Regifting

Hope everyone has had a blessed and restful holiday season so far.  Mine has been so blessed and so restful that I haven't posted on here for the past couple of weeks.  I've been seeking the Lord about what to post, and nothing seemed to come to mind until just a few days ago.  He has been dealing with me lately a great deal about remembering to use the gifts he has given me.  In 1Timothy 4:16 (AMP), Paul encourages the young pastor "Do not neglect the gift which is in you, [that special inward endowment] which was directly imparted to you [by the Holy Spirit] by prophetic utterance when the elders laid their hands upon you [at your ordination]. "  and in 2 Timothy 1:6 (AMP), he continues this thought by reminding Timothy of the sincere faith he (Timothy) possesses and challenging him with this thought: "That is why I would remind you to stir up (rekindle the embers of, fan the flame of and keep burning) the [gracious] gift of God, [the inner fire] that is in you by means of the laying on of my hands [with those of the elders at your ordination]."  It is my prayer that the thoughts I share today will challenge you to think about, pray about, listen to the Lord about, and use the gifts He has given you.

Now let's turn specifically to the text God gave me for today, Matthew 10:1 - 8 (KJV)  - "And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.  These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not; But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.  Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely you have received, freely give." 

With Christmas just past, most of your gift-giving and gift-receiving are probably over.  Now I want to pose this question to you and you do not have to answer: Did you do any regifting this year?  Although most of us might be embarrassed to admit it in public, we may have at one time or another taken a gift we received, left it in the original box or package or repackaged it, and then given it to an unsuspecting someone else.  Our reasons for doing this could be varied: we didn't like the gift, we thought it was a better gift for someone else's tastes, or we had to come up with a certain amount of gifts, using a certain amount of finances, and regifting was the best way to keep ourselves in the black.  Whatever the reason, we often hope and pray the recipient of the gift doesn't figure out that he or she has been "regifted".  It's not that the gift may not be a good, or even great one, it's just that there seems to be a certain taboo related to giving someone else our "leftovers".

Now, how does this relate to the above text?  The twelve apostles had done nothing to receive the truth, purpose, and power Jesus gave them.  They didn't pay a membership fee to join His "club" or pay tuition for His teaching; they hadn't worked their way up the corporate ladder of Galilean enterprise and received access to Jesus as some sort of promotion.  They received what Jesus gave because Jesus loved them and decided to give it to them.  Bottom line.  Now, in this text, he is asking them to approach the work of the ministry with a "regifting" attitude: "You didn't pay for any of this.  These are given to you as gifts.  Now give them to others."  The Amplified Bible states verse 8 in this way: "Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons.  Freely (without pay) you have received, freely (without charge) give."  I wonder how many of us, whether we regift in the natural or not, regift in the spiritual with this selfless attitude.  I know sometimes my memory is short and I can forget that I've done nothing on my own merit or in my own power to receive salvation, the new life Jesus gives, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or any of the power, authority, and spiritual gifts He has given me. 

In Acts 3, we see Peter display this regifting attitude when he allows the Holy Spirit to use his words and his hand to heal a man lame from birth.  Peter tells the man in Acts 3:6 (KJV) "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk".  Peter likely remembered that Jesus told him and the other apostles not to even take a purse of money or extra clothes with them on their ministry journey.  He probably also remembered paying the temple tax for himself and for Jesus with money from a fish's mouth.  He understood that he had done nothing to receive what Jesus had given him, he just had to receive it and give it freely to others.  May we have this attitude as well.  Only the Lord knows what things we will do in His name when we do.

I sense there may be some reading this who would say: "I know what my gifts are, but I don't want to use them.  I don't feel qualified, worthy, or capable of using them.  It's not that I don't want to help others, I'm just afraid I'm going to make a mess of it.  The person I'm trying to witness to or pray for is going to reject me, just as if they knew I had regifted them a Christmas gift.  I feel like I'm just handing out leftovers."  Plase allow me to share two Scriptures with you along these lines.  The first is found in 2 Timothy, the verse just after Paul reminds Timothy to keep the flame of his gift burning.  Paul writes in 2 Timothy 1:7 (AMP) "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control".  In faith, you can trust that God has given you what you need to use the gifts He has given you: power, love, calm well-balanced mind, discipline, and self-control.  He didn't give you gifts because you already had these things; He gives you these things because He has given  you gifts.  The second verse is Romans 11:29, where Paul is referring to God's plan for the Jews, many of whom were enemies of the Gospel at the time Romans was written.  Paul wanted to reassure the Roman believers that God had plans for Gentiles, but also that He had not given up on His beloved Jewish people either.  In this verse, Paul writes "For God's gift and His call are irrevocable. [He never withdraws them when once they are given, and He does not change His mind about those to whom He gives grace or to whom He sends His call.] Praise God for that!  That means God does not have a Customer Service/Returns section like most retailers.  He won't take the gifts back once He gives them to you.  You don't even have a receipt to show for them because you didn't buy them: He gave them to you.  You can set them in the corner and try to neglect them, but I would daresay you won't be happy doing that.  If you received the best material gift you can think of, would you hide it in the corner to collect dust and dirty laundry?  No!  Not only would you use it, but you would probably invite others to use it with you, or at least excitedly tell them about it.  Now we're getting down to kingdom business.

Heavenly Father,
I want to thank you for the cross, for redemption, justification, and most of all, for Your love.  All of these, along with Your Holy Spirit and the spiritual gifts you have given to me, have been given to me, not purchased by me.  I recognize that You are Jehovah-Jireh, my Provider and my Source.  Lord, may we not neglect the gifts you have given us, but may we discover them and use them just as freely as we received them.  For those who don't yet know their gifts or are questioning them and the call You have on their lives, I pray that You will help them to discover them, that they will take confidence from You in exercising them, that they would not neglect them or even try to return them, but that their gifts would burn with intense flame within them.  May we not be afraid to regift, for there are many who need the gifts that we possess.  I pray this in Jesus' Name, Amen.

Happy New Year and may you have much success in regifting!

Finding a Lesson in the Madness

I have a really great blog brewing, but apparently today still isn't the day to post it. Instead, I want to share what just happened to me and apply it to our lives. Its kind of a rabbit trail of a lesson, but it does have a point! :)

Jeff and I are the very layed-back, easy going type. A great trait in many ways, but in others it can be a hindrance. The kids run and play and make their messes, and we just remind them it will take longer to clean up at bed time. Dec draws a mural on the wall, and I shake my head as I grab the magic eraser. Those are positive sides to being layed-back, but I've come to realize that some of our easy going ways are actually causing more stress in our lives.

We live on a single income and have for many years, but we have had a very difficult time adjusting from living in the southern part of the state to being here in the northwest corner. Northwest Arkansas is so completely different from the rest of Arkansas that it could almost be its own state. Cost of living is ridiculous. Activities are abundant, and gas is guzzled.

We try very hard to be frugal and live well within our means. Unfortunately we've been here almost 6 months, and we're still trying to figure this out. This last couple of months I've been exploring a new way to save a little extra. There is an abundance of sites that help crazy moms (and dads) like me figure out how to use coupons and rewards to save money. I've read and watched for a while now, and I think I'm starting to figure them out. Now comes the time to do it myself. Now comes the part where I get very anxious.

I have spent the last couple of hours trying to make my menu and plan my shopping trips according to the principals the women use. I haven't gotten very far. Just at the point when I thought I was going to pull my hair out, throw the coupons in the trash and say forget it, I noticed a tab for the first time on a site I've grown fond of visiting. A link for newbies!!! Where has that been all this time? I felt saved from failure as it explained some of the things that the others talked about as if I should know what they meant.

Then came the God-thought...you know that little thought ties mundane life back to spiritual life.

Christians have no small amount of 'spiritual growth' books and blogs. (That is what people may see this blog as) Our book shelf has plenty on it as well, but I'll tell you a secret... God's Word has all the answers we need. I would never speak against God's anointed, but I do wonder sometimes if we're missing the point. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy a really good devotional or bible study, or reading testimonies and sermons. I just wonder if some of the other books go a little too far.

In going too far, do we confuse the would be follower or new converts? I fear that we do. One of the earliest verses I can remember memorizing was Psalms 119:11 "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might now sin against you." There has been a longing stirring in me to just put away all the books and focus on my bible. Jeff and I have discussed it. My friends and I have discussed it, and God and I have discussed it. He is drawing my focus back to where is should be.

Would you like to take this challenge with me? No, I'm not going to tell you to read the bible through in a year...definitely not in ninety days. Here is what the challenge. Lay aside all the 'extras' and for the next month, study just from the bible.

Here are some tips.
-Get a few different translations. Use your computer if you need it. Biblegateway.com is a great place to find all the different translations. Check out the amplified when you don't understand a verse.
-Find a good source for discovering the Greek and Hebrew usage for words. (sometimes words we use to mean more than one thing comes from a very specific Greek or Hebrew word)
-If you find you have questions or you don't understand, ask someone. Funny thing about ministers...we like to talk about the Bible. Ask your Pastor or a person who knows the Bible well. You can also send e-mails to titus2mentoring@Gmail.com if you would like.

Are you up for the challenge???

You Have Need of ...

