There's a Lesson In This

While so much fun seeing all of our families, this Christmas season was long and tiring.  After traveling three weekends in a row we were all so ready to be home where the kids could play with their new toys and we could all sleep in our own beds.  And then on our second day home the littlest wakes up with a stomach bug, followed by the oldest, then mommy.  :(  Not exactly how we planned to enjoy our new toys and time at home, BUT there's a lesson in this . . .

During our driving this holiday and in the days leading up to the New Year, I took some time to sit and consider what I wanted out of this new beginning.  I put in some extra prayer time and Scripture reading and while many were coming up with words for the new year, I felt like God placed this little phrase in my mind - work smarter, not harder.  You see, I'm from the mindset that in order to expect big things (and really feel like you're doing anything worthwhile), you have to work hard and put in the time.  Unfortunately, this mindset has left me strained, stressed, and overwhelmed.  Not to mention feeling like a failure in many areas of my life.  God's gentle instruction opened up a whole new idea.  Slowly He's been showing me to put Him first, follow where He leads, and do only what is needed in each area without going overboard (I often dive in head first and want a years worth of work done in about an hour, just ask my husband!).  

While my children have been sick, I've done countless loads of laundry, cleaned furniture and carpets, snuggled sick babies, and worked only in the few minutes I can each day.  And you know what?  I haven't been stressing.  In fact, I feel as though I've been more successful in my endeavors because I haven't pushed.  I haven't had time to overthink.  And I've been trusting the Lord so much more.  Trusting that He will lead me in the direction I need to be and not trying to do something beyond that.  Accepting that He has good things for me, even if they don't look like what I thought.

He has confirmed this to me in a couple ways over the last 24 hours.  First involved an incredible book I'm reading called Breaking Busy by Alli Worthington.  In my reading she talks about our God-given purpose and our need to be obedient to that purpose, knowing He can do so much more through us when we follow the plan He has.  The second was through an audio teaching by Priscilla Shirer. I have a devotional CD of hers that plays whenever I'm driving and in this particular message she talks about hearing a prize winning tomato farmer share how important pruning is to producing the largest, ripest fruit.  She goes on to talk about how sometimes we have to prune good things in order to grow better things.  It's funny because they also both point out various times in Scripture where Jesus Himself reminds the people why He came.  For example, after healing many people, the whole town came out to where Jesus was staying and attempted to keep Him there so He could continue to heal them.  This was His response:

But He said, I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."  - Luke 4:43

Both ladies pointed out that Jesus didn't just come to do the Father's Will, but that He did the Father's Will and nothing else.  It would have been good for Him to stay and heal them, but that's not what He was called to do.  Just as I am not called to work myself ragged in every area, trying to trudge my own path and force everything to work the way I want under my control.  I must work smarter, not harder.  For me, this means spending more time with the Lord, listening to His guidance, and being obedient even when I don't know how it will turn out.

I'd love to hear if God has given you a word or phrase for this new year.  Or perhaps He's in the midst of teaching you a new lesson.  I'd love to hear that too!

Be Strong and Courageous

Y'all, it has been a month!  Haha!  After traveling three weekends in a row, we are all so thankful to be in our own home for the foreseeable future.  While seeing family and friends is wonderful, there's just something about being in your own space where I can let the kids roam and know there's nothing they can really get into!

If you've ever read one of my posts, you know that I try to be as honest and transparent as possible.  Well, here we go again!  I am, in general, a very anxious person.  I have a habit of overthinking decisions, rethinking decisions, regretting decisions, and oftentimes just being overall nervous about decisions I make.  Take for instance today.  I needed to place an order online.  It took me hours to figure out what to purchase, not to mention the taking things out of my cart to add others in only to take those out and go back to what I had before to finally taking everything and only purchasing what I originally planned on doing!  Ok, get the picture?  So here we go . . .

