but God confounded the wise and logical thinkers with what looked like a whole hot mess of foolishness!

If I have learned anything, it is to not put God in a box. It definitely wouldn't have "looked" holy or right for little virgin Mary to be pregnant with our Savior or for Joseph to be with a pregnant fiance! "Pregnant by divine intervention you say Joseph? You really believe her? Bhaaaa!" I'm sure there were many condemning fellow believers in their midst, but the Word of Truth lets us clearly know that both of them had upstanding character (fruit) and what looked to be scandalous was the very hand of God working!

We can feel so certain that we know what someone else should or should not be doing...that if they are not doing it like us they must be wrong or in sin. We can feel like we are wrong by comparing ourselves to others. Jesus came to free us all from that garbage! Don't fall into it. Don't waste time feeling badly. Do what YOU are called to do and go light your sphere of influence!

Our walks look different because we are all created individually. We all have different calls and different people to reach.

So in this season or whatever circumstance you may be in, don't waste time feeling condemned about not doing something someone else is or about doing something another person is not. Seek God's plan for YOUR life and trust that in our differences, He is building pieces of a very beautiful puzzle...that we can help one another experience the many aspects of Him by looking through the eyes of grace!

Lukewarm? NO! Zealous!

Paul tells the Colossians that he has agonized for them and others because he wants them so badly to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love...to have complete confidence that they understand God's mysterious plan, which IS Christ himself...and that in Christ, ALL the treasure of wisdom and knowledge are hidden! Then he goes on to say that if anyone tells them differently, those peeps are trying to deceive them.

I love Paul's zeal! I want his heart for others...believers and non-believers! I want to feel the burden on my heart to pray for others and think of others before myself! I want to be consumed with the want of leading anyone and everyone to Christ himself so all people can find the treasures!!! Too often I want these things second to whatever is going on in my little world. Anyone else experience this?

Then Paul tells them that even though he is away from them, his heart is with them. I think I love this so much because it is so real and raw. I mean, how often do we feel this? My physical body may be in one place, but my heart, thoughts, yearnings are with another...with a friend who is in the depths of heartache, etc.... I think I always enjoy spending time with Paul in the Word because I can identify so much with him, yet I still want to be more like him!

My study note spoke of Paul's warning against deception and how he wanted this letter passed on to the church at Laodicea...the one that Jesus later rebukes for being lukewarm! God always raises up a forthtelling prophetic voice of warning to bring believers back to the right path! Praise Him! 

WE have to be vigilant that we are not deceived in these days. We can only do that through knowing the Word. We can only know the Word by soaking in it. God flipped my mindsets and homeschool upside down this year by focusing us on the Word first and foremost and fitting everything else into it, instead of fitting "Bible" into 20 minutes a day. When this world, this economic system, this government that is denying God comes crashing down, I want my family standing on the Rock of Salvation. I want to be about the "right" things. I have NO DESIRE to be lukewarm.

Make time for the Word friends. It is your lifeline of truth! Don't let other things take precedence! Praying for us all

Do Hard Things!

I started reading a book this morning called Do Hard Things,  and I can't stop the tears. I don't know why fully yet, but I am grieved partly because when Garrison (our oldest son, 14) read it, he began to talk about things and be stirred up about things and now I see that I didn't catch his vision and he probably didn't know how to articulate it exactly. I know God will show me what to do about that now, but this also sparked something else in me.

I think as parents we often don't utilize our full weight of influence. We back down and don't want to push our kids too much. We often don't see all the lies of society we have bought into that don't line up biblically. This book is about how we have come to expect so little of teens...like the teen years are nothing more than a vacation time with the only responsibilities being some schoolwork and a few chores. Find that in the Bible. You won't. It isn't there.

The teen years are a preparation time, just as they were for Jesus, but likewise, Jesus was already starting to step out in His call as He was young and meeting with the teachers. My point? Raise your standards for your kids. Give them opportunity to rise to them. Give them the grace to fall, but inspire them to soar!