³²But be ever mindful of the days gone by in which, after you were first spiritually enlightened, you endured a great and painful struggle,
    ³³Sometimes being yourselves a gazingstock, publicly exposed to insults and abuse and distress, and sometimes claiming fellowship and making common cause with others who were so treated.
    ³⁴For you did sympathize and suffer along with those who were imprisoned, and you bore cheerfully the plundering of your belongings and the confiscation of your property, in the knowledge and consciousness that you yourselves had a better and lasting possession.
    ³⁵Do not, therefore, fling away your fearless confidence, for it carries a great and glorious compensation of reward.
    ³⁶For you have need of steadfast patience and endurance, so that you may perform and fully accomplish the will of God, and thus receive and ^[e]carry away [and enjoy to the full] what is promised.  Hebrews 10: 32- 36 (AMP)

Let me beginning by apologizing for the lateness of this blog.  For the past two-plus weeks, the Ford family has been battling some form of sickness or other.  For the past three days, it's been some sort of stomach bug.  My days have been mostly filled with teaching English by day and helping my still-recovering wife at night with the routine of home: baths, meals, homework, etc.  That hasn't left much time for blogging, but God, in His everpresent wisdom and sovereignty, knew what He wanted me to write about, and I think He allowed me a few more days to contemplate on it and pray about it.

What do you need right now?  Oh, I know, with Christmas just around the corner, we all have lots of "needs": an iPad, a Kindle, a new pair of hip waders, Gore-Tex hunting boots, a North Face Denali jacket.  Ok, only joking.  You may have a legitimate need for any of those, but most would probably classify those as wants.  Mandee and I were having a conversation the other day about Christmas shopping and she was asking what I would like to have for Christmas.  I told her this may be a true Christmas of "needs, not wants" for me.  I'm at the point where many of the socks I've had for the last five or six years are wearing out, some of my sweaters are looking a little frayed, and even some of my faded jeans are a little extra faded.  Yes, this may be the Christmas of the practical gift, at least for anyone purchasing something for me.  With this in mind, I began thinking about how, as a child, I usually got most of my wants at Christmas, and I don't remember having many needs.  My wants that I received ranged from a new bicycyle when I was eight to an Atari 2600 when I was ten or eleven.  I don't remember really needing new clothes or shoes because those always seemed to be there. I just can't recall a Christmas when I was in desparate need.  I just now, as an adult, am realizing how blessed I was to have all the things I had growing up. 

I think sometimes, though, if we are always used to getting our wants met, we forget the things we most desperately need.  We take for granted that they will always be there.  God has been taking me on a spiritual journey the past few months and showing me what I really and truly need: patience, humility, the faith and ability to give Him more and more control in my life, a servant's heart (on a more continual basis, not just for the few days following a sermon or Bible study on serving).  In the above passage from Hebrews, the author is recognizing the types of people these Hebrew believers were: they were spiritually enlightened; they had endured struggles in which they were publicly insulted, abused,  and distressed, and  had continued on despite this, even having fellowship with others in the same situations; they suffered and sympathized with those in prison; and they had cheerfully endured having their possessions searched and confiscated, because they knew their great and lasting reward was elsewhere.  Despite all these suffering and battle-tested saints had endured, the author still tells them "You have need of steadfast patience and endurance".  He tells them  they need these qualities for two reasons: 1. So they can perform and fully accomplish the will of God; 2. So they can receive, carry away, and enjoy to the full that which is promised. 

You may be able to identify with the Hebrew believers.  You may have had a rough year, one perhaps even riddled with insults, distress and  (the Lord forbid), even abuse.  On the other hand, you may have had the best year of your life personally, financially, and even spiritually.  But again I ask you, what do you have need of? Henry David Thoreau is quoted as saying "The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation and go to their graves with the song still in them."  What are you desperate for?  Once the new Christmas gifts have been unwrapped and tinkered with, or taken out to the lake, the field, the tool shed, or the office for the first few times, what do you still need?  It won't be found at Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Bass Pro, Amazon, or your wireless store, but here, in the words of Jesus:

⁷Keep on asking and it will be given you;  keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you.
    ⁸For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking, [the door] will be opened.
    ⁹Or what man is there of you, if his son asks him for a loaf of bread, will hand him a stone?
    ¹⁰Or if he asks for a fish, will hand him a serpent?
    ¹¹If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in heaven [perfect as He is] give good and advantageous things to those who keep on asking Him! Matthew 7: 7 -11 (AMP)

Heavenly Father, I thank you that you are the best gift-giver.  First, you gave us your Son, then your Holy Spirit, then your word, and now all things that are necessary to be godly and to live the lives that You desire.  May we know we can come to you with our wants.  As a loving Father, you will guide us in determining which wants are "advantageous" and which are not.  Always, always, always, You will give us what we have need of, if we will seek for it.  Don't let us go on desperately, headed to the grave with something inside us we were supposed to let out, but let us live to the full in You, as we see you meeing every need we have.  In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

The Waiting

Hello friends and followers! I want to apologize for my lack of blogging the last couple of weeks. Traveling and holidays interfered more than I expected. I will have to plan better for things next time. As for yesterday, I simply wasn't sure what God wanted me to blog about. Finally about 10 minutes before time to leave for church it came to me. I will add a warning to this post. I have been ill today and took some medicine. I rarely take anything and meds that would normally not cause drowsiness in others seem to knock me out. If I ramble today, I am sorry.

While getting ready for church last night I was thinking of a visit with some friends and praying for a direction their lives may be taking. It brought to mind times when Jeff and I have been anxiously waiting on God to open doors for us and a time when God used a person to speak into my life something I didn't want to hear.

About five years ago, during an altar service, a minister was praying for me and spoke a word of knowledge to me. I was struggling, as usual, with the season of waiting I was enduring. I cannot remember his exact words, but he compared me to a can of food that has a shelf life and told me that God knew I was on the shelf and knew when he was going to use me. I will openly admit that I wasn't very thrilled with prospect of sitting on a shelf for any amount of time. Patients may be a virtue, but its not always a pleasant fruit to bear.

Over time, I prayed through to an understanding of why I was being shelved. I began to read about others, especially in the old testament, who were made to wait. I found I was in good company. Actually, some of the best company, and It seems that the ones who waited the longest had some of the biggest blessings in the end! Here's a few I would encourage you to read more about.

Noah waited for rain. (Gen 7)
Abraham waited for a son. (Gen 15:4; 21:1-5)
Jacob waited for a wife. (Gen 29:14-30)
Joseph waited for a dream.(Gen 37:5-11; 42:6)
The Israelites waited for deliverance. (Ex 3:7)
Joshua and Caleb waited for victory. (Joshua 14:6-12)
David waited to be king. (1Sam 16:12-13; 2Sam 5:4)
Elijah waited for rain. (1Kings 18)
Jesus waited for His ministry and sacrifice. (John 2:1-12)

Jesus was fully God and fully man. Some how, in a way only God can comprehend, He was able to be born a baby and grow up knowing, from the very beginning, why He was on this earth. I think we lose that  in the jump from baby Jesus in a manger to Jesus turning water into wine. Have you not ever wondered why His mama told Him to do that? I think it was because He had been doing little things like that His whole life. I can just see, in my imagination, a chubby three year old hand reaching out to touch Joseph's smashed thumb and instantly making it better. Think about when He was twelve and inadvertently left at the temple. His response was one of surprise, "didn't you know I'd be about my Father's business?" I think in today's terms He would be saying, "Come on, Dad. You know me. Where else would I have been?" Yet, for 30 years he waited for the right moment to start His ministry that would lead to His sacrifice. All because He knew the importance of waiting.

I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
   therefore I will wait for him.” Lamentations 3:24 (NIV)

Jesus, when I compare my time of waiting with some of the examples you've given us in the Bible, including you, I realize its only a drop in the bucket. I get restless and impatient all to often. I know Your word promises that if we wait on You, You will restore our strength and allow us to soar. Help me, as you often have to do, to remember that my shelf live is far from expiration. I want to be like wine or cheese and age to perfection in my waiting. Not that I will attain perfection on this Earth, but that I will improve with the passing of time to be exactly what you need me to be when my time on the shelf is up and the promises are brought to life. Thank you for giving me dreams and hopes to look forward to while I wait, and thank you for your presence in my life making my waiting worthwhile. I love you and seek to bless you no matter what station of life I am in currently. In your wonderful name, Amen.

Come and Dine

Jesus has a table spread
Where the saints of God are fed,
He invites His chosen people, “Come and dine”;
With His manna He doth feed
And supplies our every need:
Oh, ’tis sweet to sup with Jesus all the time!

Refrain:
“Come and dine,” the Master calleth, “Come and dine”;
You may feast at Jesus’ table all the time;
He Who fed the multitude, turned the water into wine,
To the hungry calleth now, “Come and dine.”

"He who feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood dwells continually in Me, and I [in like manner dwell continually] in him. Just as the living Father sent Me and I live by (through, because of) the Father, even so whoever continues to feed on Me [whoever takes Me for his food and is nourished by Me] shall [in his turn] live through and because of Me." John 6: 56-57 (AMP)

I don't know about most of you, but after the past four days, I definitely feel "burdened and heavy-laden".  Not in the spiritual sense, just in the "Did I really need three helpings of the dressing and two pieces of the chocolate pie?" kind of way.  Now don't get me wrong.  I was and am very thankful for every morsel I ate, and I'm also very thankful I was able to see and visit with those who made these delicious dishes.  I just think I probably could have been a little more discretionary about the amounts I took in.  I've always pictured myself as "The Cleaner".  My motto is "It's going to go to waste if someone doesn't eat it." I blame this "flaw" in my personality on two things: 1.  My high metabolism, which pretty much allows me to eat however much, of whatever, whenever I want (in fact, people thought Mandee wasn't feeding me well when we were first married because I didn't gain the usual "Newlywed Guy Twenty Extra Pounds!") and 2. My parents always insisting on ordering two or three baskets of French Fries at a diner we always ate at when I was growing up  and everyone counting on me to finish them off (I couldn't let those things go to waste!)  However, as full as I may feel physically, a sermon our worship pastor shared this morning has caused me to think throughout today about how full I am spiritually and how often I partake of what Jesus offers: Himself.