I work for a direct sales company and, therefore, can run my business however I so choose.  That is both very freeing and also nerve-wracking for someone like me.  I get anxious about whether I've made the right decision, if I'm planning as I should, if I'm being too salesy with friends, etc.  It was starting to really get out of control so I took a moment after the kids fell asleep to read some Scripture and pray.  Here's the verse I found myself meditating on:

Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.  - Joshua 1:9

It's a pretty common verse, but as I thought about today I realized there's really two parts to it.  I am not to afraid or discouraged because God is with me.  But that requires that I be taking time to listen and obey where He leads me.  Joshua was also instructed many times to follow the Lord's commands.  He didn't have to be afraid because he knew that where he went is where God called him to be.  It didn't mean things would be easy and, if you've read their story, it wasn't, but it did mean Joshua didn't have to be anxious or afraid.

It was a strong reminder for me to put my decisions in His hands.  Ask Him how I should run my business, raise my kids, spend my time, and then take a moment to listen and see what He says.  I don't mean an audible voice (although sometimes that would be lovely), but where I feel my passions leading, where I feel peace, where I feel challenged.  God speaks to us in different ways, but if we are quiet and still enough to listen, we will hear His voice.

As my little man would say, "Be strong and courageous, God is with ME!"

For The Weary Mama

In a season of feeling stressed and overwhelmed with two little ones, a new (to me) ministry, and a small business (not to mention typical household chores), I have truly recognized my need to get back into the Word regularly to gain clarity, strength, and wisdom.  After my daughter was born in mid-February, it was a steep learning curve figuring out how to accomplish anything with two under two in the house.  I had to figure out what worked so I could make dinner, fold laundry, get through the grocery store (!), and, not surprisingly, how to do it with limited sleep!  I'm sure many of you can relate.  So here's me trying to get in a better rhythm.

My plan of action is to focus on the book of John (I just needed somewhere to start without something else to think about each time I sat down!).  I'm probably a week into this idea of reading a chapter a day and just finished John 4!  But my tired, weary, anxious mind got a lot of encouragement today as I read these familiar stories.  Things I never noticed before seemed to stand out.

Let's start here, " . . . tired as [Jesus] was from the journey . . . " (John 4:6b).  Did you catch that? Jesus understands how it feels to be tired!  He can relate to me!  It may seem small and I've rushed past it many times, but when you get so stressed you feel as though you're failing daily, there's encouragement in knowing Jesus knows how tired I am and what that feels like!  Phew!

Here's some more encouragement for the weary mama - just a few verses later, Jesus says to the woman at the well, ". . . the water I give him will become in him like a spring of water . . . "  (John 4:14b).  It renews and refreshes itself.  And we have this spring (the Holy Spirit) within us!  How often I forget that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives within me (Romans 6)!  I have become very aware of a little mantra that runs through my mind (and out of my mouth) when things get tough.  You might recognize it, it goes like this, "I can't!  I can't!  I just can't!"  The truth is, He can!  While there is some truth in that - in and of myself I can't - it's not the whole truth.  Enter God! I can't, but He can and His power is at work within me.  This gives me hope.  Will I remember this truth every time I get overwhelmed?  No.  But the more I remind myself, the more quickly this truth will come when the moments become too much.

It's not much, but hopefully these passages encouraged you as they did me.  And remember, mama, you're doing GREAT!

Oooo . . . tempting . . .

Over the last couple of weeks I have begun reading through the Gospel of Luke.  I really felt the desire to try looking at these stories with fresh eyes, gaining insight into stories I've heard hundreds of times before . . . you know the ones.  The ones where the skim over it quickly recounting the story paraphrased in your head without actually reading the words on the page.  In taking the time to slow down and read this Scriptures as if I've never heard them before, I have heard the Lord speaking new lessons to me. 

I'm sure many of you have read of the temptation of Jesus.  You know the story.  Jesus has just been baptized and it says the Spirit led Him into the desert to be tempted by Satan.  It shares how Jesus ate nothing for 40 days and then hear comes Satan on the scene with an attempt to entice Him into turning stones to bread, jumping off the temple so they angels would rescue Him, and bowing down to Satan with the promise that Satan would give the earth to Him.  Now try reading it anew in Luke 4:1-13. 

