What if?

It's almost time to put August in the books, but let me get just one more post in for this month.

I was getting caught up on TiVo this evening, too warn out to do much else, and so I watched three episodes of Joyce Meyer, one right after the other. A lot of what she said got me thinking (which I guess is the point), but one thing really stood out to me. This one thing is what I wanted to share with you tonight, just food for thought and adoration for an amazing God!

Selfishness is the one thing that stands between us and a successful love walk. We are so worried about what we will lose, or what we won't get, if we help others, reach out to them, put our lives aside and focus on someone else. Imagine, what if Jesus had been screaming 'What about Me?' as He hung on the cross. A life perfectly lived would have ended in a grand display of selfishness.

Instead, He said, Father I give My life into Your hands. Whatever happens to me is up to You.

What an amazing heart! Completely selfless. To say, I will do this for others, regardless of what it costs Me. To say, I will do what God has asked of Me, and I will leave the outcome up to Him. What an awesome Savior we've been given! What an incredible example He's left for us to follow; what a life of passion - a life full of love for others, love and obedience to God, and marked with the most selfless sacrifice imaginable.

What if Jesus had acted the way we would have acted? We would be without a Savior, because there would have been no perfect sacrifice. We would be left with the law as our only guide to any hope of salvation.

BUT...What if we were to act like Jesus acted? What if we were to give of ourselves, expecting nothing in return, holding no grudge for time or energy or resources expended? What if we loved others the way Jesus asks us to? What if we were kind and patient and gentle and good and humble and honest and faithful? What if our lives truly reflected the God we say we serve? How could we impact others if we could only set aside that selfishness that stands between us and the love walk we are meant to have? What if we served God with the same passion Jesus exemplified?

What if.

Passion

What is the meaning of a life without passion? Is it worth our time to pass our time and yet to care passionately about nothing? Can we know what it is to want something - to truly want something - if we don't long for it with a passion? Do we really know love if we do not love with the strength that is only fueled by passion? Do I really love God if I don't love Him passionately?

My most important relationship is the one I have with Jesus. Without Him, nothing is right. He is my center, my security, my stability. He is my light, my guide, and my example for all that I could ever want to be. If my relationship with Him is not full and complete, then I am not fully experiencing the life He has made available to me. (John 10:10 - I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance, to the full, till it overflows). If I'm not following Him, loving Him, serving Him, worshiping Him, praising Him, obeying Him, trusting Him, leaning on Him, and confiding in Him with EVERYTHING that I have in me, I am selling short the single most important relationship in my entire life - both now and eternally.

Can I even say I LOVE Him if I do not love Him passionately? Does He want our acknowledgment, or does He want our adoration? Matthew 7 says that not everyone who calls Him Lord (not everyone who acknowledges Him) will enter the kingdom of heaven. He says, 'I will say to them openly, I never knew you' (Matthew 7:23). He wants more than lip service. He wants to KNOW us. He wants a RELATIONSHIP.

God is a passionate God. This I know with certainty. He creates with passion; He reigns with passion; and He loves with a passion that we may never fully grasp or comprehend. It is completely insufficient to offer Him a mediocre, lukewarm affection in return for a love like that. I want to love Him like He deserves to be loved. It is my prayer that He would continually change my heart, teaching me to love with a love that is full of passion and intimacy - a love that is pleasing to Him.

God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better ...

- RICK WARREN: (Author of "A Purpose Driven Life")

My Own Plans

So this is just a little thing really, but I thought I'd share. I had one of those aha moments yesterday, in a very ordinary, every-day-life kind of way. I was thinking about some of the stuff that I've taken on in the past 3 months or so (some of which I subsequently dropped), and trying to figure out why some of it has worked and some of it hasn't.

Back in March, I was invited to be a part of the digital creative team for a designer named Genevieve. At the time, I was not on any creative teams, and had no commitments whatsoever. I had just committed my scrapbook budget as my tithe (since I have no job, and therefore no income), and I really felt like God had given me this opportunity out of His faithfulness. Right from the start, this position has been nothing but good. It's been fun, easy, no-stress, and just a joy all around.

Well, shortly after this, I had been offered a spot on a creative team for a scrapbook web site. It was one of those things where you get a gut check, and know you shouldn't, but you want to, so you do it anyway. Yeah - that's called being disobedient. That's exactly what I did. Then, about a month later, loving all of the free stuff I was getting with my first 2 team positions, I agreed to be a member of yet another team. So let me just say that neither one was enjoyable, both were struggles, and sources of stress. Suddenly, it was like I was not enjoying my hobby, and I was trying to force it to work. No fun.

Well, after trying and struggling for quite some time, and after God dealing with me on more than one occasion about these last 2 commitments, I finally decided to step away from them - put them down and walk away. Aaaaaaaaah. That's better! Instantly, no more stress, no more struggling, no more trying so hard and enjoying so little. And because I laid them down, I was able to agree to a long-term position on Genevieve's team.