So they don't even believe they say? Make them prove to you why. Have a night designated for family study where you all dive in and find out how the Bible is truly God's Word or isn't. Don't think you have to have all the answers. Just explore good questions and let God pierce the heart. Change the tide in your home. Set a standard and call them to it...of course seeing to it that you discipline yourself first and foremost. You don't need to call it Bible study and freak them out. Call it family time with a purpose. Whatever...just hold them accountable for whatever they claim and tell them whatever it is, they need to be strong in it. Make them own it. Don't just let them run their mouth. This is a big deal. Their eternity depends on it.

Be very careful what advice you follow in how you handle your children. Don't cave to man-made philosophy that you will push your child away or crush their heart,.. etc... by setting a Godly standard in your home. After all, it was God who said to teach His Word and ways DILIGENTLY to your children all throughout your days with them!

Don't be willing to simply stand by and wait and hope they will believe or grow. You only have the influence you do as long as they live with you. Don't let that pass you by. No, you cannot shove Jesus or growth into them. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink right? But remember this...if you keep him there long enough, he will get thirsty!

I challenge you today to seek the Lord on how He wants to anoint you to take your household deeper...even your church, community, nation, and world! Don't put God in a limited box. With Him, one person changed the world. It won't look the same in your home as it does in another persons.  Be you. Let God lead you to impact your people!

Be willing. Be courageous. DO HARD THINGS and trust God for the end result. Let Jesus truly reign supreme through you!

Praying for Others

I am doing a study in Colossians with some other women, and I have been reminded of the importance of praying for our brethren around the world. Paul prayed ALWAYS for his brethren.

My prayer based on Col 1: 1-14

Father,

I give you thanks for the faith and love in your children all around the world, which comes from the confident assurance we have in you! I thank you that our lives are bearing fruit for your glory as we grow deeper in our understanding of grace. I ask you to give us complete knowledge of your will, spiritual wisdom, and understanding, so that the way we live will always honor and please you Lord. May our lives produce every kind of good fruit, and may we grow as we learn to know you better and better. Thank you for strengthening us with all your glorious power so we will have the endurance and patience we need with joy. May we always be thankful to you, for you have enabled us to share in the inheritance that belongs to Jesus. Praise you that we are rescued from the rebel kingdom of darkness to serve a rightful King who purchased our freedom with His very blood!

I think I will print this out and keep it in my Bible and become more like Paul, praying God's Word over his children!

Be encouraged today family :) Greater is he in us than the one who is in this world!

Be Careful With Your Promise!

Recently, when asked by my friend if I thought she should share with others what God has recently revealed is coming down the line for her, I shared this:  I don't think it's wrong for you to hold on to your intimate kiss from your King. I think too many people are limited to today and can't see the big picture. The last thing you want is nay-sayers, pushers, nosy questioners, etc... This is yours to walk out. I would write about it in a journal because one day you will want to testify and minister about how to be joyful in the waiting for a promise. The best gift you can give others right now is not the details of your business, but the overflow of peace that you are gaining from trusting. You don't need anyone saying anything that will keep your eyes on the gifts more than the Gift-giver. One thing I know for sure...how you walk with God through this will determine how long you walk...just like the Israelites in the wilderness. It could have been an 11 day journey, but because of their focus and attitude, it ended up being 40 years! They let their eyes shift from Him to them...from what He wanted to what they wanted. He purposefully led them to the wilderness FIRST before the Promised Land TO TEACH THEM HOW TO WORSHIP HIM just so they wouldn't worship their reward. In God's great love for us as His children, He will not allow us to have idols before Him.

I'll Pray for You!

Lately, I have been thinking about how often we throw this phrase around but rarely make good on our commitment.

Does that happen to anyone else out there?  I think sometimes there really is good intention and legitimate forgetfulness, but I hate to think of all the times we have missed opportunities to make a difference.

I have tried to change this habit in my life.  I heard someone say once that we should just stop what we are doing right then and there and pray for the person asking!