Here's what stood out to me as it never has before.  Satan showed up after Jesus hadn't eaten for 40 days.  Have you ever noticed that the Enemy shows up strong when we're already down or stressed?  Like when you have a huge project at work or school and then you get sick on top of it all.  Or just those times when it seems everything is happening at once.  If you're anything like me you can find yourself getting so overwhelmed that your time with the Lord diminishes, prayer life seems like a dream, and fellowship - who has time for that!?  Satan loves to come in when we're vulnerable because we tend to open ourselves up more to his ploys - his little whispers that say you can't finish in time, it's not worth it anyway, you aren't worth it, it will never turn out like you want, you better get used to it because this is life, and on and on . . .

It says later on in Luke 4:13 that Satan "left Him until an opportune time."  He wasn't done with Jesus.  Our Enemy is very persistent and he knows the times we are most vulnerable to his tricks.  So what do we do?  Give up?  Understand that Satan will always have the upper hand?  NO!!!  Consider your own life - when does our Enemy most gain ground in your thoughts and actions?  Take note of those times and guard yourself.  Memorize Scripture that helps in those areas where he tends to be most effective, be sure to guard your time with the Lord - He is our strength after all (Psalm 28:7), and talk to someone about it.  Accountability is a powerful thing.  The Enemy loses ground when you have someone else to encourage, support, and speak Truth into your life.  Secrets, lies, and darkness lose their power in the Light.

We have not been promised a life of constant peace, but that we will always have the Peacemaker with us.  We have not been promised that our Enemy will never try to draw us away from God or bring temptations against us, but we have been promised that the Lord will fight with and for us (check out the Psalms)  and that there is no temptation that we cannot overcome with God's help.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. - 1 Corinthians 10:13

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. - Proverbs 4:23

Reading Christ

Rather than give something up for Lent (something I typically don't "celebrate" anyway), I chose to add something this year . . . well, actually, a couple things.  The most important, however, is my goal to spend more and deeper time with the Lord and His Word each day.  While this is often quite a challenge with my schedule, I find that when I do take the time to just sit before my Bible and the Lord, amazing things happen - my eyes are opened, my heart is filled, and my soul overflows with joy.  While reading a passage in Galatians today (I'll share more later) I was suddenly struck by the thought that when I read Scripture I am literally reading and encountering CHRIST!  Check this out:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen His glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.  - John 1:1, 14

Did you catch it?  The "Word became flesh and lived among us."  That's Christ!  Christ was the Word that came to earth to rescue us from ourselves.  That means when I begin to read the Word and dig into it for truth, I am reading in Christ!  How amazing! No wonder my eyes are opened and my soul is overjoyed!  :)

Tid Bits

As my life has changed much over the last several months I realize how fast-paced our society is.  We often claim we don't have time to sit over a devotion or quiet time for long and therefore miss out on what God is speaking.  In response to this I feel as though God has been leading me to change how I present these posts.  Rather than long stories or explanations that only a few truly have time to read I want to share the tid bits that God draws out of the Scriptures for me each morning as I get in a few minutes with Him before my days starts.

Today I was reading in Matthew 26 and God highlighted a few truths from this passage:

A woman came to Jesus with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she poured it on His head as e sat at the table.  But when the disciples saw it, they were angry and said, "Why this waste?" . . . But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman?  She has performed a good service for me.  ~ Matthew 26:7-8, 10

Too often we become focused on the opinions of others and it cripples our ability to serve God.  This woman did something incredible for Jesus, something He praised her for and promised that wherever the Good News would be proclaimed that her story would be told (Matt 26:13).  Praise God that her focus was upon serving Jesus and not upon the opinions of others.  For she obeyed what God called her to do regardless of what others might think.

Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What will you give me if I betray Him to you?"  ~ Matthew 26:14

Judas' betrayal of Jesus was done out of selfishness and a self-focused perspective.  He was more concerned about what would be given to him than what would happen to Jesus because of his actions.  Lord, let our focus be upon You rather than upon ourselves.  For we know that You are the giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17).  There is nothing this world can offer that would be greater than what You give.  Help me, Jesus, to be more focused on You, Your Name, and Your Glory than upon my own.  Amen.