In this passage, Jesus has finished feeding the five thousand and is now preaching on the truth that He is the Bread of Life.  He is reminding His Jewish audience that their forefathers ate manna in the wilderness and yet still died, and revealing to them that they can have true life, eternal life, in Him if they will feed on His flesh and drink His blood.  As you can imagine, these statements didn't go over too well with many in his audience!  While many of the Jewish disciples were likely guilty of having broken some of the Jewish laws, none of them were willing to engage in cannibalism!  Certainly, human beings were not listed among the creatures that God had said the Jews were allowed to eat.  It is no surprise then that many of them, excluding the Twelve, turned away because of this "hard saying".  Many of them were probably mumbling to themselves as they walked away, "I was with him through the 'Love your enemies'. 'Blessed are the meek', and "To gain your life, you must lose it', but I can't go in for eating my rabbi!  He seemed so in his right mind!  What has happened to him?"  Jesus wanted to know who was willing to go beyond feeding everyone in the natural, those who would follow Him when the meals came free and easy, and those who could learn that His food was to do the will of Him who sent Him.  He was looking for those who would be so consumed with Him and would so consume Him, it was as though they were feasting on Him daily.  Not in the sense of cannibals, or zombies, or any other creature Hollywood and bad dreams can create, but in the sense of a dependence on Him that runs so deep, we realize and act on the fact that He is the very source of the life eternal, the life blessed, the life lived abundantly and to the full. 

As I write this I must ask myself: Am I satisfied with manna alone, just seeing the hand of God when I need something, and willing to die still stuck only in that state, to pass all my years only perking up my ears and eyes and holding out my hands when the Lord offers me something free and easy?  I remember that the manna couldn't remain, it rotted if the Israelites tried to keep it overnight.  Am I willing to feed daily, hourly, every minute, every second on Christ so that I can live "because of and through Him?"  Am I willing to endure the "hard sayings"  so I can live the life He has called me to live, so I don't walk away, never to return, just confused and miserable?  May I, and we, learn that He must be our source.  If we try to mix anything else with Him, we will hear His rebuke, like that he gave His disciples when they asked him at the Samaritan well, "Lord, aren't you going to eat something?"  His reply? "I have food you don't know about".  Do we want to partake of the food that He has: Himself and His relationship with the Father and doing what the Father has called us to do?  As the old song above says: "He who fed the multitude, turned the water into wine, to the hungry calleth now 'Come and dine'."

Father, I thank you for all the abundant and good food I have had the privelege to partake of this past week.  It was good and nourishing to my body, and eating it meant breaking bread and enjoying fellowship with my friends and family.  But Father, as Jesus revealed in the Gospel of John, there is food we don't always think about, may not even know about, that is available to us: Your Son Jesus and doing Your will within the life that You give us through Him.  Help us to remain hungry for Jesus, and to never try to satisfy that hunger with any of the manna of this world, because it will only pass away and leave us wanting.  Please continue to reveal Your will to us as we seek You.  In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.

Stay hungry!  Be filled!

Who's Your Daddy (in-law)?

Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about everything God had done for Moses and his people Israel and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. (Exodus 18: 1, God's Word Translation)

As probably is the case with many of you, this week has already been a hectic one.  My family and I are making preparations for Thanksgiving travel, coordinating with family members which particular dishes are going to be prepared by whom, and overall, just enjoying the freedom and blessings of this holiday season.  That being said, my Manly Monday post this week is more of a Thanksgiving Thoughts Thursday, giving to the fact that in all the holiday planning, I've found myself hardpressed to find time to sit down and type out the thoughts that have been going through my head.  Thankfully, I have a few moments this morning before we embark on our Thanksgiving festivities, so here are the thoughts the Lord has given me this week.

I knew from the start this week that I wanted to write a post about thankfulness since Thanksgiving naturally lends itself to that.  I also knew that if I listed all the blessings I have to be thankful for, my post would be at least twenty pages long, if not longer.  As I prayed about what to write, God showed me one partiucular group of people in my life that I should be especially thankful for this year: the Jethroes.  No, not the large, not-so-bright nephew/cousin from The Beverly Hillbillies (although, if you have some of these in your life be thankful as well; they can bring a lot of laughter and humor into things), but those older men that God has placed into my life over the years.  I want to use this post to express thankfulness to them.  But first, let's look at today's Scripture passage.

In this passage, Moses and the Israelites have just defeated the Amalekites.  Moses has built an altar on the spot and called it "Jehovah-Nissi" (The Lord is My Banner).  Jethro brings Moses' wife Zipporah and Moses' two young sons Gershom and Eliezer to him at the Israelites' camp.  When we read Exodus 18, we can notice three things about Jethro:

1. He was available - Exodus 18:1-8  - When Moses had to send his wife and young sons away while he dealt with the business of confronting Pharaoh and leading the Israelites, Jethro took them in and cared for them. When the time was right, he sent word to Moses that he was bringing his family back to him.  Jethro was there when Moses needed him and met him at the place of his victory. Not only was Jethro physically available, but he was also emotionally available.  In verses 7 and 8, Moses and Jethro ask each other how the other is, then spend time in the tent with Moses recounting all that God had done for them. What a blessing it is when a godly mentor makes himself physically and emotionally available to us.

2. He rejoiced in Moses' victories with him - Exodus 18:9 - 12 - These verses say that Jethro was delighted to hear all that God had done for the Israelites.  How much do you think it strengthed  Moses to hear this from his father-in-law and to watch as Jethro offered his own sacrifices to God?  Then Moses, Jethro, and the other Israelite leaders shared a meal in the Lord's presence.  Who of us as men has not wanted someone to be proud of us?  I have a feeling that Moses knew what it was to feel proud that day.

3. He offered practical advice - Exodus 18: 13 - 26 - Jethro saw a problem in Moses' life that was affecting him and he provided solid, practical advice to help him manage and solve it.  This again shows the relationship between the two men, and the respect Moses had for Jethro.  Some of the best advice he offers to Moses is in verse 18 "You can't do it alone!"  That could be a whole other post.  By the end of the chapter, we see Moses following Jethro's advice, and this makes things a whole lot more manageable.

As I look at these three points, several men begin to come to mind from my past.  Men like Audie Vaughn, who served as my first pastor when I was a child and who gave me the honor of preaching my first sermon in his pulpit; my father, who instilled in me a love of outdoors and a love of reading, both which still follow me today; Craig Eidson, a Chi Alpha pastor at Southwestern Oklahoma State University who, despite my best efforts to isolate myself in my graduate studies and my apartment, saw a calling and potential in me and began to give me opportunities to work within youth ministry; Dr. Rodney Scott, my graduate advisor who wouldn't let me take the easy way out when it came time to jump into "the real world"; Tim Broughton, my Sunday School teacher and friend who mentored me before I got married; Pastor Darren Rogers, who counseled Mandee and I before we got married and who continues to be a source of encouragement and humor as our pastor; Pastor Bob Wingo, who I had the privelege to serve with in my first youth pastor position; Pastor Jim Bales, who saw to it that his church in Warren, Arkansas took us in and who allowed us to work with a great group of  youth for almost two years; and last, but certainly not least, my own father-in-law, Jeff Kennedy.  From telling me it had been a while since he had beat up a guy (this was when I first approached him about courting Mandee) to showing me how to make home and auto repairs, Jeff continues to be an important mentor in my life.  Which Jethroes do you have to be thankful for in your life?  Maybe you will have the opportunity to thank them this Thanksgiving.  Even if you don't see them, or if they are no longer living, we can offer thanks to God for them:

Father, I thank you for the godly men you have placed in my life over the years,  As your word says in Proverbs 22, iron sharpens iron, and I know that you have used these men to sharpen, and continue sharpening my life.  May we also make ourselves available, rejoice with others in their victories, and share solid practical advice with those younger men you place into our lives.  Father, we are truly thankful for every blessing you have given us.  May we use every blessing and every opportunity, to glorify Your Name and establish Your Name on this earth.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving!
 

Blessings on the Altar of Testing

These past two weeks, I've had the privelege of teaching the junior high Sunday School class at church.  The lessons have been focusing on Abraham and how God challenged and developed his faith while keeping His promises.  This week's lesson was on God testing Abraham and I wanted to share a few thoughts this Monday that God shared with me.

In Genesis 22 we get a front-row seat to an interesting event in the life of Abraham.  God, who up to this point promised to Abraham that he would have a son and that his descendants would inherit the land, has now provided that promised son to Abraham, even in his old age.  Who of us has not marveled at the idea of a one hundred year-old man receiving a son after waiting for twenty-five years?  Now here's where things get really interesting: the son that God has promised and provided is now possibly in his late teens or in his twenties and God asks this of Abraham "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I will tell you." (Genesis 22:2 (AMP).  In the words that the youth and I said together this morning: "Say what?"

