Peace Be With You

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:6-9‬ ‭NASB
https://www.bible.com/100/php.4.6-9.nasb1995

Goodness, that’s a meaty portion of scripture ain’t it?!
That’s some real stick to your bones, food for your soul teaching, is it not?
I could sustain myself for a good long bit off these 4 verses. How about you?

Let’s dig in. 🍽

“Be anxious for nothing”...

This proclamation coming from anyone else is a recipe for a riff in the relationship.
Psychology 101 would tell us that telling someone who is anxious, not to be anxious, is the last thing we should do unless we want to cause strife, but this is Paul, the one who penned most of The New Testament, therefore these are the Words of God Himself. We can’t just walk away in a cross-armed huff saying “You can’t tell me how to feel!” We must keep reading.

...”but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Let’s be honest, requests can result in anxiousness.

“I’ve worked all month and I’m still a few bucks shy of the amount I owe for rent.
Will I ever be financially secure?”

“I’ve read all the popular books on building a healthy marriage but my marriage is still running a high-grade fever and it is on its death bed.
Will we ever be on the same page?” 

“I attended that 3 day conference about raising a self sufficient child yet they are still clinging to me like they clung to the horse on the merry go round when they were 3 years old.
Will they ever stand on their own two feet?”

Financial security.
Healthy marriage.
Self sufficient child.

These are just a few of the requests that we have tried fulfilling on our own with our own works and our own understanding.

Paul says that is not the way to be anxious for nothing. Instead of trying to fulfill our own request we must take them to God. Humbly and thankfully with the EXPECTATION that He will fulfill our requests in His time. 

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

The Peace of God guards our hearts and minds.

When we rely on the Prince of Peace to fulfill our requests instead of turning to our own understanding for fulfillment we guard our hearts and minds from anxiousness and we can REST EASY because we know that Jesus is working for us to fulfill our requests.

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

What do we do while we are waiting for our requests to be fulfilled? Paul says we are to DWELL ON THE POSITIVE. We dwell on the positive by thanking God for what He has already done.

“Thank You, Jesus for this job. I’m going to work as if I am working for You.
I am honoring You with my work.”

“Thank You, Jesus for the solution to that conflict in our marriage that You made clear to us recently.
I am going to love my spouse like You love me. Unconditionally.”

“Thank you, Jesus for the delicious meal my child made for us last night.
I am going to praise their small acts of adulthood like You praise my small acts of obedience.”

By dwelling on the positive through Thanksgiving and by trusting that God will honor our requests in His time, we can have peace in all circumstances because we won’t have to understand it all.

Peace be with you, Lifecoast.

TODAY IS SATURDAY

Today is Saturday.
Normally Saturday is one of the best days of the week.
Am I right? But, this Saturday is different.

Our friend and teacher was put on trial unfairly and convicted unjustly,
YESTERDAY.
Jesus was hung on a cross. He died and He was buried,
YESTERDAY.
The One we thought was our Messiah was crucified,
YESTERDAY.

We are still in shock.
We are wondering “How did we get it so wrong?”
We are replaying all of our time together in our heads, recounting all of the miracles, the talks, the moments that made us CERTAIN that Jesus WAS the Son of God - that Jesus was our Savior.
Yet, here we are, crushed, mourning and heartbroken.
We are questioning everything we believe.

Ok, so maybe “we” aren’t reliving the experience of Jesus’ followers some 2000 years ago, but you’ve been in their place, probably more than once during your walk with Jesus.

The job, that you just knew was where God was leading you, that fell through,
TODAY.
The marriage, that started off as if it was ordained by Jesus himself, that is now tattered and on the brink of divorce,
TODAY.
The child, that you prayed so long for, that you thought was surely a gift from God but now resembles the spawn of Satan,
TODAY.