Jesus said to Judas, "Friend, do what you are here to do."  Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested Him.  ~  Matthew 26:50

Knowing what Judas has come to do and the pain Jesus will face because of that choice, Jesus calls him "friend."  What hope that gives us!  What love, that in spite of all the times we have hurt, denied, and turned our backs on Jesus, He calls us friend.

Then Peter began to curse, and he swore on oath, I do not know the man!"  At that moment the cock crowed.  Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: "Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times."  And he went out and wept bitterly. ~ Matthew 26:74-75

How often I forget the truth of God's Word and need a reminder like Peter received.  God has spoken so much truth to us through Scripture - words of peace, strength, joy, power - that we quickly forget, especially when we are in difficult situations and need it most.  Lord, let us be accepting of the reminders of Your Truth.  Let our pride not get in the way of taking these words of power and wisdom to heart, letting them soak into us that they might effect change from the inside out.

Continual Renewal

Take a moment and think back on your childhood.  How you acted, what you thought about certain things, or how mature you were.  Now compare that to who you are now.  Are there any differences?  For most of us we can see how throughout our lives we have grown in knowledge, experience, understanding, maturity, and in many other areas.  In Colossians we find a call to exhibit this same growth in our spiritual lives, in our relationship with Christ Jesus:

. . .  you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. – Colossians 3:9b-10

As I read this passage what stuck out to me was that in addition to the initial new self that we put on, we are being renewed.  This implies a continuous, ongoing action.  Our relationship with Christ was not a onetime deal where we put on the new self and were in that moment at the relationship level with Christ that He wanted us to remain at for our entire lives.  Just as our parents and older siblings look forward to a child's constant growth as they learn to walk, speak, reason, etc., our Father looks forward to those milestones of constant growth in our relationship with Him as well.  Peter talks about this in terms of moving from spiritual milk to meat in our understanding of God (1 Peter 2).

So how do we do this?  How do we maintain this constant renewal?

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. – Colossians 3:12

How often do you clothe yourself?  I'm really hoping you put clothes on every day!  So when Paul says to clothe yourselves with compassion, humility, gentleness and patience, I see it as something we are to do daily.  Again, this is not something we can do one time and hope that it sticks for the rest of our lives.  Just as our clothes, should we never change them, begin to smell and grow old, our compassion, humility, gentleness, and patience would grow stale without being refreshed and renewed daily.  One way to renew these traits daily is through encouragement through God's Word and dialogue with God through prayer.  Another way comes through fellowship with other Christians:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. – Colossians 3:16

I love this verse!  Did you notice the word pastor, preacher, or leader in this verse?  No!  Why not?  Because this is the job of the Christian community and is not to be left for our leaders alone.  It requires the participation of every member of the body of Christ to teach one another and to come together to praise God and express our mutual thankfulness to Him for all He has done in our lives.  Consider another of Paul's letters:

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. – Hebrews 10:23-24

We have the opportunity and the honor of spurring one another on in good deeds, in worship, in service, in knowledge, and, in turn, in spiritual growth as we support one another.  Through prayer, the reading of God's Word, and fellowship with other believers who are encouraging and supporting one another as the body of Christ, we find ourselves being continually renewed in the image of our Creator.  Lest we grow sidetracked in our own growth and become proud in what we have accomplished, Paul reminds us to constantly point to the Lord as the One who makes possible this growth and all we do:

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. – Colossians 3:17

A Worthy Life

What kind of people ought you to be? – 2 Peter 3:11b

Woah!  What a question!  After reminding us that there is a time of judgment coming to the earth, Peter asks this very profound question:  What kind of people ought you to be?  Considering the many ways he could have asked this question or even just told us the answer, it strikes me as incredibly important that he chooses this phrasing.  It implies that we already know what we should be doing - that we already have the answer.  The Holy Spirit is within every believer reminding us of how to live a life worthy of the calling of Christ.  We need only to listen and heed its conviction.

Before asking this question, Peter draws our attention to a very important, yet somewhat unfortunate, fact: 

. . . for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. – 2 Peter 2:19b

(This just begs the question:  What has you mastered? I'll save that for another day.)

