Issues, Issues, Issues

It seems like every time I turn around, I hear about Christians having "issues". In other words, so many Christians I know are having problems and the problems are getting the best of them. They are not overcoming, but succumbing to them and doing things that don't please God or that would make for a better outcome. I was sharing a sad and grievious story with a friend about a family we know who once had major issues (as most of us have). They got saved and seemed to be doing great for years. Sadly to say, the family has fallen apart and are experiencing some terrible and traumatic situations resulting from poor choices. I knew of problems the family had been having all along, but I assumed that they were working through them. Things seemed to continually go down hill these past few years. As I shared the story, I aknowledged the fact that we all have issues! The difference is, those of us who work through our problems with resolve in the power of the Lord, will overcome them and will bring glory to God. I'm sure that there is yet hope for them, but not without devastating consequences. In Rom. 8:24-28 the Apostle Paul speaks of hope. Hope is when you desire to see something happen that hasn't happened yet. He exhorts us to hope in God and to wait for His help with patience and composure (tranquility). That means we don't take matters into our own hands. That means that we cooperate with the Holy Spirit. With His help, we are assured and know that all things work together for good to and for those who love God and are called according to His design and purpose. The problem lies in the heart. We will all encounter trials and tribulations, but how we handle them determines the outcome. 2 Pet.1:1-10 gives us an indepth look into how we can overcome the corruption (ruin; destruction) that is in the world. Please read this passage and meditate on it. Not just for your own sake, but for the sake of others also. This is a treasure chest of God's gold, and it can be yours for the taking!

God Weeps?

I'm so glad that our heavenly Father loved us so much, He gave His Son to suffer and die for us. I can't imagine how awful it would be to witness the torture and death of your child. Although it happens often in some parts of the world, the fact that the Most High God had to endure this, is beyond belief. But I am so grateful that He did. This past week as I did my study out of the Beth Moore, "Breaking Free" book, I saw in week 3 a verse that I've never noticed before. She asked a question,"What did God say would happen if His people, due to pride, did not listen to Him?" The reference is in Jeremiah 13:17>it says that God will weep in secret for us bitterly, because the Lord's flock is taken captive. Have you ever thought about the fact that God has emotions? His emotions are not always positive or happy! I've never thought about God going off in secret and crying bitter tears. And it is because His beloved, but (sometimes) stupid children, get taken into captivity by obstinance and disobedience. It truly broke my heart to get a glimpse of how our precious and loving Father in Heaven weeps for His children when we don't listen to Him and we get into trouble. I hope and pray that during this Easter season, we His children, will be aware of the fact that Jesus and our Father paid the ultimate price for our freedom from stupidity and the tendency to sin. He has made a way for us to be good children and be able to bless Him! He so wants to bless us and take care of us, but we must be obedient. Let's make Him happy and not sad. Col. 1:22-23 (Amp.) says that the Messiah reconciled us to God through His death, in order to present us holy and faultless and irreproachable in His presence; and this will He do provided we stay with Him and in faith, well-grounded, settled and steadfast in the hope of the gospel. Have a blessed Easter rejoicing in the fact that as we hope in Him and obey Him, we are pleasing to Him and we are making Him happy! He's happy when we are blessed! And we'll be blessed as we obey Him. I love Him so! Please read Eph. 1:16-23. This is my prayer for you!

Finally Surrender

I do the computer on Friday at Victory Friday Nites (our campus ministry). A worship song being sung was titled "Finally Surrender". As we sang it over and over, I didn't realize that I would be waking up the next morning with it playing over and over in my head. As I began to think about this phrase, the depth and truth of it was revealed to me in a deeper way. I thought that I had surrendered all to the Lord 32 years ago. I guess I did to the best of my knowledge, but I am seeing surrender in a new light contiunually. It is an initial decision, but is also a future, moment by moment choice. It's taking up my cross everyday because I want to be His disciple and because each new day our decision will be challenged. Jesus addresses surrender in this story of the rich young man(Matt. 19:16-30). The man was asking Jesus what deed He must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus answered not with a particular deed, but with a total lifetime committment challenge to follow Him. Jesus said that to "enter into life eternal one must continually keep the Ten Commandments. The man replied that he had kept the 10 from his youth and yet the man acknowledged that he still lacked. I believe Jesus was getting the man to the place where he could see that a "good" life is not enough. Eternal life is becoming His disciple and walking with Him daily. We must be in a perpetual state of FINAL SURRENDER.
Sometimes I find that I am happy with being a "good"person for a period of time. I then notice that I miss the Lord. I miss the evidence of His presence. I love His presence. I love it when He walks with me and talks with me. Surrender makes Him prominent in our life. The "10" naturally happens when we continually walk with Him, but we experience satisfaction and fulfillment that comes with final surrender. In Phil 3:10 A. Paul said, "For this is my determined purpose that I may know Him, that I may become progressively more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His person..." On this Palm Sunday, let's follow Him, praising Him and adoring Him. But, let's keep following Him all the way to the cross. This is eternal life, that I may know Him. (1 Jn. 5:11) ...God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who possesses the Son has this life..." I want this life forever! How about you?

