When Love Is In Front Of You

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I will never walk alone for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.  Psalm 26:3

Everyone wonders what their future will hold.  Good times or hard times?  Healthy or unhealthy?  Married or unmarried?  Financially secure or living with meager provision?  Surrounded by those who love us or mostly alone?  We aren’t granted a clear picture of tomorrow but any of us who know God as our Father can know for certain one thing about our future.  In spite of uncertainty, David says that God’s love is ever before us.  Perfect Love is always and forever in our tomorrows.

If times are good, God will join me in my celebration.  If times are difficult, He will offer open arms.  If times are rewarding, He will still remind me that heaven will be better because He will be there.  If times are tragic, He will assure me that this time of tears is short in comparison to an eternity of joy.

Picture a groom, on his knees proposing, and he says in a deep and meaningful tone, “Spend your life with me.  I can’t promise you that it will always be easy but however it unfolds, I promise to be there with you and love you.”  It’s exactly what she needs.  Love.  Companionship.  Commitment.  And for any who have not known this in their human experience, Jesus is the Bridegroom who offers what is supremely better than that.  A perfect love without the imperfection of the flesh within mortal marriages.  There is perfect companionship as the groom knows His bride completely.  And there is  perfect faithfulness as this Groom never backs away.  No matter how well or how poorly the bride loves, His love is constant and true.

Your love is here now.  Your love has always sustained me.  Your love waits for me in all my tomorrows.  You are timeless and I can rest that You have traveled ahead of me.  I’m so comforted.  Amen

The Sin-Eater

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Jesus, seeing their faith said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.” But there were some of the scribes sitting there and reason in their hearts, “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; ‘who can forgive sins but God alone?” Mark 2:6-7

The scribes in this story are right. Claiming to forgive sins is a big deal and no one can do it except God but they didn’t recognize their Yahweh in the face of His Son, Jesus. People will do anything to wash themselves of nagging guilt. Most refuse to run to Jesus because their own pride convinces them that they have the power to do something about it. Never has this self-sufficiency been more twisted than with the ancient practice of choosing a sin-eater within a community.

Still in existence within rural Appalachia, this ritual originated in southern England. A sin-eater was selected from among the most despised of society. Their calling would ostracize them for life. Their role was, 1.) to live in obscurity, 2.) to appear at the home of a deceased person at the time of the funeral, 3.) perch themselves at the border of the property and wait for the casket to emerge from the house, and 4.) perform the ritual of eating bread and drinking wine. All of the sins of the deceased would be transferred to the bread/wine and enter the sin eater’s body. They were believed to be the new ‘dwelling place’ of the dead’s iniquity.

Before meeting Jesus, the hymn writer, William Cowper, succumbed to a deep depression from the weight of his own guilt. While living in a mental institution, he was known to keep washing his hands and lamenting, “My guilt, my guilt. What can wash it away?” After his conversion and having looked to Jesus to wash away his sins, he wrote, “Unless the Almighty arm had been under me, I think I should have died with gratitude and joy.” Within weeks, he wrote the words to the hymn, “There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins. And sinners cleansed beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.”

There is only one sin-eater. Jesus. He became the despised, was shunned by His people, and took on the sins of the damned. He was the sacrifice for any who will apply His blood to their iniquity. Today, we do not need to wallow in guilt nor employ a scapegoat to bear our sins. Jesus did it – and then He said, “It is finished.” 

Nagging guilt need never plague me. You are a God of closure. I repent, you forgive, and it is finished. Amen

 

Need A Foundation?

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“And He shall be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.” Isaiah 33:6

Today, I need to plant my feet on something solid.  I need to be sure of something and someone.  I need to know that my feet won’t slip and what’s under me won’t shift.

    Isaiah reveals that three building blocks make up my spiritual foundation.

  • Salvation ~ Though I was saved from eternal condemnation when I became God’s daughter, I am delivered from other things every day.  This very moment, if I turn to Abba, I can be saved from the temptation to sin, to self-condemn, to feel insecure and fearful, to indulge in self-pity, and to cave in to any other threat that would steal my sense of belovedness and peace.
  • Wisdom ~ My life can’t be navigated successfully without it.  Abba is my storehouse of wisdom.  When shall I speak?  When is silence more prudent?  What is my defense?  Which way shall I turn at the next fork in the road?  At the very foundation of my spirit, I know that Wisdom is a Person and He is not stingy with instruction.
  • Knowledge ~ Knowledge is information.  For any who love to learn and expand their mind, God is the most brilliant instructor!  While a spiritual journey is, most importantly, a journey of the heart, it is not exclusively emotional and soulful.  My mind is also engaged.  Spiritual transformation starts cognitively with knowledge and with my choice to believe that the final authority for Truth begins and ends with God.