 Instead of simply ending his argument here, Peter calls us higher and deeper into our relationship with Christ.  Hope is offered.  We aren't left as slaves to our sin, circumstances, or idols.  In asking what kind of person we ought to be, he is saying that there is the possibility of being something more than what we are now.  Consider how he ends his letter:

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen. – 2 Peter 3:18

We have the ability to grow in Christ!  Living a life for Christ is not living a stagnant life.  It's a life of constant change and growth as we learn more about who God is and all that He has done for us.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. – 2 Peter 1:5-8

As children of the Most High God, we are called to grow in relationship with Him, to live a life worthy of the calling He has given us.  This is not something we are left to figure out on our own.  Jesus promised the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, would come to His followers to teach us all things and remind us of all He taught (John 14:26).  Knowing this, I ask you to consider these questions:  What steps is the Lord asking you to take in order to grow closer to Him?  Are you taking them?  What is stopping or preventing you?  If you're unsure of how to answer – ask your Father!  He wants an intimate relationship with you and will, through His Spirit, reveal to you those areas of your life that are getting in the way of that relationship. 

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. – Colossians 1:10

The Annoying Kid Next Door

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! – 1 John 3:1a          

    
       As I wrote my last post on service and was thinking about God's mercy and the Church's response to Him I found myself sad on the Lord's behalf.  In my own experience I can remember how I've treated God at times, how I've pushed Him out of the way to make room for other things, how I've forgotten Him. 

    
        I think sometimes we forget what it means to have relationship with Christ.  We forget who He is in our lives.  Consider this:  you're at a big, fancy event and see this person that you really admire.  They're rich, world famous, powerful, influential.  You see them surrounded by a huge crowd and although you wish you could say hello you know there's no way you would get close enough to say anything, and even if you did, would they even notice you?  As you're standing in the corner contemplating this, that person sees you from a distance, calls out your name, and runs towards you!  They give you a giant hug, tell you how they've been waiting to meet you, and ask if you have any time coming up that you could hang out.  How do you respond?  Most of us would clear our calendars for as long as we could to hang out with that person!  I mean if this famous person wants to hang out with us, what could possibly get in the way of that, right?

     
       Now, imagine that person is Christ.  How do you respond?  It's sad to say many of us would respond completely different.  We'd pull out our calendars, hum and hull about some appointment we have, and end up asking if they could e-mail us later to find a date.  It's sad, but we think of Jesus more as the annoying kid next door that our mom makes us play with than this awesome, amazing God of the universe who desires to spend time with us. We spend time with Him because we feel like we're supposed to - after all, isn't it the "Christian thing to do?"   We pray and read our Bibles because we don't want to hurt God's feelings or because "mom said."  In truth, if you simply looked at the fact that we are but a vapor on this earth and He is the everlasting God, we should be so honored and amazed that He should want relationship with us, that He should even know our name, that we would clear our calendars for the rest of our lives to make room for whatever He wants to do!

        
    Are you treating Him as the amazing, merciful, and compassionate God that He is or has He become that annoying kid next door in your life?

Whoever has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” – John 14:21

(Beautiful picture courtesy of my friend, Jessica Sepúlveda.  Thanks, Jess!)

Service is a Choice

Then [Jesus] called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me." – Mark 8:34

          
     The other day I was contemplating the idea of living in service to God.  I was thinking how God sent His Son, Jesus, to take my punishment before I ever asked to be saved.  Part of me began to think, "I never asked for Him to do that so why should I dedicate my life to Him?  He did that all on His own.  I'm grateful and accept the sacrifice He made for me, but do I have to give up how I want to live my life for Him?"  The resounding answer in my head was simple – no.  I don't have to give my life in service to my God.  He loved me so much that He gave me free will so that I could make my own decisions.  In the case of service to the Lord who gave His life for mine, I again find that I have the free will to decide how I will respond to His amazing gift of love.

