Bread Crumbs is moving!

Well, I've gotten so into this blogging thing that I decided that I needed to have categories and upgrade to Typepad. So, for future posts (I've got all my old ones there too), please check out the following:

http://jannascrumbs.typepad.com/

Hope to see you there! :)

God's One Motive...

...that we shall know that He is God.

Why do you think that is? Is it that we human's tend to always put other god's before the one true God? Seems to me that this is so. I believe we all struggle with this from time to time, whatever the little "god" is. My reading in Ezekiel today made me think of the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Ezekiel 32:15 When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and the
country shall be destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am the LORD.

Do the people caught in the wake of Hurricane Katrina know that He is God? The destruction there is so sad and unbearably hard to watch at times. My heart and prayers really go out to them. However, do you think that now the people in New Orleans know that God is GOD?

My husband and I just visited New Orleans last spring. Did you know that the city claims to be "America's Most Haunted City"? They were so proud of the Mardi Gras and of Bourbon Street. Voo doo ("hoo doo") shops were everywhere. Could it be that the hurricane could be God's message to say "Look at Me. Look for Me."? It is a reminder to me to look at my own life for God's messages to me.

Finally, I do not know for sure (or even at all, matter of fact) that God chose to send a hurricane to New Orleans. And again, I am saddened by the destruction. What I do know is that God will use even a disaster for His glory and for His good purposes (Romans 8:28), and for that I am thankful.

Keep Singing

I was working on a bible study lesson about praise - specifically Psalm 150 - and thought of the following song. We know we have found healing when we can sing again.

Another rainy day.
I can’t recall having sunshine on my face.
All I feel is pain;
All I wanna do is walk out of this place.

But when I am stuck, I can’t move
When I don’t know what I should do,
When I wonder if I’ll ever make it through,

I gotta keep singing,
I gotta keep praising Your name.
You’re the One that’s keeping my heart beating.

I gotta keep singing,
I gotta keep praising Your name.
That’s the only way that I’ll find healing

Can I climb up in Your lap?
I don’t wanna leave.
Jesus, sing over me.
Oh, You’re everything I need,
And I gotta keep singing.

--
Keep Singing by Mercy Me

Pride and Protection

Confession time. Today, for the first time in a couple of weeks, I have been able to do my daily devotional time first. FIRST!! Before my shower, before my breakfast, before work. First. Although I had not been missing a day in God's Word, I had been squeezing it in at random times throughout the day and it has just not been the same. So...I come to my blog refreshed and ready to start the day.

Back to Ezekiel...

PROTECTION

I read Ezekiel 25-28 this morning and as the title says, it really was about pride and protection. Let me explain quickly. In Ezekiel 25, God is speaking through our friend Zeke about vengeance on the nations of Ammon, Moab, Edom and Phillistia because of their poor treatment of Israel and Judah. To me, this is a perfect picture of the new testament verse in Romans 12:19 that says that vengeance is God's, not ours to take. More than the vengeance though, I am reminded by this chapter that even though God gets irritated with me from time to time, He still wants to protect me from harm, like He does with Israel and Judah. Perfect love from the perfect Father!

PRIDE

Now to the pride. This would have to come up again. When I read through chapter 28, it almost makes me think that it is too scary to be a leader because of both the responsibility over what God has given me as well as the responsibility over myself to keep relying on God else I become proud. Being successful is more dangerous to us than I think most of us realize.

I don't believe that God condemns success. Actually, I believe that He wants good things to happen for us. The key is remembering who allowed us to succeed in the first place! The prince of Tyre was an awesome ruler (Ez 28:12-15) until he because consumed with materialism (28:16) and became full of himself. (Ez 28: 1-5). As a result, our fair and perfect God who just wants people to know who He is, had no choice but to take down that prince.

Things to think about:
What kind of "prince" am I?
If I am successful, do I give credit where real credit is due?

What Defines a Man?

In case anyone noticed, I've missed a few more days here and there than usual. You would think that I was trying to get my dogs off to school or something! :) Actually, I've just been a little busy with life, but plan on getting back on the "blogwagon" very, very soon.

In the meantime, as I've been working on things for Grace Church's upcoming Ladies' Retreat, I've been thinking a lot about its subject matter. When reading one of my favorite blogs this morning, I saw a recent post that describes how God really views us. If only humankind could do the same!

Check out "The inside" . I guarantee you will be uplifted by the insight here.

Do You Know and Trust the Famous One?

Are you praising or just singing? Do you understand the difference? One of the most important things to me in our weekend church service is the music portion of our service. Not just because I've been involved with music all of my life, but because I firmly believe that music has the ability to soften our hearts to better hear what God has to say to us.