As I have adopted this act of selflessness and love, I have been rewarded so unexpectedly.  From tears of joy or sorrow to smiles and hugs of relief, I have watched the sincere words sent to heaven's ears melt the hardest hearts of stone and bring peace to the most confused souls.  What an easy way to give love and hope.

I know there are nay-sayers out there who don't even think prayer is anything more than a wish lost in the wind...and for those precious people, my heart breaks. 

Blessedly, I know better!  I KNOW beyond any shadow of doubt that God is real and He hears every word I speak and even every thought I think!

I remember awaking early one morning, around 5 A.M. and sensing this urgent burden to pray.  For three hours I would lie in the bed, praying anything and everything I could think of to pray.  At 8 A.M., when alas I had to get up and get myself ready for the day, I continued to carry the burden to intercede.

I did not know for whom or what I was calling on heaven to intervene.  I hadn't the slightest idea of what was so heavy that it needed attention!

My sons began to rise and roam, and two of the young ladies living with us at the time were likewise getting ready for their day.  One would be taking the other to the airport to catch a flight.  They asked if two of my boys could ride along, and having no reason to hesitate to allow them time with their "big sisters," I, of course, agreed.

The oldest son remained at home with me, but within a half hour, I received the call no parent ever wants.  There had been an accident.

I was told everyone was fine, but left immediately to go see for myself.  My husband met me along the way, and Garrison and I jumped in the van with him.  

As we pull up to the scene of the accident, we have to slow down to a stop on the side of the interstate.  I  look over to the ramp, my eyes searching for signs of my "babies," and I see the side of the little sedan stuck on the front of a semi truck.  The truck had pushed the small car  up the ramp!


As plain as day, I heard these words, "This is what you were praying about."


I am overjoyed to report that NOT ONE of my loved ones was hurt in any way, other than shaken up, and neither was the truck driver.


How might that morning have gone down differently if I had been too sleepy or too busy to pray?  Only God knows for sure, but I know the lesson I learned that day!


Friends...God sees and knows everything, and He yearns for us to believe that!

Psalm 139

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

¹ O Lord, you have examined my heart
    and know everything about me.
² You know when I sit down or stand up.
    You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
³ You see me when I travel
    and when I rest at home.
    You know everything I do.
⁴ You know what I am going to say
    even before I say it, Lord.
⁵ You go before me and follow me.
    You place your hand of blessing on my head.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too great for me to understand!

⁷ I can never escape from your Spirit!
    I can never get away from your presence!
⁸ If I go up to heaven, you are there;
    if I go down to the grave,^[a] you are there.
⁹ If I ride the wings of the morning,
    if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
    and your strength will support me.
¹¹ I could ask the darkness to hide me
    and the light around me to become night—
¹²     but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
    Darkness and light are the same to you.

¹³ You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
¹⁵ You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
    as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
¹⁶ You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.

¹⁷ How precious are your thoughts about me,^[b] O God.
    They cannot be numbered!
¹⁸ I can’t even count them;
    they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
    you are still with me!

¹⁹ O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
    Get out of my life, you murderers!
²⁰ They blaspheme you;
    your enemies misuse your name.
²¹ O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
    Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
²² Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
    for your enemies are my enemies.

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ Point out anything in me that offends you,
    and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

  

Tired of Hypocrisy? Then Stop It!

The definition of hypocrisy is a pretense of having virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess.

I have heard this term thrown around since I was a young girl.  I have heard it spewed out venomously toward others in judgment.

I have never liked it.  

I have never liked the way it sounds coming out of someone,nor the way it made the other person look or respond.  

I certainly didn't like the way it made my mother hurt when it was speared at her, just because she was trying to do what she thought best.  

I have never had someone launch that particular word at me yet, but I have definitely gotten the same message...the attitude...the spirit...

the judgment.  That's really what it is.  It is someone's perception of another.

I have seen a lot of these judgments slashing lately, especially through Facebook.  I have watched it happen over all kinds of issues, not just religious belief.  