            
     An excellent example of this concept can be found in the fairly recent movie "The Conte of Monte Cristo." About halfway through the movie we find our main character, Edmond Dantes, washed up on a beach after escaping a prison where he was wrongly incarcerated, beaten, and held without hope of release.  Unfortunately, he finds himself in the midst of a rough-looking band of pirates.  The captain, instead of killing him outright, orders him to fight one of his crew to the death and the winner would be allowed to live.  This crew member, Jacopo, wronged the captain and was destined to be killed anyways.  As the fight ensues Dantes comes to the point where he could kill Jacopo.  Instead, however, he chooses to spare Jacopo's life and even pleads on his behalf to the captain, thus sparing his own life and Jacopo's.  Amazed at Dante's willingness to spare him, Jacopo devotes his life in service to Dantes.

    
        What an awesome portrayal of our own relationship with Christ!  Christ was wrongly accused, beaten, and killed yet when He could kill us for our sins, He chose instead to show mercy.  What surprises me most about this scene is Jacopo's response.  He was an immoral pirate, a thief, yet he gives his life in service to Dantes after being saved.  He could have very easily said, "Thanks, man!  Catch you around sometime!"  Instead, he recognized the sacrifice that was made and desired to serve in response. 

      
      He faced the same choice we face with regard to service of Christ.  We could look at His sacrifice, accept it, and say, "Hey Jesus, that was really nice of you.  Maybe I'll see you later sometime" or we could choose to say, "Jesus, I am so undeserving of the sacrifice you made for me.  I give my life for you to use as You would see fit.  Let me be of service to You.  Use me, Father."

      
      Am I forced to serve God with my life?  No.  Is it my honor and privilege to allow God to use me for His purposes?  Most definitely.  That is the choice I made, but you get to make this choice for yourself.  No one can force you one way or the other.  Service is a choice.

Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. – Romans 15:17

Peace, Quiet, and God

Recently I was going through a time where I was really stressed.  It seemed like everything was coming due at the same time and I had to work nonstop to even begin completing everything on my "to do" list.  I was getting so frustrated and almost depressed because there was so much to do and so little time.  All I really wanted to do was crawl under my covers and sleep, take a walk, read a book, watch a movie, anything other than those things I "had" to do.  It was during this time that God started to speak to me about something I had often heard of, but had never truly followed . . . Sabbath.

Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done.  ~ Genesis 2:3

God is the all-powerful creator of the universe.  Do you think He really needed to take a break?  I believe God used this as an example for us.  We are not meant to work non-stop.  We need breaks.  Throughout the Old Testament, and into the New Testament, we see the importance of the Sabbath day.  It was a time for the people of God to rest in His Presence without working.  I love how Deitrich Bonhoeffer discussed the Sabbath.  He wrote there is "no commandment to work, but there is a commandment to rest from work . . . God knows that the work we do can gain so much power over us we can no longer leave it alone . . . It is not work that supports us, but God alone . . . The Sabbath rest is the visible sign that human beings live by the grace of God and not by works . . . "

Perhaps you're like me, a workaholic.  I can't seem to stop working.  If there is something to be done I'll keep working until it's completed.  The problem is there is always something to be done!  As Bonhoeffer wrote, work had power over me and I could not leave it alone.  It was at this time that God really began encouraging me to take a weekly Sabbath. 

So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.  When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.  Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak."  But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."  The man asked him, "What is your name?"  "Jacob," he answered.  Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome." ~ Genesis 32:24-28

After [Jesus] had dismissed them, He went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray.  Later that night, He was there alone.  ~ Matthew 14:23

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.  ~ Mark 1:35

Do you notice a trend?  In each instance, and there are plenty more, we see the person by themselves and the passing of time.  In determining how God wanted me to spend my Sabbath He reminded me of two very important things. 

First, Sabbath isn't simply not working, it is actively taking time to spend with the Lord.  This is time that is set aside to spend with God.  Often we hear Sabbath in regard to not working, but it is so much more than that.  Yes, you aren't working, but that time is not replaced with just any leisure activity you choose.  This time needs to be spent with God.  In taking time to worship Your God He will refresh you and prepare you for the week to come. 