This coming Sunday, we will be singing a song entitled "Famous One" by Chris Tomlin. When I sing the following stanza, I am talking to God as I sing the words:

You are the Lord
The Famous One, the Famous One
Great is Your Name in all the earth
The heavens declare
You're Glorious, you're Glorious
Great is Your fame beyond the earth

Can you imagine being so famous that your fame would extend beyond the earth? That the heavens declare your name? Who can fathom the magnificence of God! (Ps 19:1, Ps 97:6) Worshipping God in Spirit and in truth (John 4:23) means that we know who He is.

And for all you've done and yet to do
With every breath I'm praising You
Desire of nations and every heart
You alone are God
You alone are God

Are you praising God for all He's done and all He's yet to do? Even if it has been a difficult road sometimes? I determine whether or not I'm praising or singing to God by whether or not I could honestly pray the song back to God. For instance, if I'm pretty frustrated with God and am having trouble praising Him, this song might be a gut check to me to see the condition of my heart. To me, this part of the song makes me really focus on my faith in God's plan and not my own. After all, He alone is God!

For another reflection on this song click here.

Water to Wine

To our Ladies Retreat speakers, singers, musicians, helpers and prayer warriors:

You may never read this, but I want everyone to know how thankful I am that you are allowing God to use you. I pray that the impact of your words and efforts, turned from "water to wine" by the power that only God can provide, will move our Grace ladies in a mighty way. Thank you.
----------------------------------------------------------

From my reading some time ago in Anne Graham Lotz's book entitled "Just Give Me Jesus", I came across something she discussed that really shows the power of God to change whatever we do into a glorious work for Him.

Remember Jesus' first miracle where He turned the water into wine at the wedding feast? The servants dipped cups into the water, brought them to the master and wine appeared! Here's a quote from the book and as you read it, think of the "water" we put into our ministries and our lives and the "wine" that will result due to God's work.

"Can you imagine the thrill those servants experienced? It's the same thrill I've experienced again and again as I have climbed down from a pulpit to a standing ovation, acutely conscious of the water I had put into the message - the interrupted prayer time, the scattered thoughts, the flawed outline, the weak delivery - yet the wine flowed out. People responded to the message, lives were changed, and the demonstration of the power of God was evident. No one in the audience knew what this servant knew - that water had gone in, but wine had com out. And as I outwardly lift my hand in praise to God, inwardly I humbly acknowledge what only He and I know - that a quiet miracle has occurred." - Anne Graham Lotz.

As I read the quote then and now, I get goosebumps thinking about what God can do through us if we let Him. Thank You God, for the miracles You provide!

"Weird" Behavior

No, I'm not talking about my wireless server, although it has been giving me fits of late, hence no post yesterday. Fortunately, I got lucky and figured out how to go "wired" this morning. "The show must go on"! Hardly anything raises my blood pressure like computer problems!! Or, maybe it is just the lack of control I feel over the situation!

Whew. Now that is off my chest, I'll get back to being spiritual. :) Lord, I do thank You that You have things totally under control even though I don't.

I read Ezekiel 22-24 today in search of something other than prophecy of judgment on those bad Israelites. Poor Zeke. I would guess by now he might be tired of being a pawn for God, but unfortunately (well, I guess he is still fortunate because he is, after all, still being obedient to God and thus living in His will) God wants to use Him to show some more weird behavior to the people of Israel. This time, God tells Ezekiel that his wife is going to die and that he is not to mourn or cry. (Ez 24:15-17) Wouldn't that be impossible? Ezekiel's obedience really speaks to me about the power of God to do anything in our hearts and minds.

To me, the point here is that all of us are put in positions like this in one time or another. We all go through trials but it is how we react to those trials that makes us stand out to others.

Phillipians 2:14 says for us to "Do all things without murmurings and disputings" (Note to self - Janna, even comforting your dog in the middle of the night during storms). We need to exhibit "weird" behavior to the world when things are crumbling around us so that they will be prompted to ask us how we are able to stand through the storms.

Again, why should be "weird" to the unsaved world? "That we may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world." (Ph 2:15)

How weird are you?

Chosen

What does it mean to be chosen by God? From my reading today in Ezekiel 20, being chosen by God is an awesome thing, but it comes with a price. Throughout this chapter, I get a sense that God is very sad because despite all of the things He did for His chosen people, they still abandoned Him to their idols. Here are some quick thoughts:

Being "chosen" means:
1) Being loved by a jealous but loving God who is deeply saddened when His chosen ones don't do what He asks of them.

2) Being blessed beyond what we deserve, just because God loves us.

3) Being obligated to follow God because He chose us for His glory - that others may know that He is God. (1 Cor 6:19-20)

We are all chosen by God to take part in His kingdom because God is not willing that any should perish. However, if we do not accept what He has done for us in the gift of His son, then we will reap the consequences - forever. In Ezekiel, God must pour out His fury upon Israel for His name's sake (Ez 20:8-9) because if He doesn't He will look bad to the other nations because of Israel's behavior. In our lives, not obeying God can mean a couple of things:

1) We never accepted the gift of salvation in the first place and thus we are condemned.
2) We accepted the gift of salvation and spend our lives either serving God or not serving God, each of which have consequences, good and bad.