When things don’t turn out like we think they should it can leave us crushed, mourning and heartbroken.
We start questioning everything we believe about God.
“Is He really good?”
“Did He really promise me that?”
“I thought Jesus was my Savior, but right now I don’t feel His presence anywhere in my life, it’s like He is dead and buried.”
My dear friend, just like that Saturday so long ago, Jesus is alive and working.
He is still working ALL things out for the good of those that love Him,
EVEN TODAY.

He is placing you in the perfect job that allows you to be Love & Light to the broken world around you,
TOMORROW.
He is resurrecting your marriage like He rose from the dead,
TOMORROW.
He is drawing in your wayward child like He drew Mary to His grave,
TOMORROW.

Devastation and Disappointment.
Mourning and Questioning.
Resurrection and Rejoicing.

A lot can happen in 3 days.
Just imagine what Jesus can do with 3 weeks, 3 years or 3 decades if we trust Him and let Him lead us.
Be patient and give Jesus time to work a miracle and it will all work out in the end.
If your situation is still dead and lifeless, just know, this is not the end!

Sunday is coming.

HABITS

“For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.” 2 Timothy‬ ‭1:7‬ https://www.bible.com/100/2ti.1.7.nasb

I love January! It feels like a new start, a chance to wipe the old slate clean and start again! Especially since we started participating in the 21 days of prayer and fasting back in 2009. It has actually been one of the only good “habits” I have been faithful to adhere to. I am not much of a habit girl. I am more of a spontaneous, fly by the seat of my pants kinda girl. I like variety. I love change. Weird, I know. 

Now I know habits are a good thing, well, except when they are bad, but good habits can truly make your life better. That’s what this fast is all about. We replace “not so good” habits with “good” habits or as I like to say, “God distracting habits” with “God Glorifying habits”. Some of us have COMPLETELY given up something that we must feel distracts us from glorifying God, think Facebook, Sweets, Video Games, television, non-Worship music. We replace those with things that draw us closer to God and help us to hear clearly what He could be doing in us to give Him the Glory in our lives and that is AWESOME! Many of us will be closer to God at the end of January than we are for the rest of the year. 

If that doesn’t make you go “hmm”, read that last line again. What I am pretty much saying is that we will live on a mountain top with Jesus in January and then settle for the valleys and a occasional hilltop experience for the other 11 months of the year. Why? Well it’s usually because we return, full force, to those pesky God distracting habits.

I really want to challenge you. No, if you gave up social media COMPLETELY for the fast I am not about to challenge you to give it up completely, forever, but maybe, if you chose to abandon a practice all together for 21 days, maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t the best “habit” to have. I just think that if we could return to our regularly scheduled programs, with less well, regularity when these 21 days are over, we would still have that extra time to spend hearing God’s guidance and direction for our lives. 

So there you have it. My thoughts and revelations from this fast so far. I have been loving how God has been showing up and showing off and would love to hear about His manifesting in your life during these 21 days.

HIDE & SEEK

“For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭2:10-13‬ ‭NASB‬‬ https://www.bible.com/100/1co.2.10-13.nasb

I used to love a good game of hide and seek when I was a child, did you? The exploration of finding the perfect place to hide, the building anticipation of someone searching for you and the excitement that filled my heart when they did finally find me. Giggles Galore!!!!!

As adults many of us are still playing an ongoing game of hide and seek, only now it’s more Spiritual that it is physically. We try and hide our character flaws from others and we try to hide our sin from God. This game is not nearly as fun as the old childhood game we used to play. Instead of leaving us in a fit of laughter, the adult version of hide and seek can tend to leave us in a puddle of tears.

It is very comforting to me that nothing can be hidden from The Spirit of God. It makes me completely free to expose all of my sin to the Fathers healing Light. If you were in an empty room, just 4 walls, you wouldn’t even attempt to hide from someone entering the room. You would simply have to surrender. That’s how it is with The Holy Spirit, and He does His best work in our lives when we completely surrender.

What are you trying to hide from the world? Are you kidding yourself by thinking you can hide your flaws from God? Stop delaying the healing and freedom you can receive by exposing all of your nooks and crannies to The Holy Spirit and let Him do a good work in you by working you over!!!