Second, Sabbath isn't to be rushed.  Not that I have already obtained this (Phil 3:13), but let me share what I've been doing as part of my observance of the Sabbath.  I live fairly near a state park so on Saturday afternoon I take my Bible and go for a walk.  I walk a pretty long distance, but here's the key – I don't wear a watch, my phone is on silent, I don't take people with me.  I've gotten into calling these my God walks.  It's a time where I can come before God without the distractions of my normal day.  There are no time limits or deadlines set on me, no amount of Scripture that I have to read before I say it's done.  No two walks are ever the same.  Each time God has something new to speak to me about.  And when I get away from the noise of my life and focus solely on Him it's amazing how much clearer His voice is, how the normal, everyday stresses seem so much smaller, and how He prepares me for the week by filling me anew with strength, courage, and peace.  As with Jacob in Genesis 32, I have come to find that when we take time with God and give Him our focus He will speak to you and bless that time you have given Him.  Never think of it as a waste of time that you could be doing other work.  When you give to the Lord I firmly believe that He blesses your offering if it is given with a sincere heart.  So many times I have taken time with God when I really didn't have it to give and suddenly my work went so much faster and I was much more efficient that I had been before.

It's not always easy, but I encourage you to pray about taking a Sabbath.  Take some time to just spend with God.  Get away from the distractions and listen to Him.  We all need time of peace, quiet, and God.

Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath . . . ~ Exodus 16:29a

Throne Room

 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:  “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”  ~ Isaiah 6:1-3

Have you ever had the feeling that things were just not in proper priority in your life?  Maybe you find yourself on Facebook at 10pm when you know you have a paper due at midnight.  Or you find yourself organizing the silverware drawer in the kitchen when you need to be buying groceries.  We all have times where we forget what we should be doing and instead fill that time or space with unnecessary activities. 

During a worship service recently I became acutely aware that something was not right in my spiritual life.  I couldn’t quite place it, but knew it was something I needed get straight with God.  As I knelt to pray God revealed to me that my life had gotten out of order.  My priorities had been jumbled around to the point that I was spending time and placing higher importance on things other than my God who loves me. 

God gave me a breath-taking and humbling image of what I had been doing with Him in my life:

I was standing at the entrance to a glorious throne room.  The ceilings towered above me in an amazing stone arch.  There were magnificent stone columns running along the side of this long, narrow room.  At the end of the room I saw a throne.  It was regal and incredibly ornate.  I knew immediately it belonged to someone of great importance.  As I walked towards this throne, however, I found it filled strange items.  It held my school work, my papers, my job, my finances, my relationships, my hopes, my dreams, my future, and many other things from my life piled up.  As I glanced around this room I saw a man standing near one of the columns silently waiting.  Immediately I understood this was meant to be His throne and here it was filled with all of my things.

You see, this throne room represented the throne of my life.  I had placed my hopes, dreams, and worries on the throne, in a place of honor.  I was so focused on these items that I hadn’t even realized I was slowly pushing God out of the center of my life.  My God could have come along and thrown these items out of the way so He could once again take His place on the throne of my life, but that is not the God I serve.  Instead He was waiting patiently for me to recognize what I had done.  Once I did, He was waiting to help me lift each item out of the throne.

It’s not easy to place God in the center of your life.  We are raised with the idea that we need to accomplish so much on our own.  Our society teaches us we must be driven to succeed and sometimes it might seem silly to place the will of another over your own, but a life centered around Christ is a life blessed.  I challenge you to examine the priorities of your life.  Each morning when you wake up, what do you think about accomplishing?  On those busy, crazy days, what’s the first thing you take off your to-do list?  What’s that one thing that no matter how busy you are is never taken off the list?

I don’t claim that it’s easy to place God’s Will over your own, just that when you do His great purpose is accomplished in your life.  Consider Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He prayed:

“Abba, Father,” He said, “everything is possible for you.  Take this cup from me.  Yet not what I will, but what you will.”  ~ Mark 14:36

Jesus asked that God would spare Him this death on a cross, but even in the face of this He prayed that God’s Will would be done.  He knew His Father had a plan and a purpose.  It may be hard to be obedient sometimes, especially if God is asking you to do something where you can’t see the good coming from it, but remember that your Father loves you and has a hope and a future for you (Jeremiah 29:11).  He will never leave you or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6), but will walk with you through everything He calls you into.  Place Christ on the throne of your life and be prepared to see Him move in incredible ways!

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.  ~ Galatians 2:20