Every Necessary Thing

As I prayed this morning, laying November on the altar before the Lord, its potential for achievement and gain, the Holy Spirit impressed on me the truth that I have "more than enough".

Don't you just love November?  Despite the fact that I lost my precious, best-in-the-world daddy twenty years ago this month, it is still one of my most favorite months of the year.  I just love being thankful and grateful, although I'm not very good at it! 

Most of the time, my prayers are along the lines of "let me be more for You, do more for You, expand Your kingdom with the gifts You have given me...", etc.  Not a selfish, prideful prayer, I hope, but also not a prayer of thankfulness and gratefulness.

I shared with you back in January of this year that God had given me a word for 2017 and that the word was "grateful".  Goodness, I could do an entire post on how He has worked that word through and through my life so far this year.  Oddly enough, it has occurred against the backdrop of loss.

As I stare 60 in the face, this year I've lost several old friends and dear loved ones.  Let me just name some of them here, even though most of you won't know them.
Clifton, Lessie, Mozelle, Ted, Jeanne, Mike, Bob, Al, Jewell, . . . April and May were particularly rough.

God reminds me, through His Word that, despite earthly losses and difficult circumstances, this is the only hell I will ever know.  Because ... Jesus.
In the words of the apostle Peter - - -

I can pray this because his divine power has bestowed on us everything necessary for life and godliness through the rich knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence.

2 Peter 1:3 (NET)

Do we really believe those words, Christian?  You know, yesterday, there was another horrific terrorist attack in our country.  Unfortunately, we become more and more anesthetized to them, as they seem to be intensifying in their frequency.  I heard on the morning news that the perpetrator is in the hospital and is GLEEFUL about what he did.  He is gleeful and giving all the glory to his false god, Allah, for the death, injury and destruction he caused.  The god of this world, Satan, has deceived this man, and others like him, causing them to believe that they are gaining favor through their heinous, deadly, hateful acts.

Do we believe there is hope for him, that Jesus is what this man needs?  Do we believe that Jesus could radically transform his life?  Do we as Christians deeply believe that we truly possess the world's greatest treasure and that He lives within our hearts?  Or, have we acquiesced to Satan's deception - - - that our spiritual treasures (the Spirit, His fruits of righteousness, scripture and prayer, worship and giving) are simply NOT ENOUGH?  For someone like this muslim man?  Or, for each of us, God's very own beloved?

I will not grade my life on my accomplishments, my life events, my perceived "failures" or "successes", because those are transient and illusive.  The truth is this:
Yes, in Jesus, I "have it all", everything necessary.  He is more than enough for me and, yes, I am grateful!

The Shaker

Occasionally, I watch an episode of either Intervention or Hoarders on TV.  Both shows break my heart so badly that I don't watch either of them often.  Yesterday, flipping around, I landed on Hoarders. The commonality in each show is that the central character is "where they are" because his or her soul is badly broken.  The sweet, older lady with the worst hoarding problem I've ever seen had developed her mental illness in her middle years.  But, it became exacerbated after the death of her sister, with whom she was very close.  When asked by the clean-up team, most of whom were her relatives, how she could have let things get into such a mess, she earnestly replied, "I don't know!" While the show was going on, an earthquake occurred there on the set.  As the house began to shake, the team ran out in case the house fell down around their ears.  I thought of all this as I read today's passage from Hebrews 12:25-29 (ESV).

25See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.28Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29for our God is a consuming fire.

Hoarders have control issues.  That should be obvious.  But, in the midst of working through the illusion of control, God demonstrated who is really in control when He began to shake the earth on which that poor, troubled house sat.  Both here in Hebrews and at Mt. Sinai we are reminded that the One who spoke the universe into existence can easily shake the earth with the mere sound of His voice.

Today's passage describes the people of God, Jesus Christ's own, as "unshakeable".  He refers to us as an unshakeable kingdom.  Why is that?  Is it because we are "in control"?  Hardly!  We are unshakeable because we have put our trust in The Unshakeable One, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

This means that, despite the trials and storms of this life, those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus cannot be upended.   We may be buffeted and strained and tested and tried.  But, if the Anchor for our souls is Jesus, we will not become unmoored to drift away into apostasy.  For the true Church salvation, both now and forever, is secure.

