There are stories in the Bible where God sees the sin of people. He then sends someone or something to speak to them. He tells them of coming destruction and calamity. He tells them that things are about to go really bad if they don't repent and turn. And they do-they turn. They seek forgiveness. They seek God and His ways and God relents of His coming judgment. It happened with Jonah and Nineveh. It happened several times to the nations of Israel and Judah. God reveals Himself. Typically someone or some group recognizes their sin and repents. They call others to repent. And God doesn't bring the calamity and destruction. That happens- it still happens today. God takes away the calamity and destruction. This can happen in a 1,000 different ways, but it is God's grace and we don't deserve it.
But here is the one that is every bit as beautiful, yet we would rather not go through it. It is God's restoration. There are many more times in the Bible that I can point to that show this. The children of Israel not going into the promised land but having to wait 40 years. The entire book of Judges is a cycle of God not relenting but bringing discipline because of sin and then restoring Israel. David, many times in his life saw this happen. The Babylonian exile of the nation of Judah. Those are just some of the times God brought discipline in some form, but then worked in His people to purify and cleanse them, then restored them.
That is my story! That is my path! Let me say this- I wish I had the first story. I wish I had taken God's call to repent early on and not had the consequences and discipline that God rightly brought. I wish, but I can't change the past...unless someone has a time machine I can borrow. I want to change it all, less for myself and more for the people affected by my choices.
Not being able to change the past leads me to this next thought. I'm grateful for the discipline of the LORD. It is one of the most beautifully messy things I have ever taken part in. It is something (since I can't change the past) that I would not change. After my sin, if God had relented all the consequences and discipline, I would have missed out. I would have missed out on seeing God's beautiful forgiveness played out in so many people toward me. I would have missed out on the faith that He is building in me (and my family) because of the current place He has us. I would have missed out on the refining work He is doing in my character, which is very painful, but the pain pales in comparison to the beauty it is producing.
We don't like discipline, Hebrews tells us no one likes it, but we need it...I need it. The restoration God is bringing is unbelievable! It is a full restoration. I don't mean full as in I will get back everything I forfeited. Honestly, I'm not sure what the other side of this looks like (that's the faith it is growing in us). It is full because God doesn't do anything halfway. When He restores, it brings fullness of joy. It may look different than it did before, BUT it is every bit as good...actually it is better. It is better because the character God births in His children through discipline makes us more like Him...and that is better! It is ALWAYS better. It is purer! It is refined! It looks more like Him. And that is the goal- to look more like Him.
A warning that is followed by our turning back to God, shows that we are listening and following God. That is when God relents. BUT when we need to become more like God, He does not relent. He brings discipline and consequences. And if we then turn to Him, He restores and molds our character to His character. If we are not like Him, He will do whatever it takes to make us more like Him. That is my story! It is messy and hard and not fun, BUT since I can't change the past, I gladly accept it.
My challenge is accept whatever comes from the LORD. Answer His call quickly, so that He can relent. But if He has to bring discipline, accept it. Learn from it. Know that He is doing something in you that will be amazing! Trust Him!!
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
"Just as I...(He)...am...(was)
Most of us know the old hymn, "Just as I am." It is a hymn of the faith which speaks to the fact that Jesus takes us just like we are. He doesn't want us to stay in that spot (whatever that spot is), but He meets us there and bids us to, "go and sin no more!"
What about this old saying (that no one says), "they took him with them in the boat, just as he was." This is an old saying because it was writing 2000 years ago. It is recorded in Mark 4:35. It struck me as I read it this morning, what a strange saying. Theologians will point to the urgency of the passage. They got in the boat and went just as they were. Although it strikes me that it only says that about Jesus. Maybe that is the right interpretation of the passage, maybe it is just a statement thrown in for effect...but maybe not.
When you read the whole story (Mark 4:35-41), you notice something. The story is about Jesus' disciples getting in the boat, the storm coming up quickly on the sea, and Jesus calming it. The last verse records their thoughts, "Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey Him?". The disciples were not 100% sure about this Jesus. Yes they were following Him. Yes they saw Him do some amazing Him. Yes they believed in Him as much as they could to this point. But this, this was different.
