Prepare Our Hearts

Author: Stephanie T.

  • Ever Asked God, “Why”?

    Exodus 5:22-23

    Then Mosses turned again to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you mistreated this people? Why did you ever send me? Since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has mistreated this people, and you have done nothing at all to deliver your people”.

    And the next chapter is all about God slashing Moses to bits on the highest mountain and showering his body parts from the sky…

    Just kidding…

    Actually, God answered with a promise. Because God had a made a promise and God keeps His promises. He then showers something from the sky: a whole raft of plagues. Plagues that we cannot imagine today, water turned to blood, frogs that invaded every house, flies that bit, locusts, hail and storms, and ultimately the death of every first born Egyptian child, including Pharaoh’s son.

    Have you ever been in a church group or Bible study where people said to not question God? I have, a few times. But I’ve always been the questioning type. In fact as a kid they called me “mouth” because I liked to ask questions. Of the lady who named me that, I asked, “Why are your eyebrows drawn on like that? Wow, how she didn’t smack me that day I’ll never know!

    But Moses did ask God “Why”? And Moses lived. AND he got an answer from God. Why are we so afraid of asking God “Why?” Maybe it’s that verse about the grumbling complainers that God did slash to bits in the dessert. But for context read Numbers 16 and 1 Corinthians 10. Moses just asked “Why”, he didn’t complain.

    SO, I have a theory, I think God allows, our “why” questions. In fact, I think He may even honor them. If you’re in a real relationship with someone. Say, it’s your new fiancé, aren’t you going to ask them, why they want to be with you? If they do something unexpected, like apply for a different job, won’t you ask why? If they think you should move to another country and work among the natives, won’t you ask why? It’s a normal question.

    hands up whyNow let me speak to the times of life that are hard and you need to know why. Times, like surviving abuses, or a friend that passes away. Those times also necessitate the “why”. Maybe you got a cancer diagnosis, or maybe the one you prayed for did not live. Maybe you did live, and another died, you need to know why. You just do. I believe God honors that, and even knows we need those kinds of answers. And though we may not always get the answer we’re after, I even believe there’s still one to be found. For instance, as a sexual abuse survivor, I cannot explain why the abusers chose to do what they did. Maybe they too were abused and acted out, or maybe just have addictions to sex. Whatever the case there came a day when I sought God on why that happened. I needed to understand His perspective.

    The verse that came to me was Romans 8:28, “we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose” (NRSV). And I also could recall the life of Joseph, who’s brothers tried to kill him, but ended up selling him in to slavery. This life is full of troubles, we are guaranteed in the Bible. Joseph said an amazing thing though, “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good…” (Gen. 50:20).

    Something else stuck out to me after asking “Why?” I realized there were countless other women in the same shoes as me. Countless women without a voice, girls, daughters, mothers, sisters, aunts, friends, who have suffered in very similar ways and are still suffering. As I contemplate why I also contemplate this God I serve’s intentions of good in it. What will He use it for? As it stands it’s sort of my Nineveh, the thing I avoid.

    Afterall who wants to talk about such a thing. But that’s just what needs to happen, and even more so, why else would I have earned the name “mouth” if I weren’t to be such a talker! So more to come later on that, but for now I’m praying how I can be a help to point women to the path of victory after the word “victim” has come across their lips.

    When you ask God such a question you may not find any answer is given at all. I cannot see why my friend Diana was taken, why her cancer was not healed, why her 5 children are without her. Yet I do know one thing, she longed for heaven. I have never met anyone so excited to go and be with Jesus. Most of us are like, “not yet, I have too much to do here”, but not Diana, she was ready to go! Maybe that was the answer, maybe God just answered her prayer that she could come home. But to us who miss her, we may not yet see the answer.

    In that case, the answer might be faith. Do we have faith to believe that God knows everything, He is sovereign and has a purpose in all He does? A good true purpose! Do we have faith to believe that?

    And sometimes your answer is not one you wanted. I have prayed and prayed for a situation to change but it never did, not for many years. It was the hardest thing I had ever been through. And ultimately I decided that it may never change and so I accepted it the way it was, the way it may always be. Because like Paul with the thorn (2 Cor. 12), He is gracious to me and in that grace may leave me with it. Because with this thing I am on my knees before God, begging Him on a daily basis to be with me as I walk through it. It may be the only thing that does bring me to my knees, and for that I have to be thankful instead of angry.