Some examples:  how someone parents, how someone spends their money, what music someone listens to, how and when someone writes on their blog, what type of schooling someone does with their children, what someone eats, how someone cuts their hair, what kind of car someone drives, how big of a house someone lives in, what kind of mission work someone does, which school someone goes to, which country someone chooses to visit, how many children someone has...

I wish that was the exhausted list, but sadly I could go on.  Do you see what I see?

Judgment...everywhere...about anything and everything!

It sickens me to see it in other people, but the main thing I want to keep before me is that it sickens me to see it IN ME!

One of my daily prayers has become, "Lord help me to see each person with your eyes today.  Help my first thoughts to be of true love and nothing judgmental.  I can't do it in my own power!"  


And there is the key.


We are ALL human.  NOT ONE of us is perfect.  NOT ONE of us is exempt from judgmental thoughts in our minds.  No matter what religious theology we choose, no matter our background, our color, our upbringing, WE ALL FALL SHORT!

Those who dare call themselves Christian seem to get watched the most.  I think this is because we are willing to stand up and say, "This is the standard by which I choose to try to live."  Those who don't affiliate with certain groups get the freedom of a little more leeway in how they get to behave toward others.  We don't know exactly what standards they are trying to live by and therefore we can't point the finger as easily when we think they may have screwed up! We are left wondering what they think about what they said or did, but we can readily see if it doesn't meet the standard WE choose to live by. 


Personally, I have the best intentions most days to not pass judgment on others.  I constantly try to remind myself that most of us are doing the best we know how!  Yet, I still find myself having those thoughts, and when I am really not diligent about my thought-life, I find myself saying something I shouldn't say about someone else!!!

UGH!  I HATE WHEN I THINK AWFUL THINGS ABOUT OTHERS, AND I REALLY HATE WHEN I LET THAT POISON OOZE OUT!  I MEAN, I DON'T WAKE UP IN THE MORNING AND MAKE PLANS TO HURT OTHER PEOPLE!  DO YOU?  DO YOU REALLY THINK EVERYONE ELSE DOES???


Problem is, these things can't be taken back.  Once they are out there, that's it.  Most of the time, I really believe people are only reacting out of insecurities, fears, or hurtful experiences of their own past.  I don't believe they are setting out to maliciously hurt others any more than I am.  BUT, the fact remains that it happens, doesn't it?  And sometimes WE are the guilty party!


What a difference it would make if we would all remember that WE ALL DO IT AT SOME POINT!  


I can't fathom calling someone a hypocrite, for I can't imagine I will ever attain a place in this human life where I won't be one in some way or another!  Do I want to be?  NO!  Do I try not to be?  YES!  But do I fail?  YOU BETCHA!


So, this is just a challenge to all the "humans" out there, despite your specifics of religion, race, culture, etc... try to daily lay down your judgments of other people and focus on yourself because truth is:  YOU CANNOT CALL OR SEE SOMEONE ELSE JUDGMENTAL WITHOUT PASSING A JUDGMENT OF YOUR OWN!


Sobering isn't it?  We ALL have work to do, don't we?  


For me, I know it is ONLY my understanding of the Word of God and my intimate relationship with Jesus that keeps me trying to walk in love.  I know who I am and how I am without HIM.  I have tried it both ways, and I am disgusting without the conviction of the wisdom of God!

I didn't need a Savior because I was terrific!  I needed one because I was a mess...in my thoughts, my attitudes, my actions, everything!


And sometimes...somedays, guess what?  I'm still a mess.  Accepting Him, believing in His atonement on my behalf, didn't make me less human; it just gave me a fighting chance to start over in grace every day.

I ache for those who call themselves "Christians" who aren't able to boast in their weaknesses...for those who still try to look like they have it all together.  They have sent a confusing picture to the world of what Christ came to do.  He didn't come and lay down His life to make any of us look like something perfect or even great! 