He didn't just have authority over demons and physical issues. He had authority over the wind and the sea. This was different. The others can be parlor tricks, yes they were awesome, but we all get a little skeptical when people say they heal (and yes I believe 100% that God can and still does heal in miraculous and supernatural ways...but unfortunately we can still have this doubting Thomas mindset). You can't fake this! You can't have a storm come up and just say "stop" and it stops. That is different, that is something more!
Now back to the "just as He was" verse. When Jesus got in the boat, they were accepting Him for all they knew He was. He was a great teacher! He was a miracle worker! He was compassionate and kind! He was loving and forgiving! He was the embodiment of all that the Scriptures say God is! But after this they knew more, they knew Jesus was more than anything they had seen or heard about. They knew that He was greater!
Often times we accept Jesus for who He is. We have the Scripture and it gives us His exact nature. We experience Him in our daily lives. We accept all that we know of Him. But then there are those times, those times that He blows us out of the water. Those times where we are so awe struck that we can't believe He just did that! Jesus calls us to accept all that we know about Him. Then He bids us to hold on, because He is going to continually amaze us, if we stay with Him on the journey.
You may not understand all of who Jesus is (you are in good company, because NO ONE does). But He says, "Take what you do know (even if you are a little skeptical) and just journey with me. I have things in store for your life that will amaze you. I have a path that will lead you to life! Come, follow Me!"
Just as I am! Following Jesus, just as He is!
What about this old saying (that no one says), "they took him with them in the boat, just as he was." This is an old saying because it was writing 2000 years ago. It is recorded in Mark 4:35. It struck me as I read it this morning, what a strange saying. Theologians will point to the urgency of the passage. They got in the boat and went just as they were. Although it strikes me that it only says that about Jesus. Maybe that is the right interpretation of the passage, maybe it is just a statement thrown in for effect...but maybe not.
When you read the whole story (Mark 4:35-41), you notice something. The story is about Jesus' disciples getting in the boat, the storm coming up quickly on the sea, and Jesus calming it. The last verse records their thoughts, "Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey Him?". The disciples were not 100% sure about this Jesus. Yes they were following Him. Yes they saw Him do some amazing Him. Yes they believed in Him as much as they could to this point. But this, this was different.
He didn't just have authority over demons and physical issues. He had authority over the wind and the sea. This was different. The others can be parlor tricks, yes they were awesome, but we all get a little skeptical when people say they heal (and yes I believe 100% that God can and still does heal in miraculous and supernatural ways...but unfortunately we can still have this doubting Thomas mindset). You can't fake this! You can't have a storm come up and just say "stop" and it stops. That is different, that is something more!
Now back to the "just as He was" verse. When Jesus got in the boat, they were accepting Him for all they knew He was. He was a great teacher! He was a miracle worker! He was compassionate and kind! He was loving and forgiving! He was the embodiment of all that the Scriptures say God is! But after this they knew more, they knew Jesus was more than anything they had seen or heard about. They knew that He was greater!
Often times we accept Jesus for who He is. We have the Scripture and it gives us His exact nature. We experience Him in our daily lives. We accept all that we know of Him. But then there are those times, those times that He blows us out of the water. Those times where we are so awe struck that we can't believe He just did that! Jesus calls us to accept all that we know about Him. Then He bids us to hold on, because He is going to continually amaze us, if we stay with Him on the journey.
You may not understand all of who Jesus is (you are in good company, because NO ONE does). But He says, "Take what you do know (even if you are a little skeptical) and just journey with me. I have things in store for your life that will amaze you. I have a path that will lead you to life! Come, follow Me!"
Just as I am! Following Jesus, just as He is!
Saturday, September 2, 2017
Expectant vs. Expecting
I have to tell a story, before I get to this thought...
The other morning I was spending time with the LORD (reading the Bible/praying). I was overwhelmed with the thought that something really good was on the horizon. The actual thought I had was a picture of the lake, it was beautiful and amazing! That picture came with the thought that just like that picture, God has something He is about to bring that is amazing and beautiful. I am not joking, within 5 minutes of that thought, Kasey texted and said she had this feeling that God was going to do something really good that day.