Now, many of us could say that we have gone through periods of testing with God. Maybe you've had to seek His face for an extended length of time before receiving an answer to a prayer.  Maybe circumstances, such as sickness, loss of a job or relocation, financial stress, or spiritual burdens have arisen in your life that, as you have sought God, have been revealed to be tests that God has allowed or is allowing in your life.  I think sometimes during these times as much or more than any other, we can tend to question God.  And while I don't think God is intimated or even put out with our "Why's", I am always astounded at Abraham's response in v. 3: "So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac, and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and then began the trip to the place of which God had told him." (AMP) How many of us, if asked by God to sacrifice the biggest blessing He has ever given us, would be able, with such fortitude, and singleness of mind not only agree to do it, but then follow through with it?  I don't know if I'm to the level of Abraham yet; I might at least have to talk it over for a while with God.  But, if that's what He called me to do, it is my desire that I would be able to do that which was asked of me.

Before I sound too out there, I think we can all agree that if we literally think we are hearing God telling us to sacrifice one of our children, we need to do several things: 1. Seek Him earnestly in prayer for clear understanding, 2. Read the Scriptures where He forbids the taking of life in murder, 3. Seek professional help.  But I wonder, how many of us have an area of our life that has been blessed visibly by God?  Maybe it's a ministry that we've waited many years for Him to provide.  Maybe yours is a literal fulfillment of Abraham's promise in that you recieved a child after waiting for many years.  Now the next question: How many of us are afraid that God might ask us to surrender that area wholly and completely to Him?  That might mean giving him every area of our job, ministry, or family.  It might mean surrendering our own hopes and dreams for that little boy or little girl and letting God's unfold, even if they don't fit within our schema. For those of us who like to maintain some degree of control over our lives, this can be a very real fear.  It can be during these times of testing that we need to ask ourselves: What do I really believe about God and what does His Word reveal about His character and His promises? 

Just as Abraham had to learn that God could protect him and Sarah (that he didn't have to lie two different times about her being his sister (can you imagine asking your wife to go along with that one?!)) and that God didn't need him and Sarah to bring Hagar into the picture to bring about the promised one, so we need to learn that God's character is love and that no matter what He allows us to go through, two things are always true:  1.  He is going to always act according to His character and His promises, 2. It is ultimately for our good as His children (He wouldn't allow it  if it wasn't).  Let's look back at the verses.  In verses 5 - 10, we see Abraham putting hands and feet to his faith.  In verse 5, he speaks in faith that "we (he and Isaac) will come again to you" and in verse 8, he tells Isaac, "God Himself will provide a lamb for the burnt offering".  Abraham trusted what God had spoken and knew that His promise was to bring about a nation of descendants through Isaac.  Hebrews 11: 17 - 19  reveals that Abraham, because he had received this promise, reasoned that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead if need be.  Whether he had to actually kill Isaac and then watch as God raised him from the dead or see God provide something to sacrifice in Isaac's place, Abraham's faith was founded on his relationship with his Father and the promises he had recieved from him. 

Some very interesting things happen in verses 11 - 18.  As Abraham stretched forth his hand and took hold of the knife to slay his son, I believe personally at the point of him having the knife poised above his son ready to deliver the killing blow, the Messenger from Heaven, the Lord Jesus Himself in preincarnate form, speaks from heaven, "Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear and revere God, since you have not held back from Me or begrudged giving Me your son, your only son." (v. 12 (AMP))  Then in verse 12, Abraham looks up and glances around, and there is a ram caught in a thicket by its horns.  Why didn't Abraham see the ram when he first came to the place?  I wonder if it was there yet, or the Lord placed it there after He saw the Abraham was willing to surrender the son of the promise back to him? I find it interesting that some translations actually say the ram was behind Abraham.  Isn't it interesting that he didn't notice it as he walked by?  Maybe it wasn't there yet, and was only revealed as the Lord said,"now I know that you fear and revere God."  Following this, Abraham is able to offer the ram for the burnt offering and God reaffirms to him the covenant (verses 15 - 18).

Is there something God is asking you to sacrifice, to surrender to Him right now?  Maybe a relationship, a vision, a situation?  Are you offering it without question, or are you holding back and begrudging giving it to Him?  Are you trusting the One Who gave it to you in the first place, or are you doubting His character and promises right now, doubting that He will give it back to you in a way that you want or replace it with something else?  Remember, he may not reveal the "something else" until you have that promise, that blessing on the altar and are stretching forth your hand to "put it to death" and trust it to His keeping.  The very substitute may be right behind you, but you won't see it unless you are willing to give everything to Him. 

Please pray with me: Father, Your Word says you know how to give good gifts to Your children, and You have done just that in so many ways.  But Father, there may be some of us that You are calling to surrender one, or even more than one, of those blessings to You.  It is difficult Lord, because sometimes we are afraid of losing it, in fact, we have become so attached to that blessing that we don't want anything to happen to it and we're afraid You won't return it, or at least, that You won't return it looking the way we think it should.  Please help us to trust You with everything You've given us.  You've trusted us to take care of it and to give it to You if need be.  Help us to remember that You are Perfect Love, and that perfect love casts out all fear.  Help us to trust You, knowing that Your plans are to give us a hope and a future and You are always working everything together for the good of those who love You and who are called according to Your purpose.  In Christ's Name I pray, Amen. 

Have a great week!

Dream a Little Dream...

Yesterday morning I went through my typical Tuesday morning routine. Got Jeff and the kids off to school, dropped Declan off at his school, enjoyed a great workout at Cardio Groove, took Rileigh over to see Papaw a minute, and started home to realize I needed to make a stop by Wal-mart. I parked, gathered my things and went around to grab Rileigh as I made a mental note of the quickest way to get in and out. Suddenly I had a thought pop in my head.

There I was, still in my work out clothes, with my little minivan, shopping in the middle of the day. I looked like the typical middle class stay home soccer mom going about my day. Now for some that would be a wonderful feeling. Not for me. When other girls were growing up dreaming of whatever they dreamed of, I was dreaming of a life spent doing missions work over seas. I thought I'd have my children with a midwife in an African hut, not one of the greatest women's hospitals in the state. (That part I am glad to be wrong about.)

This thought hit me on a day when I was taking a huge step in seeing one of my biggest dreams begin to take shape. I don't know if I should consider it a God thought, or a discouragement from the enemy. Either way, it got me thinking and praying. God brought to mind the story of Joseph. I thought I'd share with the rest of you, who may be waiting for your big God dream to come true, what I have learned from reading Joseph's story. Obviously for sake of space and my fingers, you'll have to read the story for yourself. Pull up another tab and find it on biblegateway.com. It begins in the 37th chapter of Genesis, skips over to chapter 39 and continues all the way through 46.

What I got from the story is:

1. The ones you think will be most supportive may not always react the way you'd expect.

Joseph was seventeen, young and zealous. He had the great confidence that comes from being raised by a very supportive father and was not shy about telling his family what God had been showing him.

This happens many times in the church as well as families. I don't think it is because the ones reacting poorly are bad people. Instead I think that it is often hard to see what God sees. I remember, while in bible school, God giving me a 'word' for a friend of mine. I told her exactly what God was telling me and nothing more. It confirmed something that God had already been talking to her about and she was very excited. Until she talked to one of the school counselors. She was crushed, and I was told that I didn't have a right to speak those things, and God wouldn't tell somebody something that big. I wanted to ask them if we'd read the same Bible, but my parents raised me not to talk back. I had to bite my tongue very hard that day.

Our Pastor has a different take on how to know if God is the one giving you the dream. He says, "if its bigger than you are and it won't go away, then its probably God." I have used that in my own life. I have a huge imagination and could be quite the schemer without a good husband to keep me in check. I've learned a little trick about myself. When I come up with some great idea, I put it all on paper and get it all out of my head and then file it away. If I lose interest in it, then I know it was my own idea and not Gods.

It doesn't really say how Joseph reacted when his own father rebuked him for his dream, but it does say that Jacob "kept the matter in mind."

2. Sometimes God doesn't use the easiest or most obvious path to fulfill your dream.

I used to think that Joseph should have kept his mouth shut and pondered his dream in his heart. You know, just between him and God. I don't know if I think that anymore. Here is what I do think. His brothers already held jealousy and hatred in their hearts for Joseph. God knew that and allowed the devil to use it in an attempt to destroy Joseph. I think that his brothers would have decided to sell him off dream or no dream. It was the way God chose to get him to Egypt. God can do anything and use anything he wants to use in order to accomplish His will. He is also infinitely wise and knows what areas we need to grow in before we see our dream happen. I imagine Joseph did a whole lot of growing while being a slave and prisoner!

3. Overcoming temptation doesn't always get you a gold medal!

There seems to be a lot of people believing that if they serve God life is supposed to be all roses and sunshine. Well, roses have thorns and can't grow without a little rain, which Jesus told us would fall on the just and the unjust.

Joseph did the right thing when his master's wife set her eyes on him, and then he went to jail. I wonder if Potiphar knew his wife was lying. As well as he knew Joseph, you just have to wonder. If he didn't, can you imagine the hurt he must have felt at being betrayed by the person he'd trusted more than anyone. Once again it doesn't tell us what Joseph was thinking or feeling. What it does tell us is that the Lord was with him, and that is far better than any rose or ray of sunshine!

4. Your treatment of others may be your ticket to success.

Hopefully you've read the story by now and you know that Joseph helped out two other prisoners by telling them the meaning of their dreams. Well, maybe it would be more correct in saying he help one of them out. The baker didn't exactly fare too well. However, the cup bearer did, and when the time came, God reminded him of Joseph. It is comical in my imagination to see this shaggy looking prisoner being escorted into Pharaoh's great throne room and all of the advisers who'd come up empty looking disgusted at the thought of this convict doing their job. (I told you I had a big imagination) I don't know if that is how it happened, but I do know that Joseph told Pharaoh what was going to happen and how to deal with it. That quickly he became the second in command, and it started all because he helped out a wayward cup bearer who'd been put in prison.

