"Out on a Limb"

"The angel said to her, “Don't be afraid, Mary; God has been gracious to you. You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus." Luke 1:30-31 GNT

Today is the day after for me. The day after I was out on a limb. Oh boy! Was it a little crazy. Not really because God was making it crazy or because it was even a crazy situation. It was crazy (for lack of a better word) because I was feeling all crazy inside. I was being placed in an area that I really wasn't comfortable. I knew I wasn't in my gift mix and I was very insecure about my ability of this job that placed in my lap and my old people pleasing patterns of course decided to pop in their ugly little heads all over the place. But it was a job that needed to be done and God gave it to me to do. And last night after the job was completed, I knew why. And I share this with you to encourage.

God used this time to grow me. To show me that in my weaknesses--my not strong gifts areas--He can and will still use me. That He will never and has never forsaken me because of those weaknesses. That when we allow Him to use us all the time--not just when we want or feel comfortable--that mighty and glorious things will happen.

He allowed this time to let me draw upon the growth I have made through Him--with the people pleasing patterns--so that next time I'm in one of those places, I will have the memory of this time to draw strength & courage from. To keep me on my knees, keep me drawing upon His strength and my faith in that strength. And then when it was over, just to feel and see the mighty work He did--well, it was SO very awesome! 

This morning, right before I began writing this blog, He brought to me the above verse and many other incidents in the Bible of people that He has--through the many, many years--taken out on a limb to do mighty and glorious things. People, if they hadn't been willing, trusting and faithful, that in their unwillingness would have changed the world we know.

What if Mary had said no? What if Peter hadn't walked on the water? What if Zacchaeus didn't climb the tree? What if Noah hadn't built the ark? What if Jesus had a change of heart? What if I hadn't been willing to do my task yesterday? What if you hadn't been willing to _______________? (you fill in the blank.)

Our God is SO much bigger and greater and gracious than we can and will ever give Him credit for. What's so amazing is that even though He is a perfect God, He doesn't expect perfection from us in order for Him to use us or to want us as His children. All He truly wants is an open heart and spirit that is willing to serve Him however He chooses--not when we choose. Do you receive that?

So now it's your turn. What limb has God been asking you to go out on and you have held back? What fear, pride, lie, do you have to reject, to put upon God's alter and get freedom from?

Imagine this is what God is saying to you, "Be willing to go out on a limb with Me. If that is where I am leading you, it is the safest place to be." Why is that? You are correct if your response is because that is where HE is.

"Going a little ahead, he fell to the ground and prayed for a way out: 'Papa, Father, you can—can’t you?—get me out of this. Take this cup away from me. But please, not what I want—what do YOU want?'” Mark 14:35-36 MSG

The Day After After

"Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.

 Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Look to the Lord and his strength;
seek his face always.

 Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
you his servants, the descendants of Israel,
his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.

Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
he is to be feared above all gods.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever."
1 Chronicles 16:8-13, 23-25 & 34 NIV

Happy Day after Thanksgiving! Why am I wishing you a "Happy Day after Thanksgiving" wish? A little late am I? Well, I did this on purpose. Yes, seriously!

You see, we need to be thankful EVERY day for God and His mercies. We need to thank Him for all the good, for all the blessings and yes, even for all the heartaches, for all the sorrow--for all the all.

Our God is our God--always. We need to be His grateful children--always. It's easy when life is good and everything is going right --not so easy when not good or not nice things are happening. But I have discovered that some of my biggest and most powerful life and faith lessons are during those times. I don't know about you, but I totally do not like them--I avoid them like the plague. And when I was young, not only in age but in faith--I use to think that I was being punished for something bad that I had done. Kinda like Job's friends thought about him and his life. (If you haven't, you should read the Book of Job in the Old Testament. It can be a little overwhelming, but if you pray over your reading before you read it--God will show you some AWESOME truths about suffering, unconditional faith, redemption, hope and love.) But that so not true! 

Seriously, when bad or unpleasant happens, I have had to say to myself and those around me--if I believe, truly believe--that my God is in control of my life and everything that happens in it, then I need to believe, have faith & hope that He has a purpose for it and it is for my greater--not to harm me. And I need to praise Him. Do you understand that?

What is it in your life that you have had trouble to release into His very capable hands and then praise Him for? Good. Now that you have named it--do it! I know that I may be asking a great big faith step from you but you truly need to do this. Give it or them (in case you have more than one thing, which is totally fine)--to your Heavenly Father and praise Him--genuinely praise Him--through the tears, through the hugest lump in your throat that you've ever experience, through the anger, disappointment, gut-wrenching pain. Praise Him! For not only trusting you with a hurt, a sadness, a not nice--whatever it is-- but helping you through it and, if you let Him--showing you or even taking care of it Himself. Your Heavenly Father loves you SO deeply--can you receive that? 