Well, I realized yesterday what should have been plain and simple, and really quite obvious. The first one worked because it was from God. The second two did not because they were my own schemes. On the surface they look very much the same - creative team positions, similar requirements, free digital products, etc. But the source of the opportunity makes all the difference in the world. This is a Biblical principal, and, as I've recently been reminded / shown, it applies to big and small aspects of life.

Even Jesus said 'I do nothing of My own will, but the will of He Who sent Me.' Nothing. So if that's true for Jesus, it surely should be true for me. And I'm reminded of Abraham - perhaps my favorite man in the entire Bible (other than Jesus, of course). Abraham and his wife wanted a son so badly. Well, they ended up with 2. The first, Ishmael, was conceived of their own bright ideas, their own workings and schemes. The second, Isaac, was given by God, in God's way and in God's timing. One was a struggle, one was a blessing. While my own situation is far less significant than Abraham's, the same principal applies.

Father, please keep me from pursuing my plans and instead guide me through Your plans.

Let's Walk

An interesting string of events are documented in John 6, starting somewhere around verse 47. Jesus is speaking in the synagogue at Capernaum, and He is telling the people there that He is the real Bread of heaven, the Bread of Life. He says that whoever eats of His flesh (bread) and drinks of his blood will dwell continually in Him and He in them. Well, this isn't the first time that He has said something that has made the Jewish leaders angry, but this time, His words upset more than the usual crowd. In verse 60 it says this: When His disciples heard this, many of them said, This is a hard and difficult and strange saying (an offensive and unbearable message). Who can stand to hear it? [Who can be expected to listen to such teaching?] Some of His disciples - men who had left behind their old ways of life to follow Him, and dedicate their lives to Him - were offended by what He was saying.

Jesus responds to them: But Jesus, knowing within Himself that His disciples were complaining and protesting and grumbling about it, said to them: Is this a stumbling block and an offense to you? [Does this upset and displease and shock and scandalize you?] He goes on to explain that what He is speaking of is of the spirit, not of the flesh.

The disciples were offended because they did not understand what He was teaching. The Bible, in fact, specifically tells us that those of the world cannot understand the things of the Spirit. Because they didn't understand, they allowed the spirit of offense to enter into them, ultimately driving them away from their walk with Jesus. Verse 66 tells us this: After this, many of His disciples drew back (returned to their old associations) and no longer accompanied Him.

Then Jesus asks His original twelve disciples, 'Do you too desire to leave Me?' Simon Peter answered, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words (the message) of eternal life. And we have learned to believe and trust, and [more] we have come to know [surely] that You are the Holy One of God, the Christ (the Anointed One), the Son of the living God.

In our walk with Jesus, we may come across things that we don't like, things that offend us, things that we do not understand. At these points, we will have to choose our direction. We can either turn back to our old associations and no longer accompany Him (walk with Him), or we can stay at His side, believe in Him and trust in Him.

We often talk about our 'walk' with God. Well, a walk implies steady forward movement. Forward progress will, at times, require us to press past obstacles or to pick ourselves up when we stumble or fall. Like He did with Peter (when Peter tried to walk on water), if we ask for help, Jesus will grab us and help us back to our feet. He may even slow the pace at times, or pause for a brief rest when we are weary. But ultimately, the walk must continue, we must get up and make continued forward progress. Throughout this process, He will never make us stay. We walk with Him because we choose to, and we can choose to walk away, or sit down and camp, at any time.

When stumbling blocks do come into our path, we will be in a stronger position to press past them when we know Him, as Peter described - 'we have come to know surely that You are...the Son of God.' I doubt that Peter understood, or was even comfortable with what Jesus was teaching in the synagogue that day. Jesus' death and resurrection had not yet taken place, so the disciples did not have a frame of reference to understand what He was speaking about. But Peter (and the others) stayed at His side because he knew Him and knew Who He was.


Jeremiah 17: 7-8 - [Most] blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river; and it shall not see and fear when heat comes; but its leaf shall be green. It shall not be anxious and full of care in the year of drought, nor shall it cease yielding fruit.

Thoughts under fire

Understanding what Peter doubted and why Peter doubted was huge in showing me the answers to some things I was working through at the time that I read this passage of scriptures (see my previous post). But still, a question remained. Why was Peter overcome with this doubt? The timing of it, especially, stood out to me as odd. I mean, only a moment after being so sure, he doubted so significantly that he sank - so significantly that Jesus was saddened and questioned him about it. How could doubt like that come against a man so quickly?