5.  You dream doesn't always look quite like you think it will.

Joseph's dream is never mentioned again after he tells his father and brothers, until verse 8 of chapter 42. Joseph was away from his family for 13 years before he was made governor of Egypt. Then he spent another seven years working diligently to prepare the country for the famine that had been going on for two years when his brothers showed up. You can imagine that he was a little too busy to worry about getting his brothers to bow down to him. He may have even dismissed the dreams as a childhood fantasy. However, he suddenly found himself living that dream, and it was much more painful than he expected. After putting his brothers through a couple of test to see if they had changed, he was finally willing to reveal himself to them. He didn't gloat over being right, but he told his brothers the most important lesson to learn from his story. In Genesis 45 Joseph tells his brothers that God sent him to Egypt, not them, and that He did it to save their lives.

Joseph's God dream wasn't that his brothers were going to bow down to him. It was, in reality, a dream of God using Joseph to preserve the lives of His chosen people.

What is your dream?

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

Proverbs 18:22 (AMP) "He who finds a [true] wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord."

For this Manly Monday, I thought I would spend some time speaking about the one who stands next to this man. I can truly say in my life that through God's enormous favor and blessing, I have both found a good thing and obtained favor from the Lord.

Mandee came into my life at a time that I was not truly seeking a wife.  Sure, the desire for a wife and family was still there, but I had surrendered that desire to God two years earlier and had decided through much prayer, study, and advice that the best thing for me to do would be to pour myself into the youth ministry that God had called me to. I had previously seen Mandee at my home church in Oklahoma, but spent most of the few minutes that morning catching up with her older sister, who I actually remembered a little better from school.  Mandee is seven years younger than me, so in my mind, she was Shelly and Jason's little sister, and that's about all I knew about her.  My memory from this particular morning is of her tending to our oldest niece and nephew in the background while Shelly and I talked for a few minutes.  Little did I know that I would be seeing a lot more of her over the next few years...

As God would have it happen, Mandee's best friend was engaged and she and her fiancee were attending my home church.  I, along with some of the other young adult men in our church, had recently taken an interest in Becky's fiancee, befriended him, and sought out opportunities to spend time with him.  We decided to give him a Christian alternative to the usual bachelor party and that involved taking him to Little Rock for a couple of days for a Christian conference.  Before we left Westville, we had to stop by our church so he could put in an appearance at a wedding shower and pose with Becky for a few pictures.  Little did I know that at this wedding shower, my future wife was also waiting.  The other guys and I stayed in the background for the presenting of the cake and pictures, then loaded back up to head to Little Rock.  In the truck, I happened to ask Davis, the fiancee, who the young lady with the little girl was.  His startled response?  "That's Mandee, Becky's best friend.  Everybody knows her."  Well, apparently, I didn't recognize her! 

About a month later, I was sitting in the Car-Mart waiting room in Fayetteville with my sister while my mom and brother talked business with a car sales manager in the back.  Who should walk in but the same beautiful young woman from the wedding shower with the same little girl.  My sister had been in the same grade as Mandee, so they talked awhile about different friends and what they were up to now.  The conversation naturally turned to the fact that Mandee was a youth sponsor at her church in Fayetteville and I "happened" to mention that I was leading the college ministry at our church.  I invited her to come to my class sometime and she said she would try to make it.  While we were talking, her niece Alex used my legs for entertainment, swinging on them and trying out various gymnastics routines. Apparently, she already knew I was going to be her uncle, or at least she thought I made a good piece of playground equipment.

I didn't expect Mandee to come to class two weeks later, but as I walked to the back of our church to greet some of the college students, there she stood with Davis and Becky.  I quickly made a beeline to one of our students who had been out of town and made a point of asking him about a recent trip.  Needless to say, I was nervous about talking to this young lady who I was already becoming very interested in.  After service, Mandee teased me a little (she swears she wasn't trying to) about being more interested in the student's trip to Hawaii than in talking to her.  If only she had known!  That summer, I busied myself with preparing for a mission trip to Monterrey, Mexico.  I would be helping lead a team of twenty students in street and drama ministry and my focus was own preparing sermons and memorizing drama parts and movements.  At that point, I had pushed Mandee to the back of my mind to focus on the trip.  When I returned from my two-week trip, my mom and sister picked me up at the airport.  I was worn out and ready for a little R and R, so I wasn't ready for one of the first things my mom asked me: "Guess who sat by me at church Sunday?"  My tired mind reeled its way through the faces of my mom's friends and I took a few guesses.  "No, Mandee Kennedy."  Well, that had my attention immediately.  I had been seeking God about opening a door for me to receive further ministry training, and as God had planned it, Mandee's dad was teaching Berean Bible courses at his church in Fayetteville.  Mandee had left her phone number with my mom in case I wanted to call her and find out more about it.

The first time I called, I spoke with Mandee's dad.  The second time I called (Yes, second.  I wanted to get her opinion on the classes) I talked with her on the phone for four hours!  Talking with her was so easy and I found that we had many of the same dreams and passions.  Soon I was enrolled in the classes and I approached my first session with much anticipation and nervousness.  I wanted to be where God wanted me to be, but I didn't want my feelings for Mandee to be a distraction to her or to me.  So I waited.  And waited.  Several weeks into the courses and after much prayer and seeking of godly counsel, I decided to approach Mandee's dad about pursuing a courtship with her.  The three things he said to me that night were both funny and profound: 1. "You want to talk about Mandee, huh?  It's been a while since I had to beat up a guy (Thankfully, he was  only joking!), 2. "Mandee will let you know herself if you are out of line.", and 3 "Follow your heart".  Those of you who know my father-in-law understand the weight of that last statement.  So it was with his blessing that I found myself standing out side our classroom building on a Thursday night in Septermber 2001 asking a beautiful young woman to enter into courtship with me.  Her response?  "Yes"  Hallejuah and Praise the Lord!  The fact that I didn't speed back to Westville that night was only because of His protection and mercy.

Fast forward...within two weeks we were engaged and within six months, we were married.  I don't recommend that for everyone unless you know that you know that you know God is in it.  This next April 20, we will celebrate nine years of marriage together.  Sometimes all the changes in that time make my head spin: four children, multiple moves, youth pastor positions at two different churches, five faith-building and humbling months living with my in-laws, three years on staff at Teen Challenge, one miscarriage, two major surgeries for me, me becoming a teacher, relocating to south Arkansas, one major surgeries for Mandee, and finally, returning to NW Arkansas this summer.  To say it's been an adventure would be an understatement.  Through it all, God has kept His faithful hand upon us, and time again, He has used the "good thing" He provided in His good time, to encourage me, to remind me of His love and grace, to support me, and to just be there for me.  Mandee is a constant blessing.  I'm amazed at her love for our God, her love for our children, and the gifts God has bestowed upon her.  She can preach, draws awesome house plans, makes the best no-bake cookies in the world (just ask anyone who was at last week's Fall Party), keeps me humble by beating me at chess and Battleship, encourages and develops our kid's bents and talents, and paints some of the most amazing landscapes and abstracts you're ever going to see.  If you have a special lady in your life, be it a spouse, mom, or sister, thank God for her.  He put her there for a reason.  If you don't have a wife yet, trust God with that, just as you trust Him for your salvation.  He will bring her to you in His time.  And, like Isaac when he was in the field and saw Rebekah, you will know she is for you.

Please pray with me.  Father, thank you for my wife.  I know you gave her to me because I couldn't have found the one just right for me on my own.  I tried and tried, but failed each time.  When I surrendered this part of my life to You, and poured myself into the things and tasks you had for me, just like Adam after he had named the animals, you brought to me the one who is "bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh".  She truly is a blessing to me.  I ask you to be with her spirit, to encourage her, and to help me to let her know what a blessing and love she is to me.  May I be a channel of your grace, love, protection, strength, and mercy to her just as you make her to me.  I love you Lord, and ask that our marriage be an example of Your love for the church.  In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.

I love you, Mandee!  

Prayerful Heart

This will not be a blog in sense that most of my post are 'blogs.'
Today my heart is heavy with many prayer needs. This time of year, we spend focusing on what we are thankful for, yet many are focusing on their many needs and hurts. Its a strange aspect to the holiday season. I have sat at my computer today praying about what to type and my mind keeps returning instead to the need to pray for the different people who are ill, unemployed, hurting emotionally, or at the "end of their rope" so to speak financially. a few are dealing with more than one of these difficulties at once.

As you read this, do you have people coming to your mind? I think it would be safe to say that most of us do. Life, well, its hard sometimes. In that hardness we discover we cannot do it alone. We need God and we need His people around us. Makes me glad its a Wednesday and I'll be with my church family in just a few hours!

I've been blessed with an amazing church family. There are ones that I know I can call any time and they will immediately go to prayer for me. I want to be that for them as well. Not only that but for everyone else God puts in my life be it family, friends, co-workers (don't have those right now), or even just people my kids go to school with their kids.

Many of the miracles recorded in the Bible tell us that Jesus was moved with compassion for the person. Compassion isn't always my first emotional response. However, I am the type to want to fix it for everyone else. Boy, does God have to remind me often that that is His job and not mine! I can, however, take my example from Paul and do what he did for the people of Colossians (and many others).

Colossians 1:9 says, "For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives," I like this prayer list. Short and simple. It doesn't really even need explained. So today, as I think of all the people I love, and the ones I just know by acquaintance, who need prayer. I am going to take Paul's example to heart.