Jesus says to each of us in John 15:16 that:

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm choosing to obey God and live a life of service to Him so He will answer my prayers.

All Things Are Possible

All I can say to start this post is "Wow". Reading through Luke 18 was such a joy to me today. God showed me so many cool stories in this chapter it was hard to pick just one to write about. So, today, I'm giving "Janna's One-Liners" for a few items and then I will expand on one. Here goes.

Parable of the Persistent Praying Widow (v.1-8) - Keep praying and God just might give you what you were begging for.

Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (v. 9-14) - When you hear preaching or read your bible or pray, do it for your benefit, not so you can compare your goodness with someone else's sin. (This one is a personal pet peeve of mine)

Wasn't that fun? Now for the serious part. What must we do to inherit eternal life? That was the question asked of Jesus by a "certain ruler" in Luke 18:18. What must we give up to be sold out for Jesus? The ruler was apparently rich, like so many of us are in this country, or even in Overland Park, because he struggled with giving up all of his possessions to follow Jesus. I can relate to the ruler, as I'm sure we all can at times. We may not struggle with giving up material possessions, but what about our old ways, our time, our recreational activities, our pride or our fears?

It seems like too difficult a task sometimes - that God is expecting too much of us to give up our lives to serve Him. However, Jesus says that "the things which are impossible with men are possible with God." (v27). Our finances, our marriages, our spouses, our work situations, our attitudes or whatever the obstacle is, can be overcome if we ask God for help. To access that power means, however, we must be known by the Savior, saved by His blood.

What a relief! I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength! (Ph 4:13). All I need is the faith that God is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do. How strong is your faith?

Home is Where the Heart Is

Today I'm reflecting on a song we will sing tomorrow in our Sunday morning service entitled "Better is One Day" by Matt Redman. My goal is to do these "reflections" on Friday so that anyone who might attend Grace Church on the following Sunday may have a deeper worship experience by being challenged to think more about the songs we sing.

Better is one day in Your courts,
Better is one day in Your house,
Better is one day in Your courts,
Than thousands elsewhere.

Many of us have heard this chorus before. For those of us who love God and are actively pursuing a life of serving Him, I don't think many choruses out there portray the feeling of being "ambassadors for Christ" (2Cor 5:20) quite like this song does. Although there is a cost to leadership and serving God, there is really no place I would rather be, because then my heart is satisfied.

How lovely is Your dwelling place,
O Lord almighty,
For my soul longs and even faints
For You.
For here my heart is satisfied
Within Your presence.
I sing beneath the shadow of
Your wings.

I left the golf course Thursday night and was discussing this concept with a fellow sister in Christ. The closer I get to God, the more out of place I feel here amidst our materialistic, pleasure driven society - the more I feel like an "ambassador".

My heart and flesh cry out
For You, the living God.
Your Spirit’s water
to my soul.
I’ve tasted and I’ve seen.
Come once again to me.
I will draw near to You, I will draw near to You, to You.

There is so much more to life than the pleasures of this world and it makes me sad because I don't think that the majority of people out there realize what they are missing. How do we disentangle ourselves enough from the affairs of this world so that we can make an impact and still stay in the world where we can make an impact? What a "war" we are in. Unfortunately I believe that most of the battle is within ourselves. We, as Christians, need to remember that this world is not our home.

Questions to think about:

1) Where is my heart...really? Am I already "home"?

2) Is the Holy Spirit like water to my soul?

3) Have I "tasted" and "seen" the fulfillment of being in God's presence and of serving Him?

2 Timothy 2:4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with
the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. (NKJV)

Dogs Do Not Have Sound Minds!

Yes, in case you didn't get it from the title, my post today was inspired by my oldest "child", a 12-year-old, Shihtzu. People that know me well understand that I just love thunderstorms because they so exhibit the power of God. However, when I am trying to sleep and would normally be sleeping through them (I am a very sound sleeper) except for the fact that my dog is scared out of her mind, I am not enjoying them very much. Especially when the disturbance occurs from 3:30am to 5:30am.

My poor "baby" Jessie. She was so scared, but all I could do was be mad at her for waking and keeping me up last night during the storms. Jessie did not know that she was safe inside the house with me and that the storms couldn't hurt her. I think it was about 4:30am or so when this verse came to my mind and I realized that my poor scared dog really couldn't help it that she didn't understand.

2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

My dog does not have a sound mind. I wonder at times, how much of a mind dogs really have, but that is a story for a different day. Fortunately, God did give us, as His children, a spirit of power, love and a sound mind. The closer we are to God and the more we can step back and take our emotions and ourselves out of the picture, the more of these attributes we are able to possess. I know from experience that it takes practice.

Finally, I did learn a lesson from this morning/last night:

One must have compassion even if one is tired and is frustrated with "someone" (even a fuzzy someone) who is going through a tough time.