God is the solid foundation for our times, offering us salvation, wisdom, and knowledge as cornerstones.  His offer of salvation supports the weight of our trials.  His offer of wisdom supports the weight of our fears.  His love, daily poured out, supports the weight of our distrust.

I won’t be afraid of today, Father.  Everywhere I choose to go, you give me sure footing.  I can’t help but live successfully.  Amen

Save

Not Meant For Time Travel

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But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children– Psalm 103:17

I’ve done it. Have you? I’d not only attempted to live in the present, which is God’s will for me, but I’ve lived in the past and in the future. Neither of those options is good for me.

How can I know if I am living in the past? When I rehearse the past and wish there had been a different outcome. I review what was done to me and fantasize what life might be like had I not been victimized. I also review my sins, even the unintentional mistakes I made from not knowing better, and then I ache to travel back to fix them. I live in the wonderland of wishful thinking.

How can I know if I am living in the future? When I borrow tomorrow’s trouble and decide that I can’t possibly handle what’s coming. I assess things today and think enough of my fortune telling ability to cast the future in stone. Believing that my prediction is accurate, I succumb to a lifestyle of fear. How many times have I lived in the distress of ~ “I won’t be able to handle tomorrow because . . .”

How can I have peace about the past? How can I lay aside regrets? By believing that God is a redeemer of the past. I can’t mess anything up so badly that He can’t bless me today with abundant life. His mercies started afresh at 12:01 a.m. this morning. I put the past behind me and get up every morning in the faith of His goodness.

How can I abandon a fear of what’s coming? By trusting that He’s already written the future. Nothing is going to take Him by surprise. The scriptures about tomorrow are rock solid and will sustain the weight of my expectations.

The past and the future are out of bounds. I’m not supposed to play God. He is the only one who operates outside of time. He equipped me to live today on the wings of momentary grace. The spirit of Abba Father is within me. He’s speaking scripture to my soul. He reminds me of His sustaining presence. And when needed, He sends angel reinforcements to help me in my battle.

For my yesterday’s, redeem. For today, sustain. For tomorrow, give me confidence that You’ve got it covered. Amen

We Have Been Changed

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And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. Genesis 35:10

God has always been an identity changer. One cannot be near someone like God and not be severely affected. Either one is repelled and runs the other way or is smitten by His glory and wants to make Him their home. The identity-changing nature of God has never been more evident than when He personally changed the names of people. Jacob, in spite of all of his failures, persevered with good faith intentions and God acknowledged the change in his heart with a name change. The name Jacob means ‘supplanter’….one who takes something by force through treachery. Fitting, since he tricked his brother and stole his blessing. Years later, God saw that Jacob was one who literally wrestled with Him in order to receive God’s blessing. He persevered until faith in God defined Him. God chose the name Israel for him….one who perseveres with God.

While God may not give new earthly names to every person, my identity has radically changed if I was adopted into His family. God says that I’m no longer an alien, but a resident of heaven. He says that I’m no longer an enemy, but friend. I’m no longer cursed, but blessed. I’m no longer lost, but saved. I’m no longer rejected because of my sin, I’m chosen. I’m no longer unclean, but righteous. I’m no longer without purpose, I’ve got a calling. I’m no longer hopeless, but hopeful.

Many more pages could capture more identity changers but is this short list not enough for me to ask myself, “Have I really embraced my new identity? And if not, why?” It’s hard to digest that I’m no longer who I was if people around me treat me as if nothing has changed. I’ve also got a spiritual enemy, Satan, who is bent on reinforcing, through hurtful circumstances, that I’m the same old sinner without hope.

How can I immerse myself in the wonder of a changed identity? By spending more time with the Name-Changer. He will whisper each new name in my ear if I’m engaged in a two-way conversation. Prayer is not about me talking. It’s more about Him talking. Never has His voice been more clear than in the pages of His love letter to me. Scriptures are not primarily for study. They are for the strengthening of faith. They are the words of a Father to His child. In the stillness of today, God would want me to hear, “You’re mine!”

Let me bask in the spiritual cooing that comes from running home. Amen

Fallen Through My Fingers

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He who goes forth and weeps, scattering the seed, will doubtless come back with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves. Psalm 126:6 

A harvest never comes overnight. A farmer plants seed in early spring but doesn’t expect to see anything come up in a week. He knows that seeds require early and late rains before they bring a yield.

The harvest portrayed in this verse comes to the person who walks, weeps, and then walks and weeps some more.  “Goes forth” means a continual and repetitive motion.  But the mourning isn’t hopeless.  While doing so, there is also an intentional perseverance to plant heaven’s seeds ~ the Word of God. 