I am going to pray, and keep praying for you. I'll ask God to show you, with wisdom and understanding given by His Spirit, how he is working and his will.

Please join me, if you have others you'd like to pray for today.

Lord, you know the long list of people and their needs I have to bring to you today. You knew them before I did. Please be with these people. Open their hearts to the comfort and leading of the Holy Spirit. Help them to take hold of the wisdom and understanding you are offering them, so that they can see how you are working this difficulty for good in their lives. Help them also to see the support they have from the people you've put in their path. Let me be an encouragement to them as well. Thank you for the peace that comes in knowing you already have the answer and know about the problem before we ever ask. In Jesus Name, Amen.

miTunes Vs. HisTunes

I don't count myself as a particularly tech-saavy person.  Occassionally, I can keep up with my father-in-law as he sings the praises of the latest phone applications, but for the most part, I get lost in the constant flux and flow of phones, personal music devices, and various other "toys" that fascinate this information generation.  I hail from the time when video games had one directional control and two buttons, you could only find phone privacy as far as the phone cord in the kitchen stretched, and wireless communication was something only those in the military or on Star Trek possessed.  In fact, I didn't even own a cell phone until a few years ago.  Only recently have I experienced the wonder of owning a phone with a "QWERTYUIOP" keypad. I think I still get outtexted by my niece and nephew.

With this overall lack of technical sophistication, it was with a little apprehension mingled with excitement that I agreed with my wife for the two of us to purchase an iPod for our oldest daughter this year.  It wasn't that I wasn't excited about her having a device that could download a multitude of songs that she could have available at the touch of a button.  No, my apprehension had more to do with the fact that I would not know how to get that multitude of songs onto the iPod, get them to play, and make sure they stayed there.  Thankfully, as many younger ones seem to do these days, my daughter seems to have mastered the basics of the iPod.  She reminds us when it needs to be charged and it has become her constant companion on our morning commute to school.  My wife helped her pick out songs from iTunes, and they run the gambit from Relient K to Miley Cyrus.

It was during one of our morning runs through the countryside that I heard and saw something interesting last week.  My daughter asked me if I could turn down the van radio so she and her brother could better hear the particular song they were listening to on her iPod.  I obliged her, and when I glanced back, I noticed each of them with one of the ear buds in an ear, moving along to the music.  Immediately, the Holy Spirit quickened me with these thoughts: "Right now, they are sharing the same tune.  They are in tune with one another.  How well are you in tune with Me?"

That is my question for today: How in tune am I with God?  Am I on the same wavelength as Him?  Am I moving as He moves, seeing what He sees, being broken for that which He was broken?  Or am I listening with half an ear to His plan and half an ear to my own plans, my own schemes, my own ways of how it "should" be done?  Are there times when I don't even have the ear buds in and I'm completely tuned in to the song of the world around me, "joyfully and ignorantly" oblivious to what He is doing?  In Revelation 3, we see Christ speaking through John the Revelator concerning the church at Sardis.  Some very key things are noteworthy in verses 1 - 3(AMP) : 1. Jesus knew their record and what they were supposed to be doing, 2. They were supposed to be alive, but in reality were dead, 3. Jesus tells them to "Rouse yourselves and keep awake, and strengthen and invigorate what remains and is on the point of dying; for I have not found a thing that you have done [any work of yours] meeting the requirements of My God or perfect in His sight."(v.2), 4.(and this is very key) They were to remember the lessons they had received and heard and to continually lay them to heart and obey them, and repent (v.3)

Now for the application: Jesus knows what we are doing, and what we should be doing, for His kingdom.  I was reminded of this again when I heard a pastor on the radio this afternoon expositing on the story of Jesus and the woman at the well.  While the disciples were trying to get Jesus to eat some food, He was telling them His food was to fulfull the will of the One who sent Him and telling them to look on the fields for they were white with harvest.  This was occuring as the Samaritans who had heard the report of the woman were flocking to the well to see Messiah for themselves.  How often do I stand, food bag in hand, saying "Lord, look what I've done for you" and don't consider the "true food" He's trying to show me, the true task at hand?  How many people today have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof, thinking they are alive when in fact they are dead, their flame going out like the flame in the temple, their ears like those of Eli as he failed to hear the voice Samuel was hearing?  Do we so easily fall into the death of our trespasses and sins again?  Do we gorge ourselves to death on the food of our will and not the One who sends us?   Do we grow fat on the lessons we have heard, but fail to lay them to heart continually, obey them, and repent?

I believe Christ's words for the church of Sardis are just as true for us as believers today.  Psalm 84:5 (AMP) says ^"Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion."  How do we know these highways? Not from TomTom, but from HimHim, by listening to His voice, spending time in His Word, dining on the rich meat of doing the will of the One Who sends us.  One of my favorite old hymns has this chorus:

"Jesus, hold my hand
I need Thee every hour.
Through this pilgrim land
Protect me by thy pow'r.
Hear my feeble plea
Oh Lord, look down on me.
When I kneel in prayer,
I hope to meet you there
Precious Jesus, hold  my hand."

May we walk in tune with Him.  That way we stay sharp, we're never flat, and serving Him becomes more natural.

Let's pray.  Lord, I lose count of how many times I've been out of tune with you.  Like Peter and so many others, I try to tell You the business of the kingdom, how it's going to go down on any given day, as if You need my advice.  Thank You for Your patience with me.  You keep me close to You despite my shortcomings and my failures. Thank You for still desiring for me to play a part in what You have planned for this generation.  Please help me to quiet the distractions of this world and my own stubbornness, pride, fears, and desires and to hear what Your Spirit says each and every day.  Let me not hold tight to what I think is the food bag, when the real food is right in front of me.  May I be about your business every way and in all ways in these days.  I love You and want to please You.  In Jesus' Name I pray.  Amen.  Stay tuned!

Naturally Themselves

Do you, or did you, ever sit and watch your kids wondering what they will, or would, grow up to become as adults? I do that often. Last week we discussed how to love our husbands and children. I'd like to follow that line of thought out a step farther today. I want to ask you a very difficult and probing question. Do you love your children enough to put aside your own dreams for them and let them be who they really are? Not to difficult, you think. Stay with me and it may be more difficult than you think.

I have four kids, and they are all vastly different. Edana may be the closest to being like me in most areas, and Aidan has a lot of his daddy in him. I'm not sure about Rileigh yet, but Declan, well, I didn't know a kid could be so much like their grandpa! Apparently God decided to reuse that mold when he created Dec because he walks like him, gestures like him, and even responds verbally like him. While they seem to take so much after other family members they are still so unique in their likes and their dislikes.

I believe that Jeremiah 29:11 can be applied to each and every person God creates on this earth. (He is the giver of life, therefore He creates everyone, even the 'accidents') If He has a plan for each of us, all we have to do is walk closely to Him and He will fulfill it. Suddenly life is so simple...until others get in the way. By others I do mean parents. Sorry, but lets go ahead and face it. The temptation to live vicariously through our children is very strong. How easy it is to put our unrealized dreams onto our children for fulfillment! I've often wondered if that is why so many kids go to college confused and unsatisfied only to give up on God.

We raise them the way we think they need to be, but in truth we are raising them to be what we want them to be. How many parents put their kids in sports as soon as they are old enough and then push them only to realize the kid hates it by the time they reach high school. How many parents want their kids to make lots of money and therefore convince them they need to be a doctor only to realize the kid can't understand chemistry or physics at all. Suddenly the kid is in college and realizing they are a failure and they don't even know if they really liked the idea of being a doctor anyway. Do they even know who they are, or what they like, or what they believe for that matter?

Look with me at Proverbs 22:6 in the Amplified Bible. It says, "Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it." I always grew up thinking that mean teaching them to live for God, however, I think it is more than that. The definition that we're given here takes me back to the fact that God has a plan for each of us and tells us we have an individual gift and bent.

Edana has taught us the toughest lessons about their bent though. Her personality is, well, I'm not sure what to call it. She is vibrant and colorful, but on her own terms. We figured out early on that she is going to express herself through her appearance. Early on we had to sit down and come up with some guidelines. Here is what we decided. We'll let her express herself the way she likes, and our part will be teaching and showing her how to do it without going overboard. And yes, she did have pink in her hair this summer and occasionally her earrings are bigger than most girls her age. I guess some girls like big bows, and Edana likes big earrings.

We'll see how that works when she becomes a teenager. Although, really, if she decides to be a little "out there" is it really that bad or is it a pride issue for me? I tend to think the second option. Some of the most Godly teens I've met are the ones whose parents let them be who they are while helping them keep their focus on God more than on themselves. Maybe if we stopped worrying so much about what our kids look like and how well they fit in, our kids wouldn't worry about it so much either.

I will be extremely surprised if Aidan is ever the popular kid in school. He will be one of the best looking, I am sure, but not popular. His personality just doesn't fit with it. He will always do things his own way, and I think it is safe to say I'm raising a comic book nerd. However, he will be big and I'm hoping that will keep him from being picked on too much! Seriously, if I worry too much about what people think of him, I will destroy who he really is. He is an artistic, musical kid that just happens to like football. I don't know what it will be like when he is older, but in my high school the two weren't supposed to meet for some reason. I don't intend to ever let anyone convince him of that! In truth, I can think of boys I went to school with that were probably talented in both, but wouldn't dare try to cross those lines.