Verses to meditate on:

Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. - Galatians 6:2

We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. - Romans 15:1

Wasted Goods?

Continuing my break from Ezekiel - (sorry, God, but I needed some "love" from the New Testament) - I read today about the parable of a rich man and his steward in Luke 15:1-12. It was a bittersweet reading because while I'm thankful for the responsibilities God has entrusted to me now with the women's ministry of Grace Church, it reminded me of times past where I used the gifts I have been given just enough to get by. Wasted goods. Not enough prayer, not enough study, not enough application. Have you wasted your "goods"?

I am thankful that God is patient with me even though sometimes I'm not so patient with Him. He gives me abilities and then He waits, like the father in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11) for me to decide when I'm going to use them totally for Him. And when I decide to go His way, He waits some more to make sure that I'm serious and then blesses me more than I deserve. What an awesome God we serve.

It is hard to say how much each one of us should give to God because we are all so different. Only I can truly know what my best effort is and when I am not being wasteful of the gifts I have been given.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatsover thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy
might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

Things to think about:
1) If you are waiting to step out for God, ask yourself what you are waiting for. I bet you have some abilities from God that you don't even realize are there.

2) If you have already stepped out for God, ask yourself if you are giving it your best.

"But I Ate in Your Presence..."

I took a break from Ezekiel this morning. Yes, this morning - it is now 12:11 am and I was trying to get to sleep, but I think that God had other plans for me. So...I opened my bible to my "New-Testament-I-need-a-break-from-the-prophets" place and I found lots to think about in Luke 13-14.

Since it is late (or early), I'll stick with Chapter 13. I find it very interesting how people back in Jesus' day could still not believe in who He was when they were in the presence of miracles and God in the flesh every day. But I suppose I really shouldn't be surprised because after all, we as human beings really just want to believe in our own reality anyway. We want to be right, even if it is to our detriment, which leads me to the passage about the narrow gate in Luke 13:22-27.

Luke 13:22-27 (NKJV)

22 And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ 26 then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ 27 But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’

How would it feel to have lived your life in the presence of Jesus (through church, friendships with Christians, bible studies, etc.) only to find out when it was time to walk through the "gate" into eternity, that God says to you "I do not know you...Depart from me..."? It saddens me to think of how many people this will actually happen to because they do not know Jesus personally. Like the people in the passage knocking at the door, many people in our culture think they are on the right path. How can we right this wrong and introduce more of them to Jesus?

Questions I think about:
1) Am I doing all I can do for God's kingdom?
2) What can I do to connect more people to God and to other Christians?
3) How can I encourage others to join in God's work?

The Power of His Love

The Power of Your Love
By Geoff Bullock

Lord, I come to You, let my heart be changed, renewed,
Flowing from the grace that I found in You.
Lord, I’ve come to know the weaknesses I see in me
Will be stripped away by the power of Your love.

Hold me close, let Your love surround me.
Bring me near, draw me to Your side.
And as I wait I’ll rise up like the eagle,
And I will soar with You, Your Spirit leads me on
In the power of Your love.

Lord, unveil my eyes, let me see You face to face,
The knowledge of Your love as You live in me.
Lord renew my mind as Your will unfolds in my life,
In living every day by the power of Your love.

Hold me close, let Your love surround me.
Bring me near, draw me to Your side.
And as I wait I’ll rise up like the eagle,
And I will soar with You, Your Spirit leads me on
In the power of Your love.

As I pray the words of this song while I sing, I realize that the only way I have ever seen or will ever see positive, sustained renewal in my life is by drawing close to the One who loves me so much - the One who loves me for exactly who I am, and for who He will make me become. Looking into the mirror of God's Word, sometimes I don't always like what I see, but always, I know that God can make me strong where I am weak by the power of His love if I just get myself out of the way.

Friends, I pray that God holds you close this week and that He makes each of you aware of His presence, soaring with God.

NOTE: No, we did not sing this song at church today. It is just such a powerful song that I thought I'd share.

Why Should We "Die"?

Human nature loves to assign blame. And when we are not assigning blame or passing off the responsibility for a consequence occuring in our lives we are rationalizing our actions. Aren't we a mess? :)

In Ezekiel 18, I find God teaching the nation of Israel about the proper use of a proverb relating to this very thing. From v. 2, "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge", I believe the people were construing this proverb to mean that they were being punished for the sins of future generations and were thus feeling hopeless. After all, if they thought they were going to be punished anyway for something they didn't do, why behave, right?

God spends the rest of the chapter explaining to them the true meaning of the proverb, that while we have to live through the consequences of the sins of those before us, we will only "die" for our own sins. That is a comforting fact.

My favorite part of the chapter was at the end where God tells us that He really doesn't like to exact His judgment on us.

Ezekiel 18:30-32 NKJV

"Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways," says the Lord God. "Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord God. "Therefore turn and live!"