Now to the point of the post...I immediately thought, "I am going to sell a house today", "Someone is going to call and I am going to list an amazing house that is going to sell quickly". Those were the thoughts, and others like it, that ran through my mind. Then God gave me a little front end alignment! He gave me the thought, "There is a difference between expecting and being expectant".
Expecting is defined as, "regarding (something) as likely to happen". This is (at least in my mind) something specific. I believe (blank) will occur. That is what happened to me the other day, and truthfully happens to me a lot. God starts to move and work and I am expecting Him to come through in a certain way.
Expectant is different. It is defined as, "having or showing an excited feeling that something is about to happen, especially something pleasant and interesting." Expectant feels different to me. It is something is going to happen, but it is not specific. There is a little more unknown to it. There is excitement that some unspecified thing is going to happen.
Expecting, even by definition, seems more demanding, this thing is "likely to happen". Expectant says I have "an excited feeling" about something coming.
When God starts to move, I want to put some exact action on it. The thing that breeds is demand, "God this thing should happen." It also breeds disappointment, "God you are moving, but if you don't do (blank) it is not good enough."
Expectant is so much better. It is a faith step. It is an unknown of what God wants to do. It doesn't breed disappointment, it breeds excitement. It also doesn't limit God! I would have loved to have sold a house that day, but what if God had something different that was WAY better (hopefully I recognize that material things are not the end all and what God has is so much better). What if I sold a house, but God had something else I missed because I was SO focused on that?
I want to live expectant. I want to live in a way that says God you are moving and I don't care what you do, I am expectant that you are going to do something! How much better is to live that way? How much more joy does that breed? How much more faith? If I'm only looking to sell a house, that is a NARROW view. If I am believing God for something big, my gaze is more broad and open to whatever He may have!
Which do you naturally live in...Expectant or Expecting?
The other morning I was spending time with the LORD (reading the Bible/praying). I was overwhelmed with the thought that something really good was on the horizon. The actual thought I had was a picture of the lake, it was beautiful and amazing! That picture came with the thought that just like that picture, God has something He is about to bring that is amazing and beautiful. I am not joking, within 5 minutes of that thought, Kasey texted and said she had this feeling that God was going to do something really good that day.Now to the point of the post...I immediately thought, "I am going to sell a house today", "Someone is going to call and I am going to list an amazing house that is going to sell quickly". Those were the thoughts, and others like it, that ran through my mind. Then God gave me a little front end alignment! He gave me the thought, "There is a difference between expecting and being expectant".
Expecting is defined as, "regarding (something) as likely to happen". This is (at least in my mind) something specific. I believe (blank) will occur. That is what happened to me the other day, and truthfully happens to me a lot. God starts to move and work and I am expecting Him to come through in a certain way.
Expectant is different. It is defined as, "having or showing an excited feeling that something is about to happen, especially something pleasant and interesting." Expectant feels different to me. It is something is going to happen, but it is not specific. There is a little more unknown to it. There is excitement that some unspecified thing is going to happen.
Expecting, even by definition, seems more demanding, this thing is "likely to happen". Expectant says I have "an excited feeling" about something coming.
When God starts to move, I want to put some exact action on it. The thing that breeds is demand, "God this thing should happen." It also breeds disappointment, "God you are moving, but if you don't do (blank) it is not good enough."
Expectant is so much better. It is a faith step. It is an unknown of what God wants to do. It doesn't breed disappointment, it breeds excitement. It also doesn't limit God! I would have loved to have sold a house that day, but what if God had something different that was WAY better (hopefully I recognize that material things are not the end all and what God has is so much better). What if I sold a house, but God had something else I missed because I was SO focused on that?
I want to live expectant. I want to live in a way that says God you are moving and I don't care what you do, I am expectant that you are going to do something! How much better is to live that way? How much more joy does that breed? How much more faith? If I'm only looking to sell a house, that is a NARROW view. If I am believing God for something big, my gaze is more broad and open to whatever He may have!
Which do you naturally live in...Expectant or Expecting?
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