So, Happy Day after Thanksgiving, today, tomorrow and the day after! Praise Him! Hey, please do me a favor and pass it on--it's a great way to share the good news with people!

"Since you have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, live in union with him. Keep your roots deep in him, build your lives on him, and become stronger in your faith, as you were taught. And be filled with thanksgiving." Colossians 2:6-7 GN

All that is Required--A Perfect Heart

"For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him." 2 Chronicles 16:9 KJ21 

Question--Do you think that you have to be perfect in order for the Lord to use you, to love you or to be a Christian? Seriously take a moment and be honest with yourself. Do you think perfection is the main ingredient in order to be wanted by God?

If your answer is yes--don't feel alone. I feel pretty confident to say that you are a part of a very large crowd. But you are also wrong.

Perfect, perfection--at times I so dislike that word. To me personally, at times, it seems like a curse. I don't know about you, but I have strived to be perfect since the moment I discovered that when you are perfect, people seem to like you--in my case my father. If I was perfect, my dad seemed to not mind my presence in the home. But if I made a mistake, oh, he would get that look of displeasure--even telling me at times to get out of his sight until he could stand to look at me. And believe me, even though I tried very hard, I was more unperfect than perfect. 

So, when I became a Christian, I brought that thought process into my new Father/daughter relationship. Have you done the same thing? Brought the false idea that your Heavenly Father only wants a relationship with you if you are perfect, all the time? And that the moment you're not He wants to give you the boot?

Crazy as it may seems to the world, God looks at our hearts. He wants a perfect heart--not perfect acts. Do you understand? Lets look at the Pharisees  Remember in Matthew 23:27, Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. You see, these people were perfect outwardly--they followed the rules, they dressed accordingly, they prayed loud and long prayers in the synagogues--and they were very proud. So, they were acting perfectly on the outside, but on the inside--their hearts--they had a judgmental spirit, they didn't walk in love and they didn't show mercy to anyone. And it made God angry because their hearts were not right.

You see, our Heavenly Father is a Father of the heart. He knows each and everyone of us and cares more about the attitude of your heart than your outwardly acts. And no, we will not always be perfect in our heart, but as long as He sees that you are trying, that you are striving to be close to Him--it pleases Him. And what is a perfect heart? It is a heart that desires more than anything to please Him, a heart that is grieved when sin has happened, and a heart that has committed itself to Him and His sovereignty over forgiveness and restoration.

The opening verse above shows how important the perfect heart is to God. And this is even before Jesus had died for us. That He was wanting to show Himself not to the ones that were performing perfect acts, but those who were harboring a perfect heart.

So take heart and remember--God only desires three things from you--truth, faith and a pure heart. Truth in the way you handle life in your spirit and worship--He despises it when you 'fake it', when you pretend church. Faith in your relationship with the trinity (Father, Son & Holy Spirit). Pure heart,which is a perfect heart.

I will ask you the question again, do you think you have to be perfect in order to have your Heavenly Father want to love you? 

"But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature, because I have rejected him. Man does not see what the Lord sees, for man sees what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 HCSB

Soar

"Then he sent out a dove, to see if the water was gone from the ground. But the dove found no place to set her foot, so she returned to him in the boat. For the water was still over the earth. So Noah put out his hand and took her, and brought her into the boat with him. He waited another seven days, and sent the dove from the boat again. The dove returned to him in the evening. In her mouth was an olive leaf that had just been picked. So Noah knew that the water had gone from the earth."  Genesis 8:8-11 NLV

We have all heard the story of Noah's ark. And it is a great story in itself. But this past weekend I heard the above verses presented in a way that makes it personal--at least to me--and so I want to share it with you.

God loves us so very much. and He has a plan for each of our lives. And there are times when He will send us out to test us. Just like Noah and this dove, God will give you a task and send you out to do it. 

So imagine Noah is God and you are this dove You know that you the task you need to do, but as you flying around, looking into the horizon, there is not a tree to be found. But there must be a tree, God sent you to get just a little leaf. So you keep flying and flying. All the while, the ark, your place of security, is getting farther and farther away. You look below you and all you see is churning, angry water. Thoughts start flooding your mind--"Oh no, what should I do? I can't fail. What will my God think? He will be so disappointed in me. But I have to turn around, my arms are burning, they ache so badly and there is no place to rest. I hate to do it, but I just have to turn around. 