SEASONS

“He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.” Daniel 2:21-22 NIV

When I started to write down some thoughts on the seasons of life that we all navigate, the first verse that I thought of was from Ecclesiastes. Or for you who love music from the 60’s, the popular song from The Byrds “Turn!Turn!Turn!”, might come to mind. But the theme of seasons is all throughout The Holy Bible.

Just like the seasons of the continent we live on, we all have seasons of life that come and go. Unlike the seasons that bring a change in the weather, the seasons of life don’t always have an expected time or order.

We don’t always have a season of rapid growth (spring) after a dry, cold dead season (winter). Sometimes it seems as though that Phil, the groundhog, will ALWAYS see his shadow upon leaving his burrow and that we are forever stuck in Narnia with the White Witch reigning. We long for the rain and growth that we have been missing for so long. We ache for the warmth of the Son to shine on us. We yearn to be free of something that is keeping us from the season we desperately WANT to be in. But what if we could all just embrace the season of life that we are in, knowing that all seasons have a purpose. Maybe next time, instead of just biding your time in a season that seems to have no purpose, remember that God has a good purpose for all things.

Take time to listen for His guidance. My church is nearing the end of a yearly time of 21 days of Prayer and Fasting, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t participate in this discipline, even if in shorter intervals, throughout the rest of the year. One of my pastors, Ryan Antos, had some wise words last Sunday, “We empty ourselves physically so we can be filled Spiritually”. Just like the seasons of the year, God is in control of the seasons of our lives. If He brings you to a season He will bring you through that season. I pray the we can trust in His timing and have faith in His ways, always.

Whom Am I to Fear?

“The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young— let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance— for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭1:1-7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

http://bible.com/111/pro.1.1-7.niv

In my studies this morning I went to over to "Blue Letter Bible" for the interlinear Hebrew words and definitions in these verses and I spent some time on verse 7.

Fear- 

1. fear, terror, fearing
   1. fear, terror
   2. awesome or terrifying thing (object causing fear)
   3. fear (of God), respect, reverence, piety
   4. revered

The last 2 aspects of the definition of the Hebrew word translated to "fear" are the ones we want to consider in this particular verse.

"The fear of The Lord is expressed in the reverential submission to His will - the characteristic of true worship." (From the NET notes on Proverbs 1:7 in YouVersion)

Beginning- 

1. first, beginning, best, chief
   1. beginning
   2. first
   3. chief
   4. choice part

I love the last aspect of the definition of the Hebrew word translated "beginning" in this verse. The first. The choice part. The best part. The desired part. The best way to do something.

So if we are looking for an explanation of the last verse above, I believe we could say that Solomon is trying to say that "These Proverbs will help you with the ways to walk the straight and narrow, and they will help you discern the ways of The Lord, BUT first and foremost, reverence of The Lord is the best way to gain knowledge".

Here are some more notes from Proverbs 1:7 in the NET version in YouVersion:

"The fear of the Lord is the foundation for wisdom:  “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” ‭Proverbs‬ ‭9:10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

http://bible.com/111/pro.9.10.niv

And the discipline leading to wisdom: “He who neglects discipline despises himself, But he who listens to reproof acquires understanding. The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility.” Proverbs‬ ‭15:32-33‬ ‭NASB‬‬

http://bible.com/100/pro.15.32-33.nasb

It is expressed in the hatred of evil: “"The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.” Proverbs‬ ‭8:13‬ ‭NASB‬‬

http://bible.com/100/pro.8.13.nasb

And avoidance of sin:  “By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.” Proverbs‬ ‭16:6‬ ‭NASB‬‬

http://bible.com/100/pro.16.6.nasb

And so results in prolonged life: “The fear of the LORD prolongs life, But the years of the wicked will be shortened.” ‭Proverbs‬ ‭10:27‬ ‭NASB‬‬

http://bible.com/100/pro.10.27.nasb

and: “The fear of the LORD leads to life, So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.” ‭Proverbs‬ ‭19:23‬ ‭NASB‬‬

http://bible.com/100/pro.19.23.nasb "

I don't know about you, but I could definitely use some more "fear of The Lord" in my life. Especially if it leads to better sleep. So in my prayers today, I challenge you to be more reverent (feeling and showing deep respect) towards The Lord in your prayers, in your conversations with others and in all of your comings and goings. Be intentional in your praises, ALWAYS giving all the Glory to the only one deserving of it, our Father in Heaven, the only True God. In His precious Son Jesus' Mighty Name, Amen & Amen.