The writer of Hebrews reminds us of our appropriate reaction in light of this glorious certainty:
gratitude (vs. 28)
reverence (vs. 28)
awe (vs. 28)
worship (vs. 28)
obedience (vs. 25)

The first response generates the other four.  This passage speaks to me deeply this morning.  I had always sort of rolled my eyes at people who would say, "The Lord gave me a specific word for this year; it's ______ ."  But then, that happened to me at the start of 2017.  He spoke to me clearly and the word was "gratitude".  He has been teaching me on that theme, especially through the loss of several loved ones who are now in His arms; but, believe me, I have so much more to learn!

Reverence and awe....I especially miss the boat on this one.  Yes, the Lord wants to have an intimate heart relationship, but may we never lose sight of His majesty, His "otherness", in comparison to our pitifulness.

This idea of our God as "a consuming fire" is first mentioned in Scripture in Deuteronomy 4:24, where the Lord God is warning His people against idolatry, a warning that is still applicable to us, His Church, today.

…23"So watch yourselves, that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anything against which the LORD your God has commanded you. 24"For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. 25"When you become the father of children and children's children and have remained long in the land, and act corruptly, and make an idol in the form of anything, and do that which is evil in the sight of the LORD your God so as to provoke Him to anger,…

Deuteronomy 4:23-25 (NASB)

Even while a redeemed people, we can still be prone to idolize other, lesser "gods" on the thrones of our lives, other than the One who bought and paid for us with His own blood.  This is where the obedience mentioned in Hebrews 12:25 comes in.  Our God is still a jealous God over us, His beloved Church.  And, when we give the love and adoration, the worship and obedience which rightfully belong to Him - - when we give those to someone or something else, He is going to get angry about it.  He has not changed in that respect, even though our "polite Christian society" tries to pretend otherwise.  Our holy God is jealous over us.  His Holy Spirit within us will call us to return to Him, and He will sometimes impose extremely adverse consequences for our sins, in His efforts to draw our hearts back to His own.

Lest you think otherwise, His actions toward us, no matter how they may chafe and pain us, are acts of perfect love.  Were He not so very concerned about our souls, He would leave us to our spiritual philandering.  Aren't you thankful, Christian, that He loves you enough to draw you back in?  That He is our firm foundation?

1. “When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
   My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;
   The flame shall not harm thee; I only design
   Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.
2. “The soul that on Jesus doth lean for repose,
   I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;
   That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
   I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.”
1. American Hymn, "How Firm a Foundation", 1787, Anonymous, public domain

  

The Healthiest Emotion

Happy New Year!

I love this post-Christmas season, truly.  It is a quiet time, when the earth continues to sleep, resting and rejuvenating in preparation for spring.  Things look dead, but they aren't.  In a few short weeks, the Earth will once again "spring" to life, giving evidence by the beautiful, bright green shoots of vegetation.  For now, though, quiet and rest.

Do you know what I was doing on New Year's Eve?  Well, first I got my nails done.  Sitting on one side of me was a lovely lady my age, with whom I had a conversation about cooking turnip greens. My MIL taught me how to cook them so that they are not bitter.  I'm grateful for that lesson because turnip greens are, hands down, the Hubster's favorite vegetable.  I hope this stranger tried my recipe; she would not regret it.

On the other side was a beautiful younger woman.  We had a conversation about the New Year's Eve parties she was scheduled to attend.  She told me that the first party she was headed to was at her church and then rhapsodized about how much she loves it.  She spoke of the mission trips she has taken and how much the Lord means to her.  How refreshing to interact with a young sister in the Lord, one who so obviously loves Him!  I'm grateful for her and the encouragement God gave me through our "chance meeting".

Zig Ziglar calls gratitude "the healthiest emotion".1  Bob Jones, Sr., said it like this:  "The loveliest flower that blooms in the garden of the heart is the flower of gratitude; and, when gratitude dies on the altar of a man's heart, he is well-nigh gone"2  ("close to hopeless" would be a more modern rendering).  

As I move into 2017 I am grateful for so many things....but not nearly grateful enough.

So, this year, I want to be more grateful, cultivate more gratitude in my garden, because I believe that gratitude grows a believer's faith in God.  

When you can't control the perilous situation.....

When you are (like my precious sister in Christ) getting your bone marrow transplant today....

When you are in tremendous physical pain.....

When your marriage is over and you surely did not want that....

When your children are far, far from God with no apparent hope of return...