Well, my experience has been that when I ask God a specific question, He gives me a specific answer. And His answer was this: When Peter stepped out of the boat, he immediately stepped into a spiritual battle - an attack on the strength of his faith - a faith that would allow him to perform a miracle equal to what Jesus was performing.

The Bible tells us that we do, in fact, have an enemy - Satan - who is very real and wants very much to destroy us, physically, emotionally and spiritually. The Bible also tells us that we are, in fact, in a war, but it is a spiritual war rather than a physical war. This is what the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 10:

• verses 3-4: For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons. For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds,

Verse 3 tells us we are not fighting a physical battle. Verse 4 tells us that our weapons are not physical, but they are weapons of God and are powerful enough to destroy the strongholds put in place by the enemy.

• verse 5: casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ;

Verse 5 tells us that those strongholds come in the form of imaginations, thoughts, and proud and lofty ideas that contradict the true knowledge of God. In order to defeat these thoughts, we must bring them into obedience to Jesus. In other words, our thoughts must be in line with what Jesus teaches and what He says is true. Whenever we find our minds being attacked with anything other than what God says is true, we must refuse to accept it and replace it with His truth from His Word.

Our thoughts are as much a part of our spiritual walk, our spiritual growth and maturity, and our success in following Jesus as our hearts are.The thing that sealed my understanding of this was Matthew 22:37. When Jesus was asked, 'What is the most important commandment for us to keep,' this was His very simple, straight-forward response.

• And He replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect). (Matthew 22:37)

I wanted to share with you this lesson that I learned because I know how real doubts are and how difficult they can be, at times, to stand against. We are all impacted by incorrect thoughts. They are a very real method of battle employed by a very real enemy. Our mind is where many of our battles are fought and won or lost. If our minds are not in proper relationship to God, then, just as with Peter, our faith will fail to sustain us in trials. Peter was attacked and defeated in his mind, but just think of what he could have done had his thoughts not brought him down!

Peter sinks.

And in the fourth watch [between 3:00--6:00 a.m.] of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified and said, It is a ghost! And they screamed out with fright. But instantly He spoke to them, saying, Take courage! I AM! Stop being afraid! And Peter answered Him, Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water. He said, Come! So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and he came toward Jesus. But when he perceived and felt the strong wind, he was frightened, and as he began to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me [from death]! Instantly Jesus reached out His hand and caught and held him, saying to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? (Matthew 14:25-31)

I've heard this story many times, ever since I was a little girl, but recently, God showed it to me in a way I've never seen it before. I've often admired Peter, and wondered at him at the same time. He seems to me to be a little impulsive, maybe reckless. He seems bold and outspoken, sometimes when it's quite clear that he would be best to keep his mouth shut. And still, he had a special place in Jesus' heart. I think maybe because of all the men in the boat, Peter was the only one who dared to get up and get out of the boat. He had moments of brilliant faith - this being one of them.

But, look what happens to him immediately following his amazing exhibition of faith. He sinks. This was the focus of my most recent pass through Matthew 14. Peter sinks. Why does a man so full of faith in one moment sink in the next? Well, the passage tells us he felt the strong wind, the waves crashing around him, and he was afraid. Yeah, that makes sense I guess. I can understand fear in the middle of a storm on the sea. But does it really make sense? Nothing in his outer circumstances changed from the time he stepped out of the boat to the time he began to sink. The wind was blowing, the waves were crashing, the boat was tossing. The scriptures indicate nothing new in his outer circumstances to cause this surge of fear.

So what was at the root of it? Look what Jesus says: 'Why did you doubt?' What was it that Peter doubted? Did he doubt that he, Peter, was capable of walking on water or that he would be able to withstand the opposition coming against him? Probably, but those same doubts would have been present before he stepped out of the boat, and so shouldn't have made a difference in his success or failure. Ultimately, Peter had to have doubted Jesus. He had to have doubted either His ability or His willingness to hold him up - to support him in doing what He had asked of Peter. If Peter's faith in Jesus had been in tact, the other issues would have been irrelevant to him. It wouldn't have mattered if he alone were incapable. Trusting that Jesus was capable would have been sufficient.

Well, knowing WHAT Peter doubted, the next question would be WHY did Peter doubt. I mean, Peter knew Jesus personally. He knew what Jesus was capable of - knew His full strength and ability and power and love. Peter also knew that it was, in fact, Jesus standing before him on the water. He also knew it was Jesus' will for Peter to step out of the boat - he knew because he had asked and Jesus answered. So if he knew that it was Jesus, and he knew who Jesus was, and he knew that he was doing what Jesus was asking of him, why did Peter doubt? Why did he fall?

Because his head overrode his faith. His head told him it was impossible, even though his heart, his faith, only a moment before had been so certain. His head told him his circumstances were too big to trust to Jesus. The instant he doubted, he failed. He was defeated at the task he had set out to do.