Why should we die? God doesn't want us to and gives us the power to change if we would just seek Him for help and guidance. What a simple concept! Do you need a new heart and a new spirit?

The Line in the Sand

Today in my reading I saw how Ezekiel 16:10-14 figuratively depicts the "gifts" that God has given to His people of Jerusalem. How quickly they forgot that their prosperity was given to them from God and that it did not come from the works of their own hands. Actually, I wonder if they ever gave credit to God in the first place. Hmm....

This made me think of my own talents and abilities and how much God expects from those who have been blessed with various gifts. God has given each one of us spiritual gifts (Ro 12:6, Eph 4:11-12) to use to build His kingdom. Jesus told his disciples that "For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required." (Luke 12:48 NKJV) Could that be the "line in the sand" as mentioned in the following lyrics to a song by Phillips, Craig & Dean entitled "Let the Worshippers Arise"?

Father I see that You are drawing
A line in the sand
And I want to be standing on Your side
Holding Your hand.
So let Your kingdom come, Let it live in me
This is my prayer
This is my plea

Chorus:
Let the worshippers arise
Let the sons and the daughters sing
I'm surrendering my all
I surrender to the King

I don't know about anyone else, but I want to be on God's side of the line in the sand, holding His hand through this lifetime. I pray that I can live up to His expectations of me here on this earth. Do I give my all, all of the time?

For the rest of the church body - ours and others across the globe - I do pray that the "worshippers arise". What would happen if every believer lived in total surrender?

Persistence - A Bad Thing?

Usually I think of persistency as being a good trait to have because so many people give up when things in their lives get difficult. However, in my reading today, it was pointed out that being persistant (could this be a synonym for "stubborn"?) can also not be such a positive attribute.

In Ezekiel 14:13 and 15:8, God speaks about the seriousness of "persistent unfaithfulness".

Ez 14:13-14 "Son of man, when a land sins agains Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness," says the Lord God.

Ez 15:8 Thus I will will make the land desolate, because they have persisted in unfaithfulness, ' says the Lord God."

God must get furious and rightly so with His people who consistently and persistantly lead powerless lives when all they really need to do is seek God for the answers. Once again, I am reminded of how thankful I should be that God is also loving, and forgiving.

Of Hearts and Hope

Thank You, Lord, for the reminders that You give me in Your Word no matter where I am reading. Once again, when I was weary of reading about judgment, You came through with hope for new beginnings, even in the 11th chapter of Ezekiel!

Newsflash: God can change anything. Anything. Did I say "anything"?

Nothing is too hard for God to change, including our hearts and the hearts of those we care about. (Gen 18:14, Jer 32:17, Mk 10:27) I believe that deep down in our hearts, we do believe that God can change anything. So, why do we forget? I wish I had the answer to that question. If anyone does, please feel free to let the rest of us in on it. However, I do know that if God can change and restore the hearts of the people of Israel, He can surely do a makeover on yours and mine if we want Him too!

When God's people decide to actively change their ways, God responds! (Pr 16:3) Read what God says He will do after His people remove the idols from their lives:

"Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh,that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God." -Ezekiel 11:19-20

To change our ways, requires a change of our heart. Again, I'm glad that God reminds us that in addition to parting the sea, and wiping out large groups of people, that He can do delicate "heart surgery" as well.

P.S. The fine print so as not to emphasize the negative, but if we don't try to change our ways...well, I think you can guess what happens. For the short version, just read Ez 19:21. Otherwise, I'm sure I discussed it from Jeremiah in my post entitled "Choices" on July 14.

What is Your Song?

Sing to the King - Passion

Chorus
Come, let us sing a song
A song declaring that we belong to Jesus
He is all we need

Lift up a heart of praise
Sing now with voices
raised to Jesus
Sing to the King

In the following passage, David, our Psalmist declares his "song" to us in how he worships and relies on God for strength. I wonder what this would sound like put to music?

Psalm 138: 1-4

1 I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.
2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
3 In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.
4 All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of thy mouth.

Reflecting now on the words I sang today, I thought about the "song" of my life. Do I live a life that fully declares to whom I belong? Is my lifestyle always one of praise to my King and my Redeemer? Is Jesus all I need? ALL?

Regrettably, I can't answer "yes" to the above questions 100% of the time. Thankfully, all God asks of me is that I give my best effort to become more like Him every day. What is your song?

Dust in the Sunlight

I just finished "Humility" by Andrew Murray today and thought I'd share one of the coolest quotes in the book from the last chapter:

It is only in the possession of God that I lose myself. It's
in the height and breadth and glory of the sunshine that the littleness of the
dust particle playing in its beams is seen, and it's by humility that we take
our place in God's presence to be nothing but a speck dwelling in the sunlight
of His love.

What a beautiful picture of what we can be if we submerge ourselves in His presence!

"They shall know that I am the Lord"

Sixty-five.