Cover Me

“Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.” John‬ ‭21:7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

http://bible.com/111/jhn.21.7.niv

This morning I slept in and woke up at 1:45am.  OK, let me explain.  My husband and I own a small personal training studio in a small beach town, Flagler Beach in Florida.  Our day normally starts at 5am, with our first clients trying to get their workouts in before work.  So we are early to bed and ridiculously early to rise.  Bed time is usually in between 6:30-7:30pm and we wake somewhere between 3:30-4am.  EXCEPT for when The Good Lord is doing a work in me.  Then I tend to spontaneously wake a few hours BEFORE the alarm sounds.  Let me do that math for you if you haven't worked that out in your head yet.  When I am in a period of what I call "Awakening" it is not uncommon for me to wake up between 11:30pm and 12:30am, that's an average of 4-5 hours of sleep a night.  These periods can last for a few days or a few weeks.  Today I am rounding the bend of the end of week 3.  Now all of this might sound like I'm complaining, but that couldn't be further from the truth.  I would sacrifice my sleep any day and every day to hear from Jesus.  These are the times in my life that have changed me for the better, molded me more into His image, and propelled me towards my purpose.  In these seasons I am awakened to passions I never knew were inside of me.  My Bible reading reaches new heights and things I have read many times before, take on new meaning.  This was definitely the case with John 21:7 this morning.

In the last chapter of the Gospel of John some the Apostles have decided to do a little night fishing.  They are out on a boat in the water, but aren't catching anything, sound familiar?

Enter Jesus.

The dawn was breaking and soon their fishing nets would be also. 

“And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch. " So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.”   ‭‭John‬ ‭21:6‬ ‭NASB

http://bible.com/100/jhn.21.6.nasb

Now according to John this is the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples after his death on Calvary.  But this is the first time that John specifically says that Peter was present. My mind wanders a bit. Was Peter filled with so much shame after denying Jesus 3 times the night of His arrest that he hid himself away those first few weeks after Jesus' execution?  He was one of the Apostles that ran to Jesus' tomb after Mary announced that Jesus was missing from the grave.  Even though according to "the disciple that Jesus loved", (that would be John himself, speaking in the 3rd person), Peter lost the race to the tomb because he was to slow. Now I see where my husband gets his desire to make everything a race or friendly competition.  It just might be in the male genes. See, I have a wondering mind.

“So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him." So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first;” ‭‭John‬ ‭20:2-4‬ ‭NASB‬‬

http://bible.com/100/jhn.20.2-4.nasb

Anyway, back to scene on the boat.  When the Apostles pulled up the net I believe they remembered that day long ago when Jesus performed the first miracle in their midst.  The same miracle. Empty waters, suddenly teeming with fish.  At this, John states the obvious.

“Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord." So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work ), and threw himself into the sea.” ‭‭John‬ ‭21:7‬ ‭NASB‬‬

http://bible.com/100/jhn.21.7.nasb

Then Peter responded in an interesting way.  He got dressed, THEN jumped in the water to swim to Jesus.  He was so excited to see Jesus, he couldn't even wait for the nets to finish emptying and the boat to get to shore.  BUT he did take the time to cover himself.  Again, my mind wonders, this time it takes me back to a much earlier time in history.