    Your answer may not come, or it may and you may not like it, or it may be the inspiration for the calling on your life! Who knows! But to not ask God “why”, seems to miss out on the whole adventure of maybe finding an answer!

    For another take on the “Why” questions, click here, it’s an article by Timothy Keller.

  • Saved?

    Haiti_Walk by Faith“Are you saved?” We hear that term a lot in Protestant churches. Personally when I heard it myself as a kid I knew I wanted it. Whatever “being saved” was, I needed it. In Acts, the apostle Peter describes this process, we have come to know as salvation:

    Acts 2:38

    Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.

    Look closer at those two words “repentance”, and “baptism”. I’m going to give you the description of both of those words and I want you to think about them. Are they more than a prayer?

    • Repentance – the act of saying “I am sorry”, feeling bad for what you’ve done wrong AND turning from it, turning away from the sin.
    • Baptism – publicly standing before an audience of people, before God, saying “I receive His forgiveness for my sin”. Baptism is an outward expression of your new faith in His forgiveness. It’s walking into the journey of life WITH Him. It’s taking the new life, the free gift of salvation. It’s publicly putting on the righteousness you receive through faith in Jesus Christ.

    Paul, also described salvation.

    Romans 1:16-17

    I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jew, then for the Gentile, for in the Gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written. The righteous will live by faith.

    He spoke of being unashamed. I love that word, “unashamed”. If you’re really all about Jesus, people are probably going to know it. Because you’re probably not afraid to show it. There’s this chick that is trying to stand for her faith, Kim Davis, in a case of homosexual marriage and her duties as a clerk court. She’s trying to say I’m not ashamed of my faith and what I believe. I’m unashamed of Christ. Now whether or not you agree with her, (yes, she’s been married quite a few times – but that happened before she became a follower of Jesus) you have to admit, she’s really trying to stand up for her faith. It’s kind of inspiring. Just this week a Muslim airline stewardess was fired for not serving alcohol aboard a flight. She too, claims she was standing up for her religious beliefs. I don’t know about you, but I like knowing there are people out there who still stand up for what they believe is right.

    Being unashamed of Christ, of your faith in Him, might require more than a prayer you know? It might require jail time, or a fine, or a business loss, or lost friendships and popularity and in a country other than America it might mean you will lose your life. Saying, “I’m following Jesus now”, and publicly being baptized could bring your earthly death. It’s not all peaches and creme. Yet for some reason people in the Church like us to think it’s just a simple prayer, just come down to the altar and “get saved”. Well, there’s a bit more to it than that. Don’t think I’m against altar calls, in fact I think we should have them every Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, (you get the idea) and it’s unfortunate when a preacher or teacher dismisses that opportunity, some people are desperate to come up and bend their knees before God – myself included. But choosing to follow Jesus isn’t just a quick prayer, it’s like a diamond with endless facets, it’s bigger and deeper than a slam, bam, thank you ma’am kind of thing!

    It’s life altering, it’s an adventure you wouldn’t even dream of. And sometimes it’s downright hard to deal with – and it’s good we also share that message when we share the sinner’s prayer. Just listen to what Paul went through:

    2 Corinthians 11:24-27

    5 times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one

    3 times I was beaten with rods

    1 time I was stoned

    3 times I was shipwrecked

    A night and a day I was adrift at sea

    On frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, wilderness, sea and false brothers, in toil and hardship, sleepless nights, hunger, thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

    Being a Christian, being “saved” isn’t for the wimpy person, it’s not for the faint of heart. It’s for those who are choosing a hard walk in life but we do it because one day this life will end and we want to spend the next life with Jesus, worshiping Him. We repent and turn away from our sin, we live differently because Jesus is with us, His Holy Spirit guides us.

    I don’t know what you think, or where you are with all this, maybe it’s hogwash to you right now but I am familiar with that empty feeling you get and you don’t know why you have it, or how to get rid of it. And that feeling of “what am I here for” and “why do I exist”. My life is a living example of what happens when we turn away from sin and turn to Jesus. My healing and behaviors didn’t change over night, well some, but most have taken a little time. God doesn’t microwave people usually. Because of Him I am set free from so many chains, so much brokenness and shame and deep sadness!

