TO ORDER AS HE PLEASES

God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.  And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.  Genesis 1:5

         God decides.  He creates.  He decrees the parameters of what He has created.  In heaven, there will be light with no trace of darkness.  In hell, there will be darkness with no trace of light.  No one in hell will have a say if they want the darkness transformed.  They have no power, never had, except for the power to choose or reject the One who has all power.

         God not only has the power over all physical light and darkness but rules over spiritual light and darkness as well.  He decides what is righteous and unrighteous, not only because He is powerful but because He is holy and defines what is righteous.  Against such power, who can stand!

         God divided the light from the darkness; the nature of each and when one would arrive and when one would end.  He also defines the boundary lines of spiritual light and darkness.  He is clear with his instructions to let me know when I’m walking in the light and when I’m dangerously close to stepping over the line into the darkness of sin.  I have the Word with all its warnings and imperatives and I have the precious Spirit of God inside of me, wooing, warning, and physically reacting when I’m in danger of grieving Him.

         God is clear that light and dark do not mix.  One is not like the other nor can they have fellowship with the other.  Who am I to mix them?  Who am I to make alliances and vows with unbelievers and try to co-exist through compromise? Should any child of God try to marry an unbeliever and think that somehow it can work?  The conflict will center on much more than a Sunday morning quarrel about whether to attend church.  Loving Jesus involves hundreds of decisions a day.  The rub between heaven and hell will be substantial between them.

         At the end of this discussion is really a decision about whether to trust a Creator God.  He made the earth my feet walk on.  He made me.  He is the foundation of everything.  Will I trust His Word or not?  I must know that much is at stake.  If I obey, I will be blessed.  If I disobey, I will end up in the captivity of darkness.

And for every place I’ve blown it and acted foolishly, you have redeemed on the other side of my repentance.  Oh, the wisdom You give from my mistakes.  I hold it in my hands like precious pearls.  Amen

CREATED, THEN SEPARATED

And God saw that the light was good.  And God separated the light from the darkness.  Genesis 1:4

         God created.  Then He divided light from darkness.  This is how God works and develops His creation.  He divides and starts new things.  Throughout Genesis, in the physical, God will separate one thing from another to complete His intentions for creation.

         In the spiritual, He does the same.  The Hebrew word for ‘separated’ means ‘set apart.’  He chose Israel, created a people, and then separated them from other nations.

         The most miraculous act of separation is what God does in a human being like me.  He created new life in my once darkened heart and then separated me from the world.  I am saved, not unsaved.  A believer, not an unbeliever.

         The process of separating light from darkness, setting me apart, will continue for the rest of my life.  His Spirit will show me right from wrong.  The Word, which brings light, will expose evil around me.  When I see it, it should cause a combustible reaction.  I am repelled, see it for what it is, and deal with it as God leads me.  I either speak against it, pray about it, or walk away from it.

         His light also reveals wisdom from foolishness.  Wisdom is knowing what to do when there is no biblical precedent.  These are the kinds of decisions that keep me up at night.  There is no chapter and verse for what I’m facing and I want to do the right thing.  What is it?  God causes light to shine in my heart and separates my path.  There is a light path over a dark path; a way of prudence over folly.

         God is One who creates, then develops.  He’s never finished with us.  Once His child, He doesn’t walk away and leave us to figure things out on our own.  When we are born again, we have only just begun to be ‘created’ in the image of God.  Sanctification begins and the creation of abundant life in the soul of God’s child is the greatest miracle of all.

Until I am with You in heaven, my heart will suffer the effects of my own darkened soul.  Create in me a clean heart, O God.  Amen

WHEN GOD SAYS “LET THERE BE…”

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  Genesis 1:3

         For any human being to attempt to write about the power of God is, in some ways, absolutely useless.  We can’t comprehend Him or the power of His spoken word.  But this morning, my soul is just struck with wonder over a God who can say, “Let there be light…” and whatever He declares just appears.  Who can compare to Him?  I can say, “Let there be light…” for the next 20 years and nothing will come of it.  (unless I speak and pray His Word – which is the meaning of using my God given authority.)

         The God who can speak something and make it come true is also the God who cannot lie and the One driven by goodness.  Such power, restrained and released by love, can be trusted.  What is it like for me to have a relationship with someone who could, if He wanted, end my life with a breath?  Is it safe for me to be intimate with power like this?

         The same one who said “Let there be light..” is the same One who has declared that light will shine in my heart, through Christ.  “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”  2 Cor. 4:6  The same One who declared it in Genesis has declared it over my own heart.  God does not speak carelessly.  None of His words are empty.  If He said it, I can stand in it and experience security.

         When I saw Jesus, repented of my sin at the foot of the cross and believed, light was declared over my darkened heart.  That light was really a spotlight on the person of Christ, the Creator in Genesis, so that I might sit here on a morning like this and have all my fuses blown.  The light is bright but because of my mortal limitations, I have just a small window of the knowledge of the glory of God.  Yet, it is enough for today.

         If I can trust one spoken declaration of God, I can trust them all!  He said I am a new creation.  He said I am forgiven.  He said He’s coming back for me.  He said I am the apple of His eye.  He said I am His adopted daughter.  He said that His Word holds power over my sin.

         What God has spoken, no one and no thing can tear asunder.  God’s Words are as good as vows spoken at the altar.