“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.” Genesis‬ ‭3:7‬ ‭NASB‬

http://bible.com/100/gen.3.7.nasb

Now it is common belief that Peter wasn't completely naked, hanging out on a boat with other men.  Most scholars believe he was wearing either a loin cloth or maybe even a light tunic.  Also it was customary in those days to have on an outer garment when greeting someone so putting on his "coat" may have been the sensible thing to do.  Even though, to me, putting on a heavy coat BEFORE taking a swim seems a little crazy.  It was here, at the end of John 21:7, that The Holy Spirit spoke to my heart.  I felt Peters shame.  I too, have attempted to cover myself before running to Jesus.  And I am sure I looked just as ridiculous as Peter swimming in his clothes and Eve standing there in shrubbery.   

Here's the deal, no really, this is the deal of a lifetime, literally.  Jesus wants to meet with you right where you are.  He doesn't care about what you are wearing.  He doesn't care about cultural customs or society imposed rules.  He just cares about you.  He cares for so much that He died a horrific death so you could be in right standing before His Father, so you could stand tall before your Father.  Naked and unashamed.  Fully exposed so you can be clothed in righteousness.  Stop trying to cover up your hurts, habits and hang ups.  He knows all about them anyway.  Let Him expose you even further, so He can exchange your heart of stone for a heart of flesh, alive and beating for Him alone.  As I sit in my dark living room in nothing but my nightgown,  I pray that the next time we feel like trying to cover up our sin before we approach The Throne of Grace, that instead we will strip ourselves bare and sit humbly at His feet, allowing Him to comfort us, like only He can, so He can completely cover us in His unending love that never fails.

Jesus' Squad

When we think of the "disciples" some of us think of the "12", Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; and Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot.  But in Luke 6:12-16, Jesus refers to the "12" as Apostles. 

In Luke 6 we are told that Jesus picked His 12 Apostles from a group of disciples.  So what's the difference between a disciple and an Apostle?  The definition of a disciple is a learner, a pupil.  Jesus had and still has a MULTITUDE of disciples.  But an Apostle usually refers to someone who is sent for a specific purpose.  Its literal meaning in the Greek language is "a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders".  So the 12 Apostles were disciples, but not all of Jesus disciples were apostles.  Make sense?  The Apostles were chosen to be in Jesus' inner circle, so to speak.

Luke 6:12 tells us that before Jesus called His many disciples to announce who made the final cut as an Apostle, He PRAYED ALL NIGHT LONG.  Jesus didn't willy-nilly choose the ones who would be closest to Him by a game of eeny meeny miny mo, He didn't roll the lot and cross His fingers that the dice landed where He wanted them. (Even though that was an acceptable way to make decisions in those days, YIKES!)   He spent all night set apart in prayer.  Jesus knew the best way to make an important, life altering decision was to connect to His Father.  Earlier this week I wrote about a sermon I heard long ago that changed the way I made decisions, if you haven't checked that out, here the link to it : https://www.aragingriver.org/blog/2017/1/15/the-god-grid .

Ok now, back to Jesus' version of "The Apprentice".  Who would He trust with the most important job of all of the jobs?  Who would He let into in His inner circle?  Who would He choose to spread The Good News to all the ends of the Earth after He returned to His Father in Heaven?   You can be certain Jesus didn't make those decisions alone.  He asked His Father for guidance.  Jesus always trusted His Father to make the most important decisions He would have to make while He was here on earth.

Jesus was so well connected to God, that He didn't let others influence His life in a negative way, but we tend to soak in the behaviors of those close to us.  So I ask you : Who are you surrounded by?  Who do you trust with your story?  Are you strategizing with your Father in Heaven, through The Holy Spirits guidance, when choosing your "inner circle"?  Or are you casting lots and surrounding yourself with those who gamble on life with poor decisions and even poorer behaviors?  Spend today in Prayer.  Ask God to prune away the negative influences in your life.  Pray for discernment to differentiate between the good and the not so good and for the strength to walk away from destructive relationships.  It won't be easy, but it will be sooooo worth it.