Sixty-five times in the book of Ezekiel God tells His people that the reason for His actions is so that they would know that He was the Lord. Sixty-five. Is God trying to tell us something? Apparently He is of the opinion that we often put other things, people or thoughts before Him. Hmmm..... Brian Gann in his message last Sunday asked us what we worshipped and challenged us to take a look at ourselves in that area. Obviously, this is not a new problem for mankind.

Here's what God had to say about the idolatry of Israel in Ezekiel 8:6: "...Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary?..."

Do we really want God far from us? I want Him close to me, but since I am His temple (1 Cor 6:19) how close will He want to get if I am too focused on the cares of this world?

Challenge: Do a time journal for a typical week. See what is really occupying your time. I did this once long ago and it really revealed some things to me. I'm afraid to do it again! How much time are we really spending alone with God?

Being "Worthy" - The Paradox

The Paradox

Mainstream society tries to make us think that each one of us is and should be the center of our own universe. The bible compares our best efforts at righteousness to filthy rags (Is 64:6). It is no wonder that so many of us are confused!

Am I Worthy to Be Used?

Yes, I am, and you are worthy to be used, but not worthy to be praised. I believe that there are two keys to recognizing our place in this world and stepping up and out to make a difference in it.

1. We are important to God - God loves us and gave His son to die for us, so that He could empower each one of us to be lights in the darkness of this world. He needs us, for the very reason that we are so imperfect, so He can show the world what He can do and so people will know that He is God!

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Eph 2:4-7 NKJV)

2. We are not important in relation to God - In the whole scheme of things, we are pretty insignificant indeed. However it is the realization of insignificance that gives us true power, and in that lies the paradox. In my opinion, this is the essence of faith, for to have true faith in God, we must not have faith in ourselves.

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Cor 12:9 NKJV)

You are Worthy, But Are You Ready?

Feel worthy to be used by God, but not so worthy that God can't use you. This is all such deep stuff to think about. We will all be ready to be used by our Creator when we can remember that the people in our lives seeking answers really don't want to hear from us, they want to hear from God. Is your spirit ready?

Do I Have To?

"Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears. And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, 'Thus says the Lord God,' whether they hear, or whether they refuse." - God (Ez 3:10-11 NKJV)

When God says it, we must do it, even if it isn't always fun. Ezekiel chapter 2 and 3 remind me of Ephesians 4:15 where we are told to speak the truth in love. Ezekiel was told numerous times by God that he would be speaking to a rebellious Israel that probably would not listen, but nevertheless, he was supposed to go to them. God literally put the words to say in Ezekiel's mouth - God made Him eat a scroll (Ez 3:2) !

As leaders, we have an important responsibility to fulfill by making sure that people know the truth. If we know the truth, whether it be the gospel, or just a way to live life in a more biblical manner, we must share it. Throughout Ezekiel 3:16-27, God stresses to Ezekiel that if he doesn't give warning to the wicked, his (the wicked's) blood shall be required at Ezekiel's hand. In other words, Ezekiel is responsible if he doesn't speak up.

I think this is a hard truth to apply because it is to easy sometimes to take rejection personally. But, I sure don't want to be responsible for someone else's hardships when I knew I should have spoken up!

Visions & Voices

Can you imagine being held captive, hanging out by the river with the other prisoners, looking up and seeing visions of God? First of all, I can't imagine what it would be like to be held captive. Secondly, I can't imagine seeing one actual vision of God, let alone multiple visions as Ezekiel saw at this moment when He was first called be a prophet. It's no wonder Ezekiel fell upon his face at the sight (Ez 1:28).

So what exactly did Ezekiel see before He heard the voice? Oh, I didn't mention that Ezekiel also heard the voice of God, did I? The others around him probably thought he was crazy! (In my mind, I've got the image of Russell Crowe in "A Beautiful Mind" as people are watching him respond to the voices in his head.) Rather than try to describe what Ezekiel saw in detail, I'll refer you to Ezekiel 1. Let's just say that if I saw creatures coming out of the firey bright sky with wings, four faces on one head (man, lion, ox, eagle), above moving chariot wheels with eyes, I'd probably fall down too!

What does it take for us to hear God's voice calling out to us? And when we hear Him, how do we react to His message? Sometimes, I think in our hectic worlds, it might take a vision like Ezekiel saw. Personally, I think I'm going to try just listening to God's small voice in the quiet of my own home. (Ps 46:10).

Stay tuned to hear what God said to Ezekiel...

Forever Faithful

I've heard many times before the song "Forever" by Chris Tomlin. I've joyfully sang the upbeat tune, knowing the depth of God's faithfulness to me. But as I sit here typing and remembering my recent journey through Jeremiah's writings, I can almost feel the depth of His love, that no matter what I do or where I am, He will be here with me. (Lam 3:23)

OUR THANKS

Give thanks to the Lord
Our God and King
His love endures forever

I am so thankful that I began my walk with the Lord before I had any real problems. Sure, I became a Christian when I was 13, but really didn't start walking with Him until ten years later. Sometimes I think we take for granted how faithful God's love is to us. I know I have before.