The words You spoke that put the earth on its rotation in space are no more powerful than the words You speak over me through the power of Your Spirit.  Now, I just need to walk in all of them because they are all a certainty.  Amen

NOT AN ARTISAN BUT A CREATOR

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  Genesis 1:1

         When I make something, I begin with pre-existing pieces.  Make a cake and I have a list of ingredients that already exist.  Fashion a piece of pottery and there is clay to mold.  I don’t make the clay.  While I am only an artisan, God is a Creator.  He made the earth out of nothing.  There was nothing there for Him to work with except omnipotent power.  If He wanted water, He made water where there had been nothingness.  Water had never been and didn’t even have a name!

         This is what makes God ~ God.  This is where He excels.  He has not changed with time.  His power has not diminished.  This same creative God of Genesis spoke again through the prophet Isaiah and said, “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?  I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”  Isaiah 43:19  Once again, something out of nothing.

         Throughout my life, I have stood (and am standing) on this powerful truth in prayer. My Father can bring something about when I see absolutely no evidence that such a thing could ever exist.  He can bring reconciliation when there is hatred.  He can bring repentance when there is stubborn rebellion.  He can bring opportunity when others haven’t yet thought of it.  He can bring provision when cupboards are empty.  He can bring hope to the hopeless and honor to the shamed.

         The expanse of this year is in front of us.  Ask boldly – but with the mind of Christ and for the glory of His name.  What needs to be created that, as of now, doesn’t exist?  If we are God’s, His power and promises are at work over the expanse of our lives, over the deep and unseen.

You love to create.  I just look at the world and see the glorious detail in all You have made.  Speak Your Word over my life and bring into existence what is not yet there.  When it appears, I will fall to my knees in worship.  Amen

ANCESTRY.GOD

In the beginning God… Genesis 1:1a

         Knowing where we come from has become of paramount interest in recent history. Ancestry.com has grown in popularity and I know many people who have spent years constructing their personal genealogy. I can’t count how many meals I’ve shared with people who love to talk about their discoveries. Their eyes are alive and their voice is animated as they tell from whom, and from where, their family emanated. Questions about themselves often disappear as they discover that they are not alone and, in fact, are quite like their ancestors. They are relieved and feel validated. Some are also enlightened as to the depravity of their family lines.

         I know of only one person who claims that she can trace her family line back to Adam. I didn’t ask how but I found it pretty incredible that such a long history could be documented on paper. Continue reading “Ancestry.God” →

WHAT CONSTITUTES A SUFFICIENT APOLOGY?

Great is your mercy, O Lord.  Psalm 119:156

When I’ve wronged someone, how many times do I have to say “I’m sorry” for mercy to be shown?  In this world, the greater the offense, the more times a repeated apology is necessary.  To match the crime, restitution can be steep as the other party decides what it’s going to take to make them happy. Continue reading “What Constitutes a Sufficient Apology?” →

Time & Perspective

I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight.  Psalm 119:174

When a young saint sits down with an old saint, the difference in their reactions to the stuff of life is apparent.  The young one can be all spun up about some injustice, railing about how unfair it is.  The old saint listens, nods with understanding, but is not rocked off his axis with shock or surprise.  He has lived long enough to see it all. Continue reading “Time and Perspective” →

THE WORD GOD’S CHILDREN FEAR MOST

In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.  Isaiah 30:15

         Oh, the power of repentance and how critical it is for any who wish to access the power of God in their lives.  Without it, hearing will be dull.

The word repentance has become a ‘turn-off’ for many because it is associated with the red-faced pastors who have yelled about it over the years.  Their tone has been angry.  There was truth but no love.  Shame was inflicted without an invitation to respond to the One who bore our shame.     Repentance is my friend.  God wants to bless me.  He wants to watch me blossom under the umbrella of His affection.  He wants to share His thoughts with me and make my soul quiver with wonder.

What stands in the way is unconfessed sin because sin clouds His voice and distorts my thinking.  The most powerful thing I can do at the end of any day is stand at the foot of the cross, review my thoughts and actions, and ask to be forgiven for anything that fails to resemble Jesus.

What was the message of John the Baptist, the one who was sent to prepare hearts for the coming of Christ?  “Repent – for the kingdom of God is at hand.”  Without repentance, people wouldn’t recognize Him.  The same is true for me.  Before Jesus can speak to me, the fertile soil that repentance produces must exist.

I think about the sacrament of communion.  For years, I took communion by rote and all the while there was hidden anger in my heart.  Grudges simmered beneath the surface.  In all those years, I never took repentance seriously.  I didn’t feel I could afford to.  If I acknowledged my sin, I would be forced to confront the angry God my spiritual leaders portrayed.  Not surprisingly, there was little communion with Christ.

The tender, yet holy, God who asks me to repent is the One who knows that when I do, I won’t be fearful to draw close, to be one in spirit.  So, why would I ever want to be defensive?  Pathetic self-defenses are my enemy.

I can, and will, run home to repent when You convict me.  Amen

PRAYER FOR REJOICING IN A TRIAL

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.  I Peter 1:6

Oh Jesus, you know the story of my life.  I have so often misunderstood your words.  I thought you were cruel.  “Rejoice in the midst of trials?  Really?”  Then, I turned my anger against myself and thought I just couldn’t do anything right.  Thank you for showing me that I had a ‘form of religion without the substance.’  I just needed to connect with your heart, to run to you when the fires were hot.  To experience You as my refuge is to find joy that someone like You is there for me!

You are more than words on a page.  You were literally waiting for me to experience that.  I’m so glad I did.  I love you so much.

Today, you see the struggles so many are facing.  I pray they wrap their arms around you. You don’t turn them away.  Your face is bent down toward them, you lift their heads, look in their eyes Continue reading “Prayer For Rejoicing In A Trial” →