The God Grid

As I was reading in Luke 4 I was reminded of a sermon I heard a long time ago, by Pastor Stovall Weems of Celebration Church in Jacksonville, that radically changed how I made decisions.  Today I want to share what I learned from that teaching with you.  Pastor Stovall used Luke 4:1-13 as an biblical guideline to this particular teaching.

1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’ ” 5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’ ” 9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ ”12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.   Luke‬ ‭4:1-13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

To be sure that a choice we are about to make is going to take us on the route that God would want us to travel, we must ask ourselves 3 questions when facing a decision or making a choice.

1. Does it line up with scripture?

In verses 3-4 Jesus' first response to the enemy, tempting Him to make a poor choice, was a direct scripture quote from Deuteronomy.

First and foremost we must filter our decisions through God's infallible Word.  We must shine The Light on our options so any darkness that may be lurking in certain choices can be exposed.  BUT, as we see later in verses 10-11, Satan knows scripture as well and being the father of lies, is exceptionally crafty at twisting God's Word to trick us into thinking we are doing Gods work, when we are really furthering satans agenda.

So that is why we must also follow up with these two additional questions.

2. Does it serve my purpose?

In verses 5-8 satan attempts to derail Jesus' purpose by offering Him rule over the natural world.  Thanks be to God that Jesus knew His TRUE purpose, which was to save mankind through a horrible death and beautiful resurrection and sit as King over spiritual Israel and beyond.  If Jesus was just listening to to what others THOUGHT His purpose was, to become King and ruler over the natural Israel, He might have really been swayed by this smoke and mirrors tactic that the enemy uses often.

We must know what our purpose is in each area of our lives. Here are some examples from 3 areas of life.

Family:  We should want our families to know that they come first in our lives.  Our decisions should reinforce, with out a shred of doubt, that they are safe in our company and that we will always do our best to love them like Jesus does, without judgment.  We should pray that they feel the love of Jesus flowing through us.

Work:  While we might not always love what we do for a living, we can put on love everyday before we enter our work spaces. God has us where we are for a reason.  We must press in to The Holy Spirits guidance and live out our callings no matter where we are, even we would rather be somewhere else.

Church:  The Church's main purpose is to ALWAYS spread the Good News of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior, but your local church serves many other needs as well.  When we are committed to our local church body we receive an extended family that we must treat as our own flesh and blood.  When we sow seeds of love, encouragement, financial help, discipleship, joy and peace into our local church body we will reap the same.

I strongly encourage you to create a mission statement for each area of life.  You might have additional purposes and specific missions God has spoken over your life.  Write them down and put them where you can see them every day.  Some of us tend to have poor spiritual memories and need reminding of God's promises every now and again and again and again....

Even if we determine that our decision is Biblically sound and that it serves our purpose, we still must run our choices though this final filter as well because what WE want, might not be beneficial for everyone our choice affects.

3. Does it fulfill the Law of Love?

In verses 9-12 satan tempts Jesus to test God by twisting scripture as an attempt to trick Jesus.  But Jesus knew scripture so well that He knew we should not test God.  Jesus also knew that performing this act of wonder would not benefit anyone but Himself. 

To determine if decisions are fulfilling the Law of Love please ask yourself these questions:

Is this choice self fulfilling or God glorifying?

Does this decision help others?  Or just myself?

Will God be glorified with the result of this choice?

How will others be affected by my decision?  Loved ones, strangers?

We might not realize it, but EVERY SINGLE DECISION we make effects not only us but others as well.  We must carefully weigh the possible ways that our choices can effect everyone around us.  While some choices do not hold as much weight as others, they all cause ripples in others lives.  Let's make our choices create title waves of hope and joy, not tsunamis of destruction.

Something else I need to point out is WHEN satan approached Jesus with temptation.

The enemy attempted to take Jesus down after 40 days of: no food, no proper place to sleep and no interaction with family or friends.  In other words, satan thought that Jesus would be easier to sway when He was hungry, tired and isolated.  But satan forgot that fasting was not the only thing that Jesus was doing in the wilderness for 40 days.  Jesus was also PRAYING.