He did what He did to set us free from having to look like anything!  He did what He did to glorify the Father of all...so that every person would be drawn to a Father who loves so much that He didn't even withhold His very Son!!!  He did what He did so that we didn't have to look like Him, but so we could be like Him...the picture of love despite what is said and done to us.


I sure don't have this down.  But I sure do rest in the freedom of not having to!  I wish we could all let each other rest in that.


As my friend Becky posted today, "Lord help us ALL!"

Who am I to question God?

I recently started reading the Bible chronologically. I have tried this or other reading plans in the past and have done pretty well for a few months, once I even made it ten months but then tapered off, so pray for me that I stick to it this time. In my reading I just finished the book of Job. This book has been a source of struggle for me, not just this time, but every time I have read it. I have always struggled with this story. I have often asked why is this book even in the Bible? What am I supposed to get out of it?

This time, while reading, I kept going back over certain passages to make sure that I had not missed anything. I began getting frustrated again. Finally, I asked God to show me something, anything that I could take from my readings. Yes, it took me four days of reading before I finally went to the source but at least I did.

God then opened my eyes to a fact that I had missed before. There were actually four friends who spoke to Job. I had never really thought about it, never really paid attention because in the last part of the book it says “So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted Job’s prayer.” (Job 42:9) I felt God speak to me “What about Elihu?” And I remembered Elihu was the one who called himself young and who waited until all the others had spoken before he said anything. I had never really considered the fact that God brought correction to the other three friends and to Job but not to Elihu. I had never even really considered the fact that Elihu wasn't one of the "three" friends. I really felt God wanted me to learn something from what Elihu had said.

I then went back and looked at the account of Elihu and one thing really stood out to me, Job 32: 2-3 “Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was aroused against Job; his wrath was aroused because he justified himself rather than God. Also against his three friends his wrath was aroused, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.” I began to realize that in everything leading up to this point Job had continued to talk about how righteous he had been and that he had not deserved any of the things that had happened to him. He never cursed God or said anything bad about God but he continued to ask what he had done to cause this. His other three friends were just as bad because they each inferred that Job should take a better look at himself because he obviously had to have done something to make God strike him down like this. They condemned but offered no solution. Elihu also continued to stress that fact that God did all these mighty things and who was Job to try to convince God of his righteousness. And when God did finally speak He also asked Job who was he to question God.

This realization has continued to confirm in my heart “who” I am in Christ. It has strengthened my belief in God’s control over everything. It has made me ask “Who am I to question God and His authority?” If you pay close attention to the beginning of Job, God did not put any of those things on Job. He did “allow” things to happen and that can be the topic of another discussion, but He did not do it.

The Bible says that God is “not wanting anyone to perish” 2 Peter 3:9. Death is not His will; it is not His perfect plan. When God created man and put him in the Garden of Eden He told him that he could eat of any tree except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil that included the Tree of Life. God did, however; give man free will and he chose to eat the one that lead to death. Just think if man had chosen the other.

What I am trying to say is that God is not up in heaven with a lightning bolt waiting for me to step out of line so He can zap me. His will is that I do not perish but come to repentance. It is also His will that I have life and life more abundantly. He wants to do for me exceedingly and abundantly above all that I could even ask or desire. As I stated earlier He has also given me, and all other people free will. He has given us the ability to choose who we will serve and even if I make the right choice there are others out there that will not.

Was it God’s will that my brother in law shoot and kill a man then shoot my sister and leave her paralyzed from the waist down? Was it God’s will that a man drink and drive and kill multiple people in a car accident? Is it God’s will that countless unborn babies die daily from abortion? People make choices that affect us all. Who am I to question God and His plan? Who am I to try to blame God for what man has done?

All I can do is trust God that what He has promised will be fulfilled, either here in this life or in the next. All I can do is believe that He loved me so much that even while I was still a sinner He sent his son to die for me. All I can do is have faith that no matter what happens to me in this sin filled world that He has overcome the world! (See John 16:33) That in my weakness His strength is made perfect. That His grace is sufficient! (2 Corinthians 12:9)