I think this is just one Biblical example of what happens to us all the time. Our minds are being constantly bombarded with questions, doubts, half-truths, and outright lies. We have to make our minds up daily (sometimes hundreds of times a day) what we believe. Allowing doubt to override faith is a quick way to be defeated. Like Peter, once our doubts take control of our thoughts, our faith is deactivated, and we sink.

Whoever you are

"God loves you. He loves you so much that He gave His Son to die on the cross for our sins. And He loves you so much that He will come into your life and change the direction of your life and make you a new person, whoever you are." - Billy Graham

This section of his sermon really caught my attention. I love his directness, and his simplicity in getting to the point. After all, this is really what it boils down to. This is the basic message of Jesus. God loves you. Jesus died for you. It's that personal. If you alone were the only person He would have made salvation available to by dying as He did, He still would have done it. And He still would have done it knowing full well the possibility that you might not acknowledge Him, might reject Him altogether. He loves you that much - that He died for the possibility that you would accept Him and learn to return love to Him. Just the possibility. Because the alternative to Him - not making a way for you - was not an acceptable option for Him.

If we choose to reject Him, we continue on, in bondage to sin, and under the condemnation that the law brings. We live out a life that is seemingly void of purpose, and ultimately we face eternity in the absence of God - that is, in the absence of love, happiness, joy, peace, and all that is good. If you really pause to think about this, it is a fate worse than death.

If we choose to accept what Christ has done, everything about our spiritual situation changes. His sacrifice goes before God on our behalf, cleansing us of every sin, every imperfection. The Bible says we are made new in Christ, our sins are forgiven, our old life passes away and is forgotten, and we get to start fresh with Jesus. We no longer have to feel condemned when we do wrong because we are assured that if we confess our sins, they will be instantly forgiven. We now have free, uninhibited,open access to approach, talk to, make requests of, and form a deep friendship with God. All of this we are able to do through Jesus.

Just as Billy Graham said, whoever you are, God will do this - has already done this - for you. It is a matter of choosing to accept it and receive it.

My friend the atheist

A friend of mine is an atheist. This is something I've known about him for almost as long as I've known him. Shortly after we met, we got into a discussion about churches, and at that time, it came out in conversation that he doesn't believe in God, and he has nothing to do with the church or any established religion. While I was sad for him, this did not change how I felt about him, and we continued as friends.

Since then, we've had one or two serious discussions about God, the possibility of God, and what / why I believe what I believe. He has raised questions and doubts that stand firmly in his way to accepting that there could be a God, and while I've done what I can to share what I know, I admittedly do not have all the answers. I only know that what I know is enough for me to hold fast to what I believe.

About three months ago, I came across the book A Case for Faith by Lee Strobel (I know I've share that with you a bit before). As I was glancing through the table of contents, reading the titles of the chapters, it was like reading off a list of my friend's questions and concerns. I bought the book, hoping that it may help me be able to better understand the arguments for and against, and hopefully ultimately better equip me to be able to share what I know and believe.

About three weeks ago or so, I gave him a copy of the student version of A Case for Faith. I wasn't entirely sure that he would read it, or even keep it for that matter, but I hoped. Today, I learned that he has read the first chapter and has stopped. He won't go on because he has a list of questions already and wants to get them addressed before he continues.

I have to admit, I was filled with conflicting emotions. First, I was thrilled to learn that he had even considered the book, let alone started reading it. That was quickly followed by questions in my own head - will I be able to adequately answer him or explain well enough what I believe and know? Do I know enough of the Bible? Am I the person to be doing this?

Well, I'm continually learning that when I'm attacked with fear and doubt, the first action is prayer. So immediately, I turned to God and said, 'Look God, this is what I know. I know that You love this person more than I, or anyone else, could ever begin to understand. I know that You would love to see him acknowledge You, accept You, love You. I believe You led me to that book. I believe I was obedient to You in sharing the book with Him. And You have been faithful in opening him up to reading it and considering it. I also know that You will never ask of me something that I cannot do.' That alone was enough to subside my fears. Instead of focusing on what I don't know, I changed my focus to what I do know.

I alone am wholly inadequate to answer my friend's questions or to convince him of the existence of an Almighty God. I alone am short on knowledge and understanding. I am not the most eloquent speaker. I am not the most theologically sound person. But I am his friend, and I love him. And I love God, and I know He exists in a way that cannot be taken from me with shades of doubt. And I know, because the Bible says, that God goes with us into difficult situations. I know that He gives His peace, His wisdom, His understanding. I know that He directs our paths, and I know that He will give me the right words to say if I will only lean on Him. And above all, while I am wholly inadequate, not eloquent, and short on knowledge, God is wholly adequate and capable in every way. I'm not doing this for me, and I'm not doing this alone. He is my strength, and He is sufficient for every situation.