He was being filled with God's Grace, which is always enough.

He was being refreshed with God presence which always invigorating.

And He was in communion with God, so He was never alone.

So while I don't recommend 40 days without food, proper sleep or fellowship, because most of us are, unfortunately, not as skilled at connecting with God as Jesus was, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE if we stay in constant connection with our Father.

I pray that this teaching will be as life changing for you as it was for me well over a decade ago.  I am sure Pastor Stovall delivered a much more impressive sermon, but all I remember from his teaching are the 3 questions and how I applied them to my life. I pray you can hear The Spirit speaking to you through these words and that you can use this guidance to develop your own strategy for defending yourself from the enemies schemes. 

Wicked, Sinful Scoffers.

I don't know about you but I am always intrigued by the words authors choose to use in their writings.  Some like to use big, impressive words that, if I I am being honest, make me feel dumb.  One of my moms pet peeves is when someone uses the word "utilized" when the word "used" would have done the job just fine.  (And she is one of the smartest people I know)

But I know that the words used by the authors God chose to pen His Word, are always significant and inspired by God Himself and sometimes there is a whole lot of meaning jam packed into a single word.

Today I want to dissect these 6 words from Psalm 1:1:

Walk. Wicked. Stand. Sinners. Sit. Scoffers

When we walk with the wicked I believe we are FULLY AWARE that we are actively participating in debauchery.  I don't care who you are, EVERYONE knows that stealing is wrong, it's just that some people don't care who gets hurt by their behavior.  They only care about what they want, and they will do anything to get.

When we stand with a sinner I see it as witnessing to the behavior of the sinner, (in other words, their sin) as being right.  When we "stand with someone" we are on their side. We are defending their behavior.  We are supporting their stance by standing with them.  Think of the song "Stand by me". What is the author asking of their friend?  They are asking for them to support them. 

When we sit with a scoffer I imagine that we are conversing in a way that is gossip.  We are tearing down rather than building up.  I remember a message from one of our pastors that demonstrated that all of our words did one of two things: build up or tear down.  Our words are either advancing the Kingdom of God or they are furthering the schemes of satan.

My prayer for all of us is that we can start to recognize when we are walking with the wicked, standing with sinners and sitting with scoffers.  I pray that we choose instead to mediate on God's Word for strength, guidance, maturity, refeshing and perseverance.  So we can be productive and prosperous. In Jesus Name, Amen & Amen.

The Clean and The Unclean

Something that really stood out to me in today's reading of Genesis 7 was that God asked Noah to make room on the boat for the clean and the unclean animals that God was leading to come to the ark to be saved from annihilation.  The clean AND the unclean.  And Noah didn't bat an eye.  He didn't argue with God.  He didn't say "But God those animals are unclean!  You can't possibly expect me to live on this boat with such unclean creatures!"

The God of all of the living is asking the same of us.  To help lead His creation to His salvation. How do we respond when God brings someone that isn't as shiny and sparkling as us across our path?  What about that co-worker that is a professing atheist (Like REALLY professing)?  And how about that young girl, you know, the one that wears a tad too much makeup and not quite enough clothes?  Do we welcome them onto our boat with open arms?  Or do we run to pull up the ramp so they can't enter our little worlds? 

He called us too.  The Unclean.  He welcomed us into His "boat".  No matter how dirty we were, He beckoned us to step onto the ark of salvation.  Don't you think they deserve the free gift of God's Grace that was given to us?  Of course they do.