I think the real issue is that we have gotten too focused on meeting the church's and world's standards of what is supposed to be normal. Yes, I said the church's standards too. I hate to say it, but often Christian parents are the worst at not letting their children be who they are out of fear that it might not be 'okay' in the eyes of other Christians. I don't remember the Bible saying that we all had to be alike. Actually, Romans says we are all supposed to be different parts of the body.

Ask yourself a few questions and share them with your spouse. Do you allow your children to be themselves? Are you too focused on what others will think of you if your kid is 'different'? Does your child's natural gifting and abilities line up with what you think they should be as adults? or Are you more worried about making them something you always wanted to be? Challenge yourself with these questions and take a serious evaluation of why you make the decision you do about or for your children.

Please pray with me.

Dear Lord, I am forever thankful for the family you have given me. They are my greatest earthly joy. They are also my greatest responsibility. Please give me wisdom to see their natural gifts and bent, and help me to direct and encourage them to use those to bring you Glory. Ephesians 6:4 tells us not to provoke our children to anger or resentment but to tenderly train them in the admonition of You. I don't want my dreams or way of thinking to get in the way of who you made them to be. Thank You for Your direction and leading as I raise my children. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Misguided Focus: Running in the Red Zone

As I sit here slightly at the edge of being asleep, the words of Titus 1:8b jump out at me like the loving, rebuking words of a good friend.  In fact, that's what they are, the words of my Lord reminding me what He expects of me, what His desire is for me.  The reasons I'm writing this Manly Monday at 8:30pm and did not write it last week are the result of me not applying these verses in my life.  Titus 1:8b in the Amplified Bible reads:  "sober-minded (sensible, discreet), upright and fair-minded, a devout man and religiously correct, temperate and keeping himself in hand."  Now I tend to pride myself on trying to be sober-minded.  Those that know me well can tell you that I can and will analyze something to death.  That comes in handy when you're diagnosing psychological disorders, expositing a Scripture text, or evaluating a teaching technique and its usefulness, but doesn't automatically lend itself to making always wise choices.

According to the personality assessments my mother-in-law has given me in the past, I am what is known as phlegmatic-melancholy.  In a nutshell, this means that I tend to introverted, but close and loyal to those I consider friends and that I tend to be steady, calm, and usually laid-back.  That's the plus side.  The not-so-goods are I tend to overestimate/underestimate how long a task will take to complete, and I think I have to have perfect conditions to work in before I complete the task.  That sometimes leads me to waiting until the last minute (the "perfect" time) to do things and to think I can accomplish them in less time than what it is actually going to take me.  This takes me back to the past two Sundays.  By following my human personality, I put off grading my writing tests until last weekend and entering my grades until this weekend.   A typical conversation between Mandee and me during these weekends was: Mandee; "So how many do you have graded?" Me: "About twenty-five". Mandee: "How many do you have left?" Me: "About ninety.  It should only take me a couple of hours (this after it had taken me three or four to grade the twenty-five.  See what I mean?). These two events and my handling of them were why I slept a total of four hours the last two Sunday nights and while going on little sleep is sometimes my modus operandi, it doesn't lend itself well to hearing from the Holy Spirit, especially when He knows you've made a bad decision."

Now for the rest of the verse.  I strive to be upright in my thinking and I try to be fair-minded.  I'm definitely not an expert in fairness, and I'm glad I know the One Who gave Moses and Solomon wisdom in making decisions.  One statement that has stuck out to me over the last few years in regard to fairness is "Fairness is not everyone getting the same thing; fairness is everyone getting what they need." Isn't that good?  While God is faithful and provided salvation for all, there are things He knows we as individuals need that may be different than others in our family or church.  He is Jehovah-Jireh, and He provides these things, bless His Name!  I also am commiting to striving to being more of a devout and religiously correct man.  These come through practice of devotion to God, following His commands, and knowing His truth.  His Word says we will know the truth and it will set us free.  Jesus said if we abide in Him, and His words abide in us, we will bear much fruit.  I want to be fruitful for Him, and to use my time here for Him, how about you?

Now here's the part I'm having trouble with, the last two qualities, being temperate, and keeping myself in hand.  The God's Word Translation translates temperate and keeping himself in hand as "self-control".  This is definitely an area where I need to grow, whether it's in what comes from my mouth or thinking I need to eat two cinnamon rolls in the teacher's lounge along with three cups of coffee, or handling the responsiblity of organizing my life around Christ in such a way that I don't wear myself thin and I keep Him in the very middle of it at all times.  I need to be put in check sometimes, just like a hockey player being stopped at the wall.  The awesome thing is, God does it with love and not a desire to leave the imprint of my face on the Plexiglass.  Sometimes he does it just to stop me long enough to help me rest and get refocused. I notice that when I'm focused on Him, things just go smoother overall.  Not perfect all the time, but definitely smoother.  This is echoed in the words of David in Psalm 16:8 (KJV)  "I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved." and in Hebrews 12:1,2 (NLT) "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith." 

Are you struggling with keeping your focus, organizing your priorities around Jesus, finding yourself pushing your devotions, your prayer times, your family times, your blog time, ministry time further and further back in your mind, day planner, or Google calendar?  Hear the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28 - 30 from The Message: ^28-30"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

Let's accept His invitation.  The other stuff can wait a while until we get back.  Lord, thank for making me physically and mentally able to work.  Your Word says if a man does not work, he does not eat.  From Eden on, your promise has been that man would earn his way by the sweat of his brow.  But you have also promises never to leave us and never to forsake us.  Work is not the end in and of itself, but for whom we do the work that matters in this life.   As the verses about say, there are times when we need to come to You, to rest in Your arms.  Jesus, you modeled this better than anyone else ever, always finding quiet moments to be refreshed and strengthened in the arms of Your Father.  Even when facing the cross, Your priority was an encounter with the Father.  May we follow your example.  Lord, in my own life, and maybe the lives of others reading this, may we have heavenly and godly wisdom from You that allows us to always put You first, then our families, then to structure our days and tasks in such ways that there is maximum output with minimum burnout.  We love you and recognize that every good gift comes from above.  In Jesus' Holy Name I pray, Amen.

"Is love a fancy or a feeling?"

I have many quirks that you will discover as you read this blog. I'll share one with you today as a matter of fact! I love British movies. You know the Masterpiece Theater kind? Yep, those! My very favorite, however, is Emma Thompson's version of Sense and Sensibility. As usual, a movie can never do justice to a good book. Jane Austin never married, yet she had such an understanding of people and relationships. She must have been quite the people watcher.

The thing I like about Sense and Sensibility is the ability to relate to it. No, we don't live in the Napoleonic Era, but we can all relate to one character or another in this book. I wish I could say I was the sister with good sense, but that isn't the case. My 'sensibilties' are slightly more tamed than Marianne's, but I am still guided by my emotions more than I should be. Thankfully, God managed to bring me the wise, gentle husband that He intended for me despite my misguided emotions in my younger days.

All of the romance is great, but typically the story ends there. What happens after marriage? What happens after years of marriage and children? What happens when the emotions wane? What happens between the wedding day and 'til death do us part'? That is where Titus 2:4a becomes so important.

Unfortunately, too many young women enter marriage not knowing how to love their husbands or the children that follow. I was blessed to be required to read a book right before Jeff and I married that has meant so much to our marriage. Jeff and I married relatively quickly and were very much in the feeling stages of love. However, the book we read held a great warning about how the feeling would fade and what to do next. The book was Five Love Languages by Dr. Gary Chapman. I strongly encourage anyone to read it, but you must apply it in order to make it worth your while.

Dr. Chapman breaks down how people need love shown to them and the importance of showing love not according to how you want it, but how your mate needs it. That is where the application gets tough. I am all about quality time, but Jeff needs words of affirmation. I'm not too good at remember to praise him with my words, and Jeff often thinks that by telling me how proud he is or how much he loves me is sufficient. Now add in the kiddos!

Edana is a physical touch kinda girl, and oh how i want to scream sometimes when she lays all over me.It is amazing to watch Aidan's reaction when you praise him. He face lights up in such a special way. Once again, they are outside of what makes sense in my mind for showing love. I am constantly having to learn and remember what kind of love they need from me.

This is where others come in helpful. I can learn by watching women who have been successfully doing this a lot longer than me. I can also learn from others mistakes, so that I don't make the same ones. I can also pass on what I've learned to others. Have you ever been to a wedding shower where you had to write one piece of advise for the new couple? I love that. I always right the same thing. "Tell each other the story of how you met and what you were thinking often." It may not be for everyone, but Jeff's need for words of affirmation makes this a major bonus point for me! Actually, it helps me to remember also. Its good to remember and relive what started our lives together.

I've learned how to love my kids better as well. I have learned that simply stroking Edana's hair and holding her hand goes a long way with her. I'm still working on praising Aidan with words. I forget too often, but a simple that's great really does go a long way! Maybe one of the younger ones will be easy and like quality time like me. If not, I'll learn to love them as well, and I may be asking one of you for advice!

What ways do you show love to your husband and children? Is it the ways they need or just how you like to do it?

Lord, thank you for my family. Thank you for a husband who is everything I need and is always striving to grow and become more like you. Thank you for healthy, beautiful, happy children. Thank you for the love they give me and the love you have given me for them. You have blessed me beyond anything I could ever imagine. Please help me to be the wife and mom you want me to be, that they need me to be. Help me to love them in the way you created them to be loved, so that we can always be a good positive witness for You. In Jesus name, Amen.

The Long Awaited Blog

This has been a difficult post for me. I've set at my computer many times, fingers to keys, ready to type only to walk away. I have even tried to talk God into letting me change the topic. Jeremiah was right in comparing an unspoken word from the Lord to a "fire shut up in [his] bones." Its a week late, but I hope it speaks to some of you!