Perhaps this has characterized a period in your life. You have faithfully sown the seeds of scripture. You have salted the pages of your Bible with tears. You have asked God for the faith to stand another day in the promises that transcend this season of life. But times of weariness and disillusion have set in and the seeds have fallen to the ground as you opened your fingers to let them spill out. You quit walking the boundary lines of your garden. You put your arms down and have let your hands stay limp. Expectations have been nullified by time and one disappointment after another.

So many saints know these periods. Weeping is not a sin, it is encouraged, and in fact, even a command. But for any who have given up, dried their tears, and stopped praying….our Father reminds us today to regroup. Gather the seeds again. Regard them as precious. Speak them. Pray them. Stand in them. Be assured that God’s Word always bears fruit. He says so. When His Word is spoken, the environment changes. Anywhere His Word is sewn, kingdoms are shaken up. I may not feel the tremors nor see the stirrings of coming harvests but the unseen world knows it’s coming. Angels rejoice and demons tremble. Battles are being waged and God’s army is on the move.

Does this guarantee that things will turn out as I wish every single time?  Not necessarily. People we love still have free will. Sickness and death come to all of us because of the fall.  Man’s sin continues to infect our environment.  But sowing the Word of God ensures that God’s plan comes to my world.  Fertile soil is tilled up from hardened grounds of unbelief.  Sowing scripture sets the stage for a righteous outcome within a fallen world.  Many will believe who have denied. Many will be healed who have been terminal. Many will walk through an open door that was once closed tightly. And most of all, in the process of sowing ~ our own hearts draw close to Jesus and are changed. As we wrestle with faith, an intercessor begins to think, and feel, like the One they worship. Even while weeping.

Futility is not in my vocabulary. I get up and engage with faith again. Amen

Anxiety and Being in the Middle

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“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you more valuable than they are? And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life? Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers of the field grow; they do not work or spin. Matthew 6:24-28

Ever been put in the middle? It’s an awful place to be. There are some whose role it is to be peacemaker. The anxiety of trying to serve opposites is tormenting because pleasing them is impossible. Compromise keeps them at bay but they are never fully satisfied because neither has won.

What does this have to do with the parable about worrying? What I’ll eat? What I’ll wear? What others think of me? Whether I’ll be employed? Whether I’m seriously ill?

Anxiety serves Master Satan. Plain and simple. To worry is to wonder if God is faithful and Satan is the author of that. Worry then leads to autonomy. I take matters into my own hands to take care of myself because I believe God won’t.

Remember the daisy game? ‘He loves me – He loves me not.’ Though it was childish, I do remember the bit of suspense as I neared the end of the petals. Which way would it be? Love me – or loves me not? This is the stuff of serving two masters.

When the stakes are high, so is the battle. ‘God loves me – He loves me not.’ Faith is put on the sidelines as I wage the options of trusting God versus taking care of myself (which is serving God’s enemy.) God is unhappy because I fail to know the joy of childlike trust. Satan is unhappy because I entertain the promises of my Father’s word. How is this tug of war won? How do I extricate myself from living between two masters? Remove the power of the evil one.

Satan does not deserve an ounce of attention because he lies about the other Master. If he told the truth, the battle would be understandable. If he predicted outcomes correctly, listening to him would make sense. But nothing he says is true. John reminds me that he is a liar. His very nature is to lie. His default language is based on deceit. So, I step out from the middle today and give him no attention. When the first thought of worry emerges, I snatch it and kill it with the whispered assurances of a faithful Father. Every Word saves me and sends the other would-be master away from my presence.

No middle, Father. No torment. Only a simple, childlike trust built on every single promise You have made. I love how You take care of me. In Jesus’ name, Amen

Spiritual Acumen. Do I Have It?

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Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A rainstorm is coming,’ and it does. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and there is. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how can you not know how to interpret the present time? Luke 12:54-59

How can smart people be so foolish about spiritual things? How is it possible for one who knows God to miss the obvious signposts He provides for guidance? This was Jesus message to the crowd. They possessed real skill when it came to interpreting weather related signs but they were inept when it came to interpreting their times through the mind of God ~ the one they claimed to know.