So, there you are flying back toward the ark. As you get closer and closer, new thoughts are attacking you--Oh, what will all the other animals think of me? They will say, "You sorry little dove, God should have sent out the condor or the eagle. They wouldn't have come back empty handed." Then just at the right time, as if He knew, God opens the door and holds out His hand, palm up, so that you would have a sturdy place to land--and then gently pulls you close to His chest. Does He scold you? Does He shame you in front of all the other animals? No. In fact, when you start stammering out an apology, "Oh my God, I am so sorry. I tried, I truly tried, but I just couldn't complete the mission." What does He say? He pulls you even closer to Him, looks you square in the eyes and says, "My child, my child, you did not fail Me. I knew that you wouldn't find the branch. I was just testing you to see how much you trusted Me. If you trusted our relationship enough to come back. And you did. Thank you. Now you rest with Me. You will have another chance."

At the end of seven days, God comes to you and wakes you from a deep slumber with a whisper. "Little one, are you ready? I need you to go and finish the task I have given you." He gently gathers you from your warm bed and opens the door and He gives you a little upwards toss. Before you know it, you are again soaring. This time is different. What do you see? You see olive trees! Oh, how gleeful you are! Your heart is just swelling with the sense of thankfulness! You swoop down, grab a leave and head back to the ark. Oh, how pleased my God will be with me! You can't help but think. Again, just as you get to the ark, God opens the window to receive you with a warm embrace. And He says, “You are my child, whom I dearly love; in you I find happiness.” Luke 3:22 CEB

Are you at this place? Are you fearful to step out in faith to do something that God has been prompting you to do? Are you worried about what others will think? Or maybe you've tried to step out, felt like you haven't accomplished what you were suppose to. That your failure is too big for your God to receive you back. To have Him want to use you again. 

Release all of those negative thoughts. All of those chains. If you are getting a sense that your Heavenly Father is wanting something out of you, if He is wanting to give you a mission--you must do it. That He knows your heart and spirit and as long as He knows that you gave Him your best--He will use you. He will be your strength and your guide. Trust in Him. He will set you free! As with the dove, He will be the wind beneath your wings.

"Yet, the strength of those who wait with hope in the Lord will be renewed. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and won’t become weary. They will walk and won’t grow tired." Isaiah 40:31 GW

Me? Idolatry? Seriously?

"'You must not make any idols. Don’t make any statues or pictures of anything up in the sky or of anything on the earth or of anything down in the water. Don’t worship or serve idols of any kind, because I, the Lord, am your God. I hate my people worshiping other gods.'" Exodus 20:4-5 ERV

Recently, the Lord has revealed something to me. It was very disturbing to my spirit but I had to own it. I'm going to share it with you because I have found, and maybe you have too, that usually when God is working a truth on you, that there is almost always someone else that needs the same gleaning or word of encouragement that we are getting and we need to share. So, here we go.

I am a people pleaser--I have shared that before. I worry very much about how others are perceiving me or what or how I 'think' others are perceiving me. In that worry, I have allowed myself to do or not do things that I am not proud of. I am constantly comparing myself, degrading myself and allowing myself to be talked out of doing something that the Lord may be telling me to do--with my self talk. I tell myself that I am stupid, ugly, fat and how in the world could Jesus really use someone like me? That people will not receive my words that I know the Lord has told me because, "Why, they think I am stupid and God wouldn't use someone like me."

Brothers and sisters, that is wrong! God brought to my heart and spirit the revelation that I need to beware of trying to see myself through other peoples eyes. That I am making what I 'think' others are seeing and thinking the truth over what I know that my God is seeing and thinking  And when I am doing that, I am making them my idol. I am committing idolatry!

Oh, how that sadden and grieved my soul. I had to totally get on my knees and confess my sin and ask for forgiveness. For you see, God doesn't see me as I see me or how I 'think' others are seeing me. God has never said that I was ugly or fat or stupid--never! God has never said that He would never use me--no, completely the opposite. So why am I allowing what I think--(observe the 'think')--others are thinking and saying to control my life? Ridiculous! My God has always told me how much He loves me--in fact He treasures me, and how glad He is that I am His daughter and that as long as I have a willing spirit, He will use me. 

So there--all my yuck is out there on the table. I'm not proud of it but I did it to hopefully get you to thinking--Do I do that? Am I making something that is not god, my God? It doesn't have to be like me, emotions. Your's may be money, fears, outward appearances, superb spirituality--the list could go on. I encourage you to do a self-check. Pray to your Father and ask Him if there is anything that He sees that you are making an idol--to point out. Then receive it. Seriously, it doesn't make you a bad person or a failure or anything else that the devil may be trying to whisper in your ear to make you stay in your own muck. Jesus wants to set you free from all of that.

You know, once I confessed and received forgiveness--I have had such a peace! I can truly love and serve and be and not get all wrapped up with the "what if's"! And of course, I need to say that, in my life, it is a daily battle. But now I am aware so when I feel or hear those thoughts, my spirit tells me it's poison and I then give them back to my God and He rescues me--and He will you! 