    If you’ve got that desperation in your heart to know if He’s real, just ask Him, start a conversation with Him. Go sit out under the sun somewhere, or somewhere you can see the amazing things of this earth, creation, and look up and ask Him, “Are You real God?” “Do You want to know me”? Read some of the Bible, look at who Jesus was. Start asking questions. God’s not afraid of those, in fact lots of people in the Bible even ask, “Why?”

    There’s one more part to that verse up there on salvation, it’s that of being called. If you’re reading this, it’s highly likely that God is calling to you. You might be able to look back and see Him pulling at your heart in all kinds of places. I remember sitting in a bathroom all high on drugs and feeling God knocking on the door of my heart. I begged Him to let me live. There were several times like that with drugs, begging God for my next breath. How thankful I am that I get to sit here and type this message to you today! I believe He saved me, even for such a purpose.

    Trust God today, He’s got an adventure for you too. And it may not always be easy but I can promise it’s worth the cost.

    Are you saved?

  • Pray Much?

    IMG_8757

    There once was a little girl whose best friend’s grandmother was dying in a bed. The doctor had given her three days to live. As long as the little girl had known the friend, the grandmother had silently laid in the bed, several years. As the time of her death approached the little girl stopped to pray beside her. As she reached out to touch her arm she could see her skin hanging off her bones and sensed that death was close by. She begged God for the grandma’s life. She had already known the pain of a loved one’s death and did not want her friend to go through it. Later the little girl talked with her friend and the friend exclaimed, “My grandma is sitting up eating food, feeding herself”. After more time the grandma got up and walked around the house with a walker! That little girl had left her Bible there with the mother and the mother (who cared for the grandma) thanked the little girl but the girl knew it was God. Her prayers were answered. The family experienced a miracle, one they could see with their eyes, God was revealing Himself to them. The little girl saw what happens when you ask God for something that makes Him famous.

    When we study the early church we can see that they had four things in common:

    Acts 2:40-47

    And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles.  All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.  Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. (NRSV)

    Teaching. Fellowship. Communion. Prayer.

    When we are together with other followers of Jesus we should be praying.

    Luke 11:1-13

    He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say:

    “Father, hallowed be your name.

    Your kingdom come.

    Give us each day our daily bread.

    And forgive us our sins,

    for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.

    And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

    And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’  I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

    “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.  For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish?  Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion?  If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

    Listen to a few key phrases in there:

    His will is above our own. When we pray and first acknowledge His holiness we also pray for His will to be done. That’s first in Jesus’ model prayer for us.

    He taught us to pray asking for forgiveness for our sins and those who sin against us. (This must be important, to unify us, and strengthen us because when we are divided we fall).

    He said, “Lead us…, deliver us…”

    Look at the word “persistence”, don’t give up when you go to God in prayer asking for something, Jesus said we are to be persistence in the story of the man at the door.

    Ask

    Knock

    Seek

    Find

    When we approach God about our needs, our Father wants to help us. He wants to give us the desires (He has placed) in our hearts.

    Now, I know there are many needs to ask about, but what if we ask for some big ones, some ones that have huge eternal ripples? What if we ask for souls? For people to come to Christ? Are we begging God for people to get to know Him, to find Him, to be with Him?

    Jesus prayed for us.

    John 17:20-26

    “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word,  that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one,  I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.  Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me.  I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them” (NRSV).

    Look at these:

    Be one  …that the world may believe

    …that the world may know

    …that they may behold My glory

    …that the love may be in them

    Matthew 16:17-19 says, “And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

    The gates of hell will not prevail against what? Against His Church. If you’re a follower of Jesus, then He’s talking about YOU!

    He said, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven”.

    When you’re praying, for whatever you are praying for, believe Him. He has the answer. It’s not yes, I know, but man when it is yes! Ah, when it is “yes”, it’s an awesome thing to see, and be a part of. Start praying friends, and have faith becasue He has the answer. Amen.

  • But who am I?