3 Babies and a Funeral

I must admit Genesis 4 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. This might seem strange to some but this particular chapter of God's Word houses my son's name. The name Seth actually came to me in a dream while I was pregnant and searching for a name that was different, but not weird. I wanted to name my baby something that wasn't common, but I didn't want him to have to spell it out for everyone that asked.  Actually I had several "stipulations". I didn't want a name that could be shortened. I loved Jonathan, but I wasn't to crazy about Jon. You get the picture. Genesis 4 actually holds two of the names I was considering for my baby. Now I wasn't a Christ follower when I was pregnant and when I told my mom that I was thinking about the name Cain, she flipped! She put her foot down and said ABSOLUTELY NOT! She not so gently reminded me of the story of Cain and Able and even though I hadn't grown up in church, I had heard the "story" before and conceded to my moms demand. So I was back at square one. Not much later I dreamt of a boy named "Seth". I woke thinking, "I like that". It fit all of my requirements and everybody loved it. So that was that. If I were to have a boy, his name would be Seth. Over the next couple of months I did a little research on the name and found out that Seth was actually Adam and Eve's 3rd son. "Made in the image of Adam". I thought "That's Cool". 

“Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭4:25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I tell you this story to prove that EVEN BEFORE I LOVED HIM, HE LOVED ME! I am so glad that I named my son not only one strong biblical name, (you will soon see that Noah and Abraham are descendants of Seth) but his middle name is Caleb who, that because of his faith, was one of only two of the Israelites to leave Egypt and make it to see The Promise Land.

From the beginning of time He knew me. And He directed my steps and thoughts.

(And yes, I am very thankful to my mom for stopping me from naming Seth, Cain.)

Seth and I at Church

REPENTANCE

Repentance.  It seems like such a harsh word.  When it comes to mind I conjure up images of nuns smacking rulers across knuckles.  Or maybe a child crouched over, cowering away from a much larger adult with one hand on their hip and the other shaking a finger at them.  But when the Bible talks about repentance it doesn't paint that picture at all.  If you're saying "Wait, it doesn't?", I am saying, "That's right, it doesn't."  God's Word paints a different picture entirely. 

So to accurately imagine God leading us to repent, let's look at what He says about it.

“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;”  Acts‬ ‭3:19‬ ‭NASB‬‬  http://bible.com/100/act.3.19.nasb  

God wants us to turn from our destructive behaviors so He can refresh us with His presence.  He knows that when we lay down our burdens, (and we know that anyone who has sinned has caused themselves, and probably others, some burdens, y'all.  Am I right?) that we can walk with a lighter step, free from some of the consequences of sin.  When we are feeling better about ourselves and our behavior we are more likely to engage with Jesus and that gives Him pleasure.

“For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies," declares the Lord GOD.  "Therefore, repent and live."” Ezekiel‬ ‭18:32‬ ‭NASB  ‬‬http://bible.com/100/ezk.18.32.nasb  

The more we repent of sin, the better our quality of life will be.  Repentance is totally for our own happiness and for His Glory.  Because as Christ followers, the happier we are, the brighter we shine and the brighter we shine the more attractive we are to this dull and heartbroken world. 

While standing on a corner holding a sign with “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand". Matthew 3:2 written on it probably won't spark anyone into wanting to engage with us, living a life of positivity and hopefulness can be the fire that attracts someone who is lost and without hope in a cold, dark world.  And when they come to us asking "Why are you so happy and full of life?" That's when we give all the glory right back to Jesus.  That's when we get the opportunity to share what God has done in our lives and just how much He loves us.  That's when we get to share the Good News that the God of all Creation so dearly and tenderly loves them, no matter what they did yesturday. That's when we can show them that God's love doesn't depend on what they are doing today and He will always be there tomorrow to pick you up, dust you off and set you on the path He has laid out for you!

“Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I rebuke and discipline [showing them their faults and instructing them]; so be enthusiastic and repent [change your inner self--your old way of thinking, your sinful behavior--seek God’s will].” REVELATION‬ ‭3:19‬ ‭AMP‬‬  http://bible.com/1588/rev.3.19.amp. 

So you see, God is not angry or chasing after you with a wooden paddle. He simply waits, waits for us to grow tired of our sin and turn to Him for guidance and instruction on how to drop the chains that are weighing you down and holding you back from your full potential.  So what are you waiting for?  You've got nothing (emptiness, hopelessness, aimlessness...) to lose and absolutely EVERYTHING  (happiness, contentment, wellbeing, confidence, the list goes on and on...) TO GAIN!