The strangest thing happened on the way to the...

I had a strange thing happen to me yesterday. I cut my hand with a tin can lid. As I picked it up off of the counter, I dropped it in the sink, grabbed it, and it sliced my hand. Five stitches later, I thanked the Lord that I didn't have to go to emergency surgery at the hospital. It was a miracle the tendon wasn't cut. Just before that happened, I slipped on some water and fell flat in the pantry. Sounds almost like the Three Stooges! What is happening Lord? As I prayed and searched my heart, the Lord reminded me of my state of mind at that time. I was hurried, frustrated, and complaining in my mind about all the stuff I need to do re: house work, working-out, etc. This is a weakness for me>stress. I am in that state before I know it sometimes. I am being humble and confessing this to you and to the Lord so you can pray for me, I'll be healed, and I can repent (James 5:16). After my vacation, I noticed a temptation to get back into the grind. The Lord showed me this AM, 3-things that I need to remember in order to get the victory. 1.)Humble myself and put Him first each day, all day! (1 Jn 1:7-10 Acknowledge my sin and be cleansed;1 Pet. 5:6-9 Humble myself, cast my care on Him, be well balanced, and withstand the enemy) 2.)Be on guard against temptations and weaknesses. (Eph. 6:10-18 Be strong in the Lord, put on God's armor, resist in the evil day,stand your ground, pray at all times.) 3.)Walk in rest, peace,love, and joy. (Gal 5:22-25 the fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience...) In conclusion, I was tempted to worry that I am such an idiot, what's going to happen to me next time? God please help me! I need deliverance! As I sought Him, He led me to these precious promises: A)Ps.138:6-8 The Lord will perfect that which concerns me. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me. He respects the lowly. B)In the Psalm of David 141:1-5;8-10 he asks of the Lord, "...Set a guard, OLord, before my mouth...incline my heart not to consent to any evil thing...let the righteous man correct me, it is a kindness>oil so choice let not my head refuse it...in You do I take refuge and trust...keep me from the trap they have laid for me...while I escape." If God did it for K. David, He will care for me in this way.

Oh. How He loves me so!

I was in the Carribean last week with my daughter. When I got back I found that my computor was down. Well, I am now back in the swing of things. God proved to me over and over on our trip how much He loves me and how good He is. Along with the many blessings, His presence was so real and amazing it brings me to tears thinking about it. In church yesterday we sang a song that repeats quiet often, "Oh, how He loves me so...". This song is not a direct worshipful song that I am use to. I normally gravitate to songs that tell God how much I love Him, and this song threw me when I first heard it. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I haven't even begun to fully grasp God's love for me. I don't think about His love for me as often as I should. I believe we will understand and accept His love for us more as we walk with Him and will continue to do so throughout eternity (Eph. 2,3 please read). I have heard John 3:16 maybe a million times in my life, but I will not even begin to grasp His multi-facetted love for me until I have personally experienced it in my everyday life. When I say multi-facetted I am speaking of all the aspects of His love such as discipline and correction (Heb. 12:6), as well as favor and blessing, and the awareness of His beautiful and strong presence. 1John 4:19 says, "We love Him because He first loved us." This passage reminds me of the fact that He initially reached out to me and I then became His daughter. As a good daughter I don't want to ever take His love for granted. I will be forever grateful to Him and will prove to Him that His love is truly appreciated and received by doing everything I can to dote over Him and be obedient in what He would like for me to do. In Jude 21 we are exhorted to "Guard and keep ourselves in the love of God; expect and patiently wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ-which will bring you unto life eternal." This verse implies that keeping ourselves in the love of God will assure our eternity with Him. 1 Jn 4:15-16 says God is love and to be in God is to live in His love. What comfort! What joy! As it implied in Eph. 2, we can't earn His love. We get to accept it and enjoy it! Now I pray that (Eph 3:17-21 Amp. PLEASE READ) you may be rooted deep in and founded securely on LOVE. That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all of the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth of LOVE. That you may know the LOVE of Christ through experience for yourself. Now unto Him be glory forever and ever!