When you have lost your job and are consumed by fear for your financial future....

When you are excruciatingly lonely and know one sees.....

        choose to be grateful for God's grace and that He is with you 100% in the middle of it.

Did you know that the Greek word for grace (charis) and the word for gratitude (eucharistian) have the same root?  That is why the apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:15 that, as God through us extends His grace to more and more people, our gratitude should be increased accordingly.  As we allow God to use us in ministry, to further His kingdom, His grace should flood our lives!  His grace is the engine that powers our gratitude.

Gratitude is a genuine heart-attitude toward one who has given us a good, often-undeserved gift. It doesn't come naturally to us humans!  (Every parent has learned that by watching the sin nature unfold in his or her own child!)  Gratitude is an emotion that goes hand-in-hand with grace. The Bible says "every good and perfect gift" comes down to us from the Father of Lights, that is, God (James 1:17).  But, what about those "gifts" we don't perceive as "good"?

"It's all good", when you are God's own child (Ephesians 5:20).  He is the perfect Father, who allows nothing to touch us that is not a part of His plan.  Even when life seems to "stink", even when we suffer for His sake, His love never wavers.  The latter part of James 1:17 emphasizes that God, as the Father of Lights, does not waver as a candle flickers.  His light is constant, as is His love for His own.  His grace never fails, is unending.

We can have not only confidence in this...we can choose and receive gratitude in this, a Holy Spirit-driven gratitude that soothes the troubled heart and nourishes our soul.

Sources:

1    https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/z/zigziglar617744.html

2   https://books.google.com/books?id=tzpypGT0ZHEC&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=when+gratitude+died+on+the+altar+of+a+man%27s+heart&source=bl&ots=kkrrgFVRLA&sig=DuwtsBoOpxyChiMaezCzWfCIAxU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjhjZi_6abRAhVG7IMKHR5EBPwQ6AEITTAL#v=onepage&q=when%20gratitude%20died%20on%20the%20altar%20of%20a%20man's%20heart&f=false

You Didn't Build That!

Life has become extremely busy, these last few days.  Last week, I blogged only twice (which means I had morning devotions only twice), and that makes me unhappy.  But, the past few days were filled with tremendous blessings, and about that I cannot complain.  Not.One.Bit.

That being said, it is with tremendous delight I have the blessed privilege of jumping back into Bible study this afternoon.  Let's resume with Hebrews 3, shall we?

Barak Obama was right.  (Some of you who know me well are laughing right about now!)  Do you remember how, during his tenure as president, Obama made the highly inflammatory statement, "You didn't build that!"  He was talking to a group of people about the small businesses they had "built", making the point that, had not the government provided them the infrastructure and undergirding necessary for the success of the businesses, those initiatives could not have succeeded.1

Now, I am not going to argue the politics of his statement here.  I am, however, going to make that point that, all political considerations aside, you certainly "didn't build that".

4For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.

Hebrews 3:4 NASB

Just this morning, I was sitting talking with a Christian sister about the church start-up we are both involved with as some of the initial pioneers.  We were reflecting on how God has put that group of pioneers together so very beautifully, so that needs are being met and work is getting done.  In fact, we were agreeing on how stunned we were over the beauty of it!  If we had tried our best to hand-pick people to come on board the project, we would have done an inferior job.  People have volunteered talents we did not know they had.  Who led them to volunteer?  God did.  He knew.  We have even been able to see how years ago He put people into key positions, the purposes of which were not clear at the time.  Looking back, those moves now make perfect sense...

It is oh-so-tempting to look at how God uses us in ministry and to get puffed up with pride..."Look what I did!"  Well, no, you didn't.  But, God did.  He used you to accomplish His purposes, to cause His will to be done...on earth as it is in Heaven.  Whether He used you willingly or unwillingly, He used the gifts and talents He gave you, to accomplish His will.

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!

Psalm 90:17 ESV

The Builder of All Things...is God.

Oh Lord Christ!  The universe is Your workmanship, but the Church is of it all the most rare, curious and excellent piece.  No less power was required to make the Church than was required to create the universe.  The latter was made out of nothing, and the former out of materials, flawed people, altogether unfit for such a magnificent building.  I am in awe of all Your works, and am so very grateful to be called not only Your daughter, but also Your servant.  Amen.

Source:

1  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKjPI6no5ng