OUR FAITH

Forever God is faithful
Forever God is strong
Forever God is with us
Forever and ever

I know that God is forever faithful, forever strong and forever with me, but how strong is my faith? Do I have the faith that God can move my "mountain"? Most of the time, I think I have that kind of faith, but sometimes I admit I have my doubts. That is why God tells us in His word to put on that "whole armor of God" in Ephesians 6:10-17. We cannot forget our "armor" each day, "above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one." (Eph 6:16 NKJV).

"Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." (Eph 6:10 NKJV)

Lost and Found

As a child, I grew up learning the concept of "fairness". My parents made sure that my brother and I always got equal treatment at Christmas, birthdays, etc. and we were always encouraged to watch out for people that would take advantage of our generosity (giving of our time, etc.).
Consequently, in reading Luke 15 and the parables of the lost sheep, lost coin and lost son, I can't help but have "flashbacks". I am amazed at the concern Jesus has for the "lost" in each of these stories. Wouldn't it be cool to have that kind of compassion?

My favorite is the parable of the lost son - no, not because of my brother :) , he's always been a good guy - because of the wonderful picture of grace to the repentant sinner who humbly comes back to God (Luke 15:11-31). Think of how much inner strength it took for the father in this story to forgive his son for squandering all of his inheritance on worldly pleasures and welcome him back with open arms. How often do we see this sort of compassion and forgiveness displayed in our world today?

Deliverance!

No, I'm not talking about that old movie, nor the fact that I finished Jeremiah yesterday and Lamentations today, but the fact that only God can restore our souls to peace and joy.

Reading through Lamentations this morning and through Jeremiah this past month has really made me think about God's grace to both me personally and to people in general, believers and non-believers alike. After all of the "destruction" in our lives, whatever the cause, God is there each morning with His unfailing compassion, mercy and faithfulness (Lam 3:23).

God alone can restore our strength if we only would focus on Him instead of ourselves and our lots in life. "Turn us back to You, O Lord, and we will be restored; Renew our days as of old" (Lam 5:21). I pray that more people would realize the power they have through God for restoration in their lives and that they would tap into it. Just think how many lives could be changed if more people really internalized this concept and sang a "new song" of praise to God.

Psalm 40:1-3

I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me , and
heard my cry.

He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry
clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our
God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.

Promises, Promises...

Finally I have completed my journey through Jeremiah. It definitely has been more enjoyable this time through it since I've been taking a few others with me with this blog.

Today, I read through two whole chapters (50-51) focused entirely on describing God's judgment against Babylon. I find it interesting how at one point in history God had used Babylon to punish the people of Judah/Jerusalem only to destroy Babylon later because of their idol worship and pride (don't worry, I'm not focusing on pride this time!).

Isn't it great how God always keeps His promises? Back in Jeremiah 25:11, it is prophesied that Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem would serve Babylon for 70 years. However, after that 70 years, Babylon would be punished (Jer 25:12). The God I serve will never forget about me, even if He has to correct me from time to time. (Jer 51:5).

Wouldn't it be cool if God would give us timelines (I'm thinking of months here, not 70-year timeframes) of when our lives would change just like He gave to Jeremiah? But I guess then that would affect our learning of patience and we would be proud that we knew His plans! :) God sure knows how to work us, doesn't He?

O Lord, It's Hard to Be Humble...

...but are we really doing the best that we can? I remember that old song by Mac Davis entitled "Its Hard to Be Humble". I believe that if the Moabites could have known that song, they would have been singing it in Jeremiah 47-49. I'm sure God gave them a new tune later after His judgment upon them was fulfilled.

Pride. The bane of human existence. We know that God hates it because he says it numerous times in his Word. From Jeremiah 49:16, God says:

Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord.

How high is your nest? I'll end with this. Pride can also be one of the most subtle sins to those who are prideful. I'm not sure that we even recognize it in ourselves most of the time. Consider this quote from chapter 7 of Andrew Murray's "Humility":

Let all teachers of holiness, whether in the pulpit or on the platform, and all seekers after holiness, whether in the closet or the convention, take warning. There is no pride so dangerous-because there is none so subtle and insidious-as the pride of holiness. It's not that a person actually says, or even thinks, "Keep to yourself. I am holier than you." No, indeed, the thought would be regarded with abhorrence. Unconsciously, however, there grows up a hidden habit of soul that feels self-satisfied with what its attained, and which cannot help seeing itself as beingfar in advance of others.

Believer, let us beware! Unless in each advance in what we think is holiness, we make the increase of humility our study, we may find that we've been delighting in beautiful thoughts and feelings, in solemn acts of consecration and faith, while the only sure mark of the presence of God, the disappearance of self, was all the time lacking.

Lip Service

Does anyone out there like it when someone says they will change or will do something, but in their hearts they really had no intention of doing what they said they would do? I doubt it. Surprise! God doesn't like it either.