When Saul was pursuing David in order to kill him, the numbers of those who stood by David were few in comparison to the armies of King Saul. But, there was a group of men called the ‘sons of Issachar’ who perceived both men correctly. They were able to see Saul for who he was ~ a disobedient king under God’s judgment. They were able to see David for who he was ~ God’s anointed man who should ascend the throne. From all circumstantial evidence, it would appear that Saul was suffering the threat of a coup, led by a renegade named David. However, these 200 men (descendants of Jacob), read the two men accurately. The children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of their times, knew what Israel ought to do. I Chronicles 12:32

What kind of spiritual acumen do I possess? The men of Issachar looked at Saul the way God looked at Saul. His throne or his crown did not sway them. They were able to see his behavior and leadership style and know that he was out of God’s favor. They looked for the anointing but couldn’t find it. They also looked at David and were able to see past his poverty and rag tag militia. They perceived the spiritual markings of a kingly anointing – a marking not visible to the naked eye but brilliant to the eyes of their spirit.

Not everything is as it appears. Powerful people are often a house of cards. They can crumble after just one confrontation. The meek are perceived as weak but will rise to rule over us when God promotes them. I am asking God to sharpen my spiritual acumen so that I can interpret what’s in front of me correctly. I believe Jesus is coming soon and never has understanding the times been more critical.

Whom have I assessed wrongly? Correct my vision, Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen

The Parables Jesus Told

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I love a good story, especially if related by an exceptional storyteller. If the storyteller loses enough inhibition to bring life to the characters, utilizing a wide range of inflection for the character’s speeches, the stories will not only be captivating but memorable. I have to believe that Jesus was a perfect storyteller because thousands of years later, mankind is still talking about each of his parables.

He spoke in parables to fulfill prophecy. Matthew explained by quoting from Psalm 78.  All these Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables, and He was not talking to them without a parable, so that what was spoken by the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.” Matthew 13:34-35 Psalm 78 speaks of Israel’s rampant unbelief in Yahweh ~ in spite of the fact that He rescued them repeatedly from their enemies. God spoke openly to them, displayed His power with signs and wonders, but they missed the point that God wanted a relationship with them. He wanted to be their God but they rejected Him. Many centuries later, Jesus spoke in parables to bring judgment on Israel’s collective hardness of heart. Only those who had a true relationship with Jesus would understand its meanings.

While Jesus did perform miracles and gave many signs and wonders to prove that He was God, he spoke most often in parables to fulfill another prophecy, this one from Isaiah. “You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; and you will keep on seeing but will not perceive; for the heart of this people has become dull; and with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes…” Matthew 13:14-15

What does that mean for me if I’m about to jump into the language of Jesus as found in His parables? It is possible for me to hear them but not understand them. Unbelief skews the message and makes it impenetrable.   I must ask for spiritual understanding.  The end result can be a full disclosure of this private language between Jesus and me.

Lord, I confess that I am spiritually blind unless You open the eyes of my heart. If there is anything that will compromise my ability to understand Your stories, would you reveal it to me? I want Your words to transform the complete landscape of my heart. In Jesus name, Amen

New Wine in Old Wineskins

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No one pours new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the skins burst and the wine is spilled out and the skins are destroyed. Matthew 9:17

Don’t mix the old with the new. That was the message Jesus wanted to convey when he shared two parables. The first was ~ Don’t sew a new patch on an old cloth. It will shrink and tear. The second was ~ Don’t pour new wine into an old wineskin. It will burst and render itself useless. Anytime Jesus repeated Himself, the message was important.

Wine, when poured into a wineskin, begins the aging process. As it ferments, the gases cause it to expand. A new wineskin will swell along with the wine and all will be well. However, when you pour new wine into an old wineskin, the wineskin has already stretched to capacity and will burst with the fermentation process. The skin won’t sustain any new pressure.   So what is the allegorical meaning?

When Jesus came, people assumed that everything He taught (the new wine) was to be added on to their existing paradigm (the old wineskin) of their traditions. His message, however, was that He came to change everything. They were told not to blend the old with the new.

 If I’m a religious person – and then become a child of God – am I supposed to add Jesus to my religious way of life? No way. I’m called to turn away from religiosity to engage in a relationship. One is behavioral; the other is relational and heart-driven.

I am a new creation in Christ. I’ve been saved from religion and all the trappings that accompany it. I am no longer driven by the desire to do good things because that’s just what religious people do. Piety is supposed to be far from me because I know what I am without Jesus.

When God writes a new paradigm in my heart, it is stressful. The old wineskin of past paradigms must be abandoned and I don’t let go easily. I must turn away from anything associated with old religious archetypes. Church-ianity is not the same as what it means to live in Christ. The world doesn’t know the difference and that’s my fault. I’ve blurred the lines and must show them that loving Jesus and cultivating a church culture are two different things. The first invites others to love Him too. The second invites others to conform to a religious community. Jesus had strong words for the latter and so should I.

If there is any way I have attached You to something that should be dead to me, an old wineskin, show me. In Jesus’ name, Amen