Genesis 1:27 clearly states that God made man in His image, but its hard to understand that concept. Therefore, we easily give in to the world's ideas about how we should look. We justify this by saying that somehow the verse saying to be in the world but not of it doesn't really apply to this aspect of life. Unfortunately, it does.

As a little girl, I was dubbed the short chubby one of my childhood friends. When your best friend grows up to be 6 feet tall, its hard not to look short next her. The title stuck, however, and I believed it. My brother and best friend's brother gave us nicknames as preteens that further confirmed my believe. I looked in the mirror and saw simply what everyone told me I was...short, fat, and manly looking. (I did look just like my dad after all)

I reached the pinnacle of hating my fat build in eighth grade when I brought home my school picture. It was AWFUL. I'm sure mom meant well, but she refused to leave my picture from the year before up and get rid of the hideous new picture I had brought home. I looked at it every single day. By the time ninth grade rolled around, I refused to order school pictures and "forgot" the money on picture day. The only problem was I had to look at the terrible picture for another year. A nasty, ungodly resolve begin to grow inside me.

I began to eat very little, and after suffering from pneumonia over Christmas break, the effects of starvation did the trick. I went from the massive size nine (roll eyes here) to a tiny size 5/6. I was hooked. I never starved myself completely, until my junior and senior years. Then  I began "pretending" to eat so that people would think I was really eating. I know people knew what I was doing, but unfortunately, the ones who saw it only gripped about me to each other.

By the spring of 1999, my short 5 foot 7 inch frame was a mere 115 pounds, and I was sick. I still struggle with hypoglycemia to this day, and I realize now that I had symptoms of it before I lost all the weight. However, living on mountain dew, really messed me up, and I thank God that it did. After several frightening spells, I finally told my mom something was wrong. When she took me to the doctor, the first words out of his mouth to me where, "you have to gain 10 at least pounds." Then I got a stern scary lecture and told that I would need to eat every three hours and cut out sugar. (no mountain dew) I was devastated and scared.

I was thankful for the doctor not beating around the bush with me, but the true issue was never dealt with properly. I would eat too much at a meal and feel guilt, so I would starve myself and mess my glucose levels up again. It was a very frustrating cycle. To be honest, it still is. I no longer intentionally starve myself, but I struggle with my eating habits. However, I have found a nugget of Truth that I cling to in my struggle.

As long as I am His child, I am a temple for the Holy Spirit. 1Corinthians 3:16 and 17 says, "Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him because God’s temple is holy. You are that holy temple!" (GWT) My job isn't to make this temple beautiful in the world's eyes but to care for it and let God make it beautiful. I tell my oldest daughter often, that I exercise and eat right (well, try to anyway) to be healthy not to be skinny. I struggle with the temptation to look 'good' still, but the fight is getting easier all the time!

The godless views of beauty will never be satisfied. God's view of beauty is a different matter. The world's ideas of beauty have changed many times over the years. If I'd been born in the 30's or 40's, I could have given Marilyn Monroe a run for her money! I fear the Lord, though, and according to Proverbs 31:30, that is what is truly praise worthy.

Please pray with me.

Father, thank you for my health and a body that is capable of exercise and activity. Thank you, for making a way that Your Spirit can live inside of me, without Him I would be nothing. Help me to see myself as you do, as your blessed, consecrated temple. Give me wisdom to know how to best care for my body, and convict me to stay healthy. Most of all, please give me strength to fight against the desire to conform to the world and look down on the body You gave me. "Every good and perfect gift comes from above..." Remind me often that my body is included in the gifts you've given me. Thank you for your mercy and wisdom. In Jesus name, Amen.

Weak is the New Strong

Happy Manly Monday!  I know last week I departed from the usual Titus 1 study and application and guess what?  I'm doing it again for the next couple of weeks. When I'm teaching and preaching I always want to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and follow wherever He goes.  Well, where He went this morning at 6:00 am was straight to my heart to talk about real strength.  So here goes.....

Those of you who know me personally know that in no world would I be classified as being especially physically strong.  Now don't get me wrong, I can do OK on the basketball court (or at least I could when I still worked at Teen Challenge and was still in shape) and I can help OK with some heavy lifting.  But let's face it, you're probably not going to see me at World Gym any time soon putting up 300 lbs. on the bench press.  For what I lack in physical strength, I've tried to make up for in spiritual and mental strength.  I try to exercise my spirit through reading God's Word, spending time with Him and other believers, and praying in the Holy Spirit.  I try to continue developing my mental strength through reading books on a variety of topics from history to Christian growth to some of the latest teen fiction (keeping up with 7th grade English students and all).  What I've been noticing lately though in myself has been a tendency to rely on my own strengths and not God's.  What this has led to has been worry, stress, and even moments of frustration and misdirected anger. 

This morning, as I sat on the couch enjoying the quiet of the morning broken only by the sound of fresh coffee brewing, I asked God what He wanted me to read from His Word.  His answer: Isaiah 22:3.  Here's how this verse reads in the Amplified Bible: "All your [military] leaders have fled together; without the bow [which they had thrown away] they have been taken captive and bound by the archers.  All of you who were found were bound together [as captives], though they had fled far away."  Your response right now may be what mine was this morning: Huh???  Then I sensed the Holy Spirit urging me to read on in Isaiah 22.  As I did I realized that I was reading the words the Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah during the reign of King Hezekiah.  This particular passage refers to the siege of the city of Jerusalem by the army of Assyria.  Even though Hezekiah was making reforms in the land and working hard to turn the people's hearts back to God, God still allowed the Assyrians to attack the city.  Why?  We'll talk about that in a moment. 

Some of the verses in Isaiah 22 and 2 Chronicles 22 are very telling about the preparations for war that were  happening and the attitude of those who made them.  Isaiah 22:8 states that God removed the protective covering of Judah and the people began to look to the weapons of the king's armory.  Isaiah 22:9, 10 show that the people broke down houses to get materials to repair breaches in the walls and collected water. Isaiah 22:11-13 are perhaps some of the most telling concerning the attitude of the people.  They made a reservoir  for a pool between two of their walls, but did not look to the Maker of the pool and the Planner of this time.  Even when the Lord called them to fasting and praying, they decided there was no hope for them and instead planned one last hurrah before they died, complete with feasting and drinking.  In 2 Chronicles 32, we see Hezekiah taking courage (v. 5) and building up the broken wall, raising towers upon it, building another wall, strengthening the City of David, and making abundant shields and weapons.  We see him in V. 6 setting captains of war over the people and gathering them together. In verse 7 he tells the people, "Be strong and courageous.  Be not afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him; for there is Another with us greater than [all those] with him." (AMP) Hezekiah continues in verse 8, "With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles."

These show great preparation and an inspiring speech, but I must wonder a little if Hezekiah truly believed what he said.  We see him later spreading the threatening letter from the Assyrian commander before the Lord and he and Isaiah praying for deliverance.  We see God sending His angel and the angel slaying 185,000 Assyrian troops in their tents and working a great deliverance.  However, when we lay 2 Chronicles 32 alongside Isaiah 22, I wonder if Hezekiah needed to make all the repairs and make all the weapons in the first place.  Based on what the Lord says through Isaiah, it would appear that had the people prayed and fasted in the first place, He would have worked their deliverance anyway.   Sometimes as Christian men, we face a trial or a battle and we know the right things to say; "If God is for us, who can be against us?" and  "The battle is the Lord's not mine" and yet we still build up our own walls and make our own weapons and only when things get really tight to we fall our faces before God with fasting and weeping and seek Him for His outstretched arm and delivering hand.  Now don't get me wrong.  I'm not saying don't prepare to meet life's trials head on.  I just think sometimes (I know it's true in my own life and has been lately) we make all the battle preparations, looking at our own resources and our own strength first, then we seek the One Who gave us those resources in the first place.  Didn't God rebuke even David for numbering his troops and looking at his own strength? Had David forgotten that God could do more through him with a sling and a stone than David could do on his own with the assembled might of Israel and Judah?  In what areas of our lives have we been trying to control things and fight in our own strength? 

So why did God allow Assyria to attack Judah even when Hezekiah was doing the right things?. I don't know the full answer to that.  Why does God allow anything bad to happen to us?  But perhaps at least in part it was to show them that when it comes down to it, He is the Source of all our strength and He wants to show Himself strong on behalf of His children.  What father wouldn't?

Psalm 84:5a says, "Blessed [happy, fortunate, to be envied] is the man whose strength is in You."  Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12 that he had the realization that God's strength and power are made perfect in our weaknesses.  He said then that he would glory in his weaknesses and infirmities that the strength and power of Christ may rest upon him.  How many of us as men glory in our weaknesses?  What will it take for us to realize our weaknesses early in the battle and to call on Him Who desires to be our Strength and Salvation?


Lord, I confess that lately I have been trying to to things in my own strength.  When facing tests, battles, and trials, I know the "right" things to say, but that doesn't always mean I surrender my weaknesses fully to Your strength.  May we as men learn that  in ourselves, we are not as strong as we think we are, and that in You, we are stronger than we ever thought we could be.  May  we be strong in You and the power of Your might (Ephesians 6:10). May we realize that unless You build the house, they who build it labor in vain and unless You keep the city, the watchman wakes but in vain (Psalm 127:1).  In our weaknesses, show Yourself mighty on our behalf to us, our families, our churches, our communities, and our nation.  In Jesus' precious and strong name I pray, Amen.