What has also helped is having accountability people in my life that I have given permission to speak into my life if they see me going down the old familiar path again. These are people that I trust, that are grounded in the Word and that the Lord has told me to ask. You may think of that too.

Our God is such an awesome Father! Praise Him for ALL things!Even growing pains! 

"A voice came from heaven and said, 'You are my Son, the one I love. I am very pleased with you.'” Mark 1:11 ERV

Modern Day Moses Moment

"In your unfailing love you will lead
    the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them   to your holy dwelling." Exodus 15:17 NIV

The scene leading up to this is that Moses and the Israelites had just escaped Egypt. With God's power, Moses had parted the Red Sea, the Israelites all got across and then Moses closed the sea and the Egyptians soldiers, their chariots and their horses all drowned. Can you imagine what that scene was like? The sights, sounds and emotions? Talk about drama!

Afterwards, when everything had calmed down, Moses and the Israelites sang this song of praise--Exodus 15--to the Lord. At that moment, they were so thankful to their God for all He had done for them. Their world would never be the same.

What about your world? Is your world full of chaos? Are you like the Israelites, enslaved to the Egypt in your life? Or maybe your life is in the transition of changing and you are walking on the floor of the Red Sea, half way from the old and bad shore behind you with your focus on the new and good shore in front of you. Or maybe you have totally come across and now you can rejoice over your recovery from the old life that has been drowned out with the Lord's love and strength.

Gather strength from this chapter of Exodus. I particularly love the verse above because it speaks of our God's unfailing love. His unfailing love for me--for you. In a world where there is so much failure. Where there is so many strings attached--the fact that God's love for me is unfailing. Wow! What a much needed truth to receive.

Is it hard for you to totally accept that truth?  Be honest with yourself. Is it? We are so trained that we need to do or be--in order to be loved and that just isn't so with God. I have to be honest and say when I am asked, I say, Oh, I know that my God loves me and its just because He loves me. But then I find myself trying to earn that love. I find myself trying to be or do the perfect whatever I think He wants or try to not be or do whatever. But I do it subconsciously. Is that where you are?

Our God loves us no matter what. There is nothing that will ever separate us from that love--ever! That is what unfailing means--not giving way; not falling short of expectation; completely dependable. His book, the Bible is full of love verses for us. It's like a giant love letter--and it was written just for you. Receive that love. And for those moments that you find yourself--like I do--caught in the trap of bad thinkin'--grab that Love book and find those verses. Better yet, as you are reading each day (and I know you are reading each day), have your highlighter with you and highlight those verses that you come across and write them in your prayer journal to have close at hand. And pray. He loves it when you humbly come to Him, share your thoughts and feelings, stop to listen to what He has to say, and praise Him for His awesomeness.

"Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture...None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us." Romans 35-36 MSG

Tag! You're It!

'"Sing, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
¹⁵ The Lord has taken away your judgments,
He has cast out your enemy.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
You shall see disaster no more.'" Zephaniah 3:14-15 NKJV

I don't know if you have ever experienced this or not, but there are times when the Lord directs me to a verse and I read it and then sit there thinking, "O.K. Lord, and the reason is for...."

Well, to be honest, today is one of those days, I prayed and was lead to this verse. Actually, I was also lead to a closing verse which you'll see in a minute.

You know, sometimes we are not always suppose to have everything explained to us. Sometimes the Lord wants someone to point out something to us, but then the responsibility is upon us to read and ponder and sit with Him and talk to Him about it--and I think that today is that day for you.

I'll get the ball rolling with what I received and then it's your turn. What I personally receive from this passage is this--that my Jesus, my God, is here. He has died and wiped out all my sins, all my shortcomings--'all' means the past, present & future--and I need to rejoice! I need to praise Him and thank Him for ALL things! With my complete heart--not half-heartedly. That I need not to get stuck in the feelings of failure, of unworthiness, of falling short. That He has taken care of all that and more. He is in my life and He is my life and while everything is not going to be perfect while I am here in this earth--with Him, I can rejoice! He's got it covered! What a relief!

Tag! You're it! Now it's your turn to share. I challenge you to read these verses and sit, pray, ponder on what God wants you to receive--then listen. Let Him tell you what He has planned for you. Then praise Him. Praise Him for loving you SO much. For having a special message for you. For caring. For even wanting to have an interactive relationship with you. That He's not just sitting up there, bossing us around. He loves and cherishes you so deeply. And if you feel so led--share with someone He brings to mind.

"'The Lord your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,He will rejoice over you with singing.'” Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV

Rejoice!

My dear Father God, I praise You for loving me. I must admit, that it is hard to comprehend at times that You are actually rejoicing over me! But Your words above tell me so and so I receive that. I ask that You will please use me to share that love--that rejoicing--to the world that You have placed me in. I am gratefully and humbly Your child. Thank you. In Your precious name I pray this. Amen.