    20150720_151113“But who am I?” Moses asked God. Ever been in that situation? Ever been called? Moses objected to God’s calling first (of four times) with uncertainty because Moses knew who Moses was. Why would the God of the universe want to use a man like Moses?

    Exodus 3:11

    But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelite’s out of Egypt?” He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain” (NRSV).

    “But who am I?”

    We doubt ourselves. We doubt god would or even could use someone like us. At this point however God does not list all of Moses’ qualifications or even his dis-qualifiers and a remedy of fixes. Instead He simply replied, “I will be with you”!

    How often are we asking this question of ourselves? I’m unqualified, under-educated, not intelligent enough, not well spoken, not good at details, calendars, my past is…

    BUT God said, “I will be with you.” It looked impossible to Moses.

    You know, sometimes it’s the things that look impossible that turn out to be the most incredible. I remember when I first heard of a mission trip to Haiti my church was taking. We were pay-check-to-paycheck then, still kinda are, and the cost was like $1500 to go. Plus you had to board a plane, and then on top of that you had to board a plane again, and again, and once again. I also had 4 little children at that time and my husband’s work does not give paid time off. Finding the money for that trip meant writing letters, selling guitars and sewing machines and collecting pennies. The pennies seemed to line every street I walked down however and the people who responded to the letters were the most unlikely, some not even Christians. God used that first trip to not only show me the ocean I’d never seen, and the conditions of our world but He used it to teach me about Himself. It looked impossible to go but I had to trust Him. I flew out of Columbus, Ohio with a 103 degree fever but nothing was going to stop me from seeing what He was up to! Now I keep going to Haiti and one day hope to get to live there and be a part of what He’s doing there.

    Why let you stand in the way of what God wants to do? Why let your dis-qualifiers be the thing that stops His work in your life? What if you just remember He is with you? And know that no matter how impossible (remember we are talking about the Pharaoh of Egypt, that Moses feared because he had murdered an Egyptian, and teams and teams of Israelite’s
    hundreds of miles from their destination) God is with you! Just like He was with Moses, when you are called, He is with you!

    Joshua 1:9

    “I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (NRSV).

  • The Unaccepted

    What if you made a list of everyone you haven’t seen at church in a while? What if you started calling these people, asking how they are doing and asking why they haven’t been to church?

    Sadly, some of the people may respond, “No one noticed I left”. And they will be right because no one has, or they did but just did not act on it.

    Now, here comes the sticky part, that most church people will not touch, ask them if anyone has hurt them at church. This isn’t going to make me popular but let’s face it, people hurt people and almost everyone at church is there because they need God and He has real help for our hurts.

    Years ago I was in my own church hurt situation. And though I don’t need to go into the dirty details I will express that it meant so much to me when people asked why I had stopped coming. Yet there were also those who literally put there hand up in my face and said, “I don’t know what happened, nor do I want to know”. What kind of answer is that? In their defense I would say they might have been trying not to participate in gossip or bashing. Which is good, but people, be gentle with those who are hurting, that comment isn’t as cool as you think it is. Just think, you might be the link in the chain that brings them back into the church and helps them reconcile the broken relationship! Sometimes people just need a friend!

    So let’s go find our lost sheep, let’s be like Jesus and find the one that’s walked off. Let’s ask the hard questions that have uncomfortable answers. Let’s get involved in the conflict management.

    The other day I heard from a church-going lady about her experience after a surgery. No one called her except her pastor. What’s up with that? She was gone for four weeks, and her church isn’t very big and yes, she’s very involved. Sometimes we are so busy we aren’t really a community anymore. If your church is filled to the brim with programs but the people aren’t a priority then hit the restart button, start letting people know a change needs made. Speak up. It’s good the pastor went, or else I think she’d be church shopping.

    Acts 2:43-47

    Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts,  praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

    Let’s seek out our lost sheep, find the unaccepted, bring them back into our midst, find out there needs, share with them. Let’s be the Church, and be together. Amen.

  • The Eagle Christian

    EagleWingsRaisedToFlyOutOfNest

    Today I was searching through some old journals and I came across an entry where I had taken notes on a talk by Joyce Meyer where she described “Eagle Christians”. She said, “Be an eagle Christian, the world is watching”, implying that the Bible says we are God’s personal representatives. Therefore our character is paramount.