Self-preservation vs Self-exaltation (Pt.2)

It's godly when men want to know how to meet the needs of their wife. (and vice versa) This is an indication of a humble heart. Some men "get it", but many don't. It's the other way around too! We don't think alike. We don't have the same perspective on life, therefore we must make every effort to educate ourselves and then serve one another in love. This makes for a balanced and more complete couple (Eph 5:31>2=1). Many marriages end tragically in divorce for these reasons>"I don't love you anymore", or "he doesn't make me happpy", or something along these lines. God doesn't permit divorce and remarriage in this case (1 Cor. 7). The Bible gives clear instructions for marriage success (Eph 5:21-29). (Note: husbands look at your instructions and wives look at yours!) When one is in a situation where their mate doesn't "get it", or their friend, or their relative, etc., then that one can get supplemented in their relationship with God. No one should ever take God's first place filling our needs. No one will ever be able to fully accomplish this task. There are too many scriptures to list re: the fact that God wants to and should meet our every need. Putting God and His ways first sets us up for pleasant surprises along the way, not to mention eternal blessings. I'll call this GODLY SELF-PRESERVATION or GSP. When we look for someone or something to fulfill us rather than God, we are setting ourselves up for a let down. I'll call this FLESHLY SELF-PRESERVATION OR FSP. God wants to be our source (Phil.4:12), He wants us to focus our love on Him (Mk. 12:30), He wants us to serve Him by serving and loving others (Lk 10:27; Gal 5:13 AMP), and in God's love we are secure and satisfied in life and in our relationships (GSP). The reason we "can't get no satisfaction" is because we won't get it. It's our choice. God is there for us in every way we need Him (within the bounds of His Word). GSP says, "I must preserve my hope, joy, strength, and faith to the glory of God and for His purposes". FSP says, "I'm going to lose my mind if I don't..." or "I'm not going to take this!", "I don't deserve this!" Or something like, "I can't, I won't, or I hate...!" Who is the common denominator in this scenario? "I" or "it's all about me". And the attitude smells of flesh (Gal 5:16-17 ). It's human nature to preserve one's self, but we must take on a higher nature as Christians, God's nature. (*2 Peter 1:1-12 Amp). This passage is too long to type here but you must read it. I will bring out some of the highlights. "May grace and peace be multiplied to you...For His divine power has bestowed on us His precious and exceedingly great promises, so that you may escape from the moral decay that is in the world...and become sharers in the divine nature...employ every effort in exercising your faith to develop virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection...For IF these qualities are yours and increasingly abound in you, they will keep you...unto the knowledge of Jesus Christ...whoever lacks these qualities is blind...So I intend to remind you of these things, although you know them...". We must constantly remind ourselves of these things. We must encourage one another with these things. *2 Peter 1:11 encourages us with these words,"...Thus there will be richly and abundantly provided for you (who possess these qualities) entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." That's reassuring! We need to humble ourselves and trust that God's way works! We may not know in this lifetime all of the effects our decisions make, but certainly we will in the next. In conclusion, 1 John 3: 22 says, "...we receive from Him whatever we ask, because we obey His orders and (habitually) practice what is pleasing to Him." He loves us so much, and wants to bless us. We must let Him prove Himself to us. As we obey Him, we then see His faithfulness, we will receive a testimony for His glory, and we will overcome this world (Rev. 12:11) . We need to live it like we believe it! If we believe it, live it, then we will see it!

Hot Topic>Self-preservation or Self-exaltation (Part I)

Self-preservation is the state in which a person takes measures to protect themself from harm or damage. In this day and time there seems to be a prevalent sense of self-exaltation being confused with self-preservation. Many times it comes when one is not being recognized or appreciated as they think they should be as opposed to delivering one's self from danger. I believe it started in the 60's with the "women's liberation" movement. For those of you who don't know what I am talking about, I will briefly explain. Women were encouraged to stand up and fight for their rights. (Rights are important.) They were encouraged to be strong. (That's great!) But when women are encouraged to fight for their rights and be strong in a spirit of rebellion, then it's wrong. As a pastor's wife, I have noticed through the years a real need to feel significant. I have also noticed feeling an overwhelming sense of obligation to make a difference in this world for the Lord. How much of this is of God and how much of this is self-acknowledgement? There seems to be a trend among many Chrisitan women these days developing their own ministries regardless of the support and oversight of godly authority. Another problem is the fact that the divorce rate among Christians is astronomical. Women are finding their independence, but how many of these Christian women are in error? When we submit to godly authority, God has an amazing way of honoring us and fulfilling our needs. We all have the need for significance. We all need love and appreciation. As we humble ourselves, God will honor us. After all, God's honor is what we should want above all. In light of Benny Hinn's wife filing for divorce and her ministry coming to light, I thought that this is something I must look at. We cannot set ourself up as judge because we are not. God only knows their personal issues and that is between them and God. I believe we must come to our own conclusion on this subject and to the best of our ability line ourself up with God's view point. In the next few posts, I will cover the Biblical stance on the subjects of divorce, women in ministry and submission. We then can make an assessment for ourselves so we can know what is required of us. We can only know for ourselves regarding the choices we must make in life. I am looking forward to delving into this hot topic! You can e-mail me for comments at redeconna@aol.com