In Jeremiah 42:1-3 the people pleaded with Jeremiah to pray to God for them and then to tell them what they should do so that they could obey God's Word. Can you guess what happened? Jeremiah spoke against what they had already made up their minds to do (they wanted to go to Egypt) and consequently, the "proud men" called Jeremiah a liar (Jer 43:1-3). Then, God threatens them again in the next chapter. Same story, different day.

Why were the people in Jeremiah's day so stubborn? I think that we all know the answer to that question. At least I know I do ... and the answer is "pride". For some reason, we ask God for help after we have already made up our minds what we are going to do. In our prayers we pray for God's will, say we will do it, and then when the time comes for action on our part we "conveniently" forget that we said we would accept God's plan.

Is anyone else ready for me to stop reading out of Jeremiah and the prophets? I'm ready for the New Testament! :) Until next time...

To God Be the Glory

Week 2 of my song reflections. It has actually been pretty cool the past week to really meditate on and put verses to the words of the songs we sing. I haven't done this since I was in the choir! Today, the song that really stood out to me was "Not To Us" by Chris Tomlin. The first few times I heard the song, I wasn't too crazy about it, but like always for me, once I really examined the words, it became my prayer. Now I actually like it!

Our hearts unfold before Your throne
The only place for those who know
Its not for us
Its all for you.

How often do we humbly go to the throne of God to worship Him by telling Him how glorious and worthy of praise He is? If we are going to sing this song as a prayer to God and really mean it, we need to understand that for us, the most blessed place we can be is to be at our Master's feet. I doubt that any of us go to His feet often enough.

Not to us
But to Your name be the glory

Worshipping God requires that we understand who He is. Since God is the only One capable of creating anything from nothing, He alone is worthy of glory. Revelation 4:11 says "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created. (NKJV)

"He has made the earth by His power,He has established the world by His wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens at His discretion. When He utters His voice there is a multitude of waters in the heavens and He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, He brings the wind out of His treasures. (Jer 10:12-13 NKJV).

Hmmm...God has quite a resume. Who am I to take credit for anything? (I Cor 10:31)

How Well Do You Know Him?

As I read Luke 13 (see vs 22-27)today and thanked God that I knew Him and He knew me so that He would let me into His presence one day, I thought about how well I really knew Jesus. I mean, I know Him, but do I know Him like I would know my best friend?

Anne Graham Lotz, one of my favorite Christian authors and speakers has spent her lifetime pursuing an intimate knowledge of Jesus. In the introduction of her book My Heart's Cry (page xii-xiii), she says the following:

"Like John and the other disciples, I have known Jesus personally. Their knowledge was face to face while my knowledge is by faith, but mine is a personal, direct, experiential knowledge nonetheless. And it has increasingly grown, from the time I was a little girl when I confessed my
sin and asked Him to be my Savior, to the time as a teenager I made the commitment to live my life for Him alone, to the time I drifted from Him in the busyness of being a young mother and returned to Him through the disciplined study of His Word, to the time I answered His call to teach a weekly Bible class, to the time I stepped out in faith to follow him in an itinerant international ministry, to the time I picked up my pen and wrote my first word to be published, to the time when my heart's cry - under unbearable pressure and pain- has been, just give me Jesus!

Yet somehow, like John, I feel that all this time in His presence, all this devotion to His service, is just not enough. I have concluded that it will never be enough until my faith becomes sight and I know Him as fully as I am known by Him. Until that day, I find that my yearning for Him is ravenous, and it has once again led me to immerse myself in the pages of His Word - in particular, the eyewitness account of His life and ministry that was recorded by the disciple with whom I most identify: John."

Do you have a heart for Jesus like that? Anne Graham Lotz is inspiring in her pursuit for more of Jesus. After reading her book and seeing her speak, I'm now reading the gospels in a new light - in pursuit of really knowing Jesus..

What Will Make Us Hear?

Truthfully, we are no different today than the people of Israel and Judah back in the times of Jeremiah. How many times do we hear the truth of God's Word, either in a sermon or spoken in love to us by a friend, only to cast the words aside in our minds and go our own ways? I know I am guilty at times.

In Jeremiah 36, Baruch the scribe reads a scroll of Jeremiah's prophecy to the king only to have it thrown in the fire. In the next chapter, Jeremiah is thrown in prison because king Zedekiah doesn't like what he says. I have to admire Jeremiah's perserverance here in speaking the truth. I know that he didn't like prison! In chapter 38, Zedekiah gets scared enough for his own personal safety that he secretly drags Jeremiah out of prison to meet with him. Finally, he listens to and heeds the words of God.

So what is it that finally causes us to listen and do what God asks of us? And why is it that all of us in our own ways at times, tend to prefer the hard way instead of God's way? Thankfully, God waits for us to turn back to Him. And thankfully, as we grow in our spritual maturity, we start listening for God's voice sooner than later.