    Isiah 40:31

    They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not grow faint.

    Joyce then described several types of birds, we as Christians might compare ourselves with:

    Chicken – Afraid of life, seldom flies, flaps and stirs up dirt, runs, finds grub worms, when a storm comes they stay in the fence, they have no freedom.

    Deuteronomy 32:11

    As an eagle stirs up its nest,

    and hovers over its young;

    as it spreads its wings, takes them up,

    and bears them aloft on its pinions,

    Magpie – a harsh and pushy bird that doesn’t have the greatest singing voice

    Kookaburra – laughs and doesn’t take anything seriously

    vultureVulture/Buzzard – loves to corrupt, tears apart, doesn’t mind the smell of death, takes their prey alive

    To read more about this controversial photo, taken by Kevin Carter in the Sudan, go to this WordPress site.

    parrotParrots – parrots talk the talk but do not walk the walk, they’re copycats

    Cuckoo – removed mind, fruit loops, won’t work, sponges, uses someone else’ nest

    Peacock – flashy, showy, struts his stuff, big ego

    Pelican – eats all the time, fishes by wading around in shadowy areas but never dives into the deep

    Crow – pesters the eagle more than any other bird, out for himself

    Canaries – beautiful, but content to be locked up, canaries were often used by coal miners to check for high levels of poisonous gas if the bird died suddenly they knew to evacuate the minecanarie in a cage coalmining

    Eagle – bold, strong, committed, reliable, mates one mate for life, parent’s well, dwells on the rocks of high places, makes strong baby birds, even will throw them from the nest so that they will fly but will soar down and save them if they fail to spread their wings, can have a wingspan of up to 8 feet, does not have a large head, humans can see three basic colors, eagles can see 5 – they have amazing eyes.

    Find out more about eagles at National Geographic’s Bald-Eagle page.

    It looks like I may have taken the notes on Joyce’s bird talk clear back in 2007, as I was preparing for my very first trip to Haiti, but I want to share it with you. I can still recall the impact the Eagle Christian talk had on me. How I still long to be like that bird! I want to be an on fire Christian versus one God cannot use because I am lukewarm.

    Dear Father, let us be like the eagle today, let us soar to great heights, stay upon the Rock, do not let us be caged and carried to our deaths, keep us from the evil that lurks among us waiting to pick us apart, let us walk the walk with humility, give us boldness. Thank you for putting us among Your creation so that we can learn about life and thank you for people like Joyce who continue to speak challenges into our spiritual journeys.

    Amen.

  • Why Unity?

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    Phillipians 2:1

    If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross. (Jesus was self emptying!! -Kenosis).   Phillipians 2:1-8 NOAB

    (more…)

  • To Bear Fruit

    To Bear Fruit

    Matthew 7:15-23

    “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (NKJV)

    Differing versions say:

    -“…you who break God’s laws” (NLT)

    -“…all you did was make yourself important.” (Message)

    -“…you evil doers.” (NOA)

    What is God’s will and are we doing it?

    As followers of Jesus our job is to point people to Jesus. Plain and simple. Our actions, our words, our efforts should all be a part God’s plan to reconcile people to Him, as we shower them with the love of Jesus and truth of the Gospel.

    Are we bringing people closer to Jesus, or are we pushing them away from Him?

    Evaluate your relationships, your efforts, your church and its efforts. Is your church repelling unbelievers or bringing them in? Does you leadership understand its purpose, to grow the Kingdom? Do you know that’s the purpose you were created for? A relationship with Jesus and pointing others to Him?

    The Pharisees, whom Jesus was addressing in this passage, were like a tree that was bearing bad fruit. You might want to pick something to eat, but their fruit was all rotten and stinking. Now who eats rotting fruit? No one, because it’s good for nothing.

    Internet Photo
    Internet Photo

    Their evil was stinking up to the heavens, they looked so good to all the people but in reality they pushed people away from God.

    With all this in mind, what are you doing to help your friends grow closer to Christ? What are you doing to help your family see Jesus clearer? What are you doing to share Jesus with your community, your world? Let it be said of you one day when you stand before God, that your fruit was a fragrance He smelled sweetly. Let your life be poured out for His glory!

  • Go Ask Your Dad!!

    Do you ever tell your kids to, “Go ask your dad”? Generally if I send my kids to ask their dad, what I’m really doing is saying “no” indirectly. You see, he is the “no” in our family and I am the “yes”. We are rarely ever both  in unison the “yes” or both the “no”. God is our Father, and when we go and ask Him, He does say “no” on occasion but it’s been my experience that He mostly says “yes”. In fact there is a passage in Scripture that deals with us asking Him.

    Matthew 7:7

    Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?

    How often we must distort our Heavenly Father’s image, with the already implanted image of our dads? My dad avoided his child support payments like the plague. Priorities in his life seemed to be set by a hoarding fixation. We are at a point now where a relationship is basically impossible, though I long for a daughter and dad relationship daily – as I’m sure somewhere in there he does as well.

    Our human fathers have imperfections, they have sins, they are made from dust. Our heavenly father, however is perfect, and created us with our relationship with Him in mind. He literally set out to create a daughter or son He could love when He designed you.IMG_8735 Just imagine Him sitting down out His desk and taking out His drawing paper and pen designing you! “A little red hair here, green eyes there and wow, I’m going to give her the most impressive set of lungs so when she sings the angels stop and listen!” Our God designed us, yes from dust, yes with the ability to fail, but also with the goal of our hearts one day being tuned to His. He designed you to be His son, His daughter, with His approval!

    2 Corinthians 5:19-21 NLT

    …God was using Christ to restore his relationship with humanity. He didn’t hold people’s faults against them, and He has given us this message of restored relationships to tell others. Therefore, we are Christ’s representatives, and through us God is calling you. We beg you on behalf of Christ to become reunited with God. God had Christ, who was sinless, take our sin so that we might receive God’s approval through Him.

    God gave His one and only Son for your life, for my life, even for our own dad’s life. He did that so that we could come back into a relationship with Him. So He could be with us. He says “let’s be restored, I approve of you!”

    If God approves of you, if He wants to be with you, when you go to Him to ask for something, why are you afraid? Why are you worried? Why do you think He will not say “yes”?

  • Ever Feeling Lost?

    Oh God direct my paths!! Direct me, what way to go! I do not know where to turn. I can see this path, or that path. Yet I do not hear Your voice. Do you ever have this kind of prayer? Ever felt far from Him? Like He cannot hear you? Or you cannot feel Him?

    Your response might be, “Maybe I’m not really listening. Maybe I need a time with You to be quiet, to be still”.

    Psalm 46:10

    Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

    You might ask God, “How did I get here?”

    “I created you”.

    “What did you create me for?”

    To make Me famous, to bring Me glory and to have relationship with one another because I love you and I want you to know and love Me. This way others will know Me too.

    Did God create me, so that He could know me and I could know Him? The Psalmist thought so.

    Psalm 139 ESV

    O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
    2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from afar.
    3 You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
    4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
    5 You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
    6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it.

    7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where shall I flee from your presence?
    8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
    9 If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
    10 even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.
    11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light about me be night,”
    12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light with you.

    13 For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
    14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
    Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
    15 My frame was not hidden from you,
    when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
    16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
    in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.

    17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
    18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
    I awake, and I am still with you.

    19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
    O men of blood, depart from me!
    20 They speak against you with malicious intent;
    your enemies take your name in vain.
    21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
    And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
    22 I hate them with complete hatred;
    I count them my enemies.

    23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
    Try me and know my thoughts!
    24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting!

    David knew of his own innocence in this passage, and in others knew of his sins. What about when I know about my guilt? When I have become keenly aware of my constant battle with sin? There are days in the Christian walk when one can only see the sin that nailed one’s Savior to the tree. The pain of that knowledge, of knowing it is your sin, is almost too much to bear. David seems at peace with his life, even his sin seems to not bother him. Could he have known forgiveness?

    Again, “Why am I here?”

    Is it possible God wants to know me? Does God really want to know Stephanie Taylor? I had seen Him answer my prayers, over and over again! Especially for this kid Woody in Haiti. I prayed long and hard, 3 years, for him to get to go to school. Here he is, at school, top student in his testing! Haiti_Steph with Woody

    David seems to point to a big God chase, where the God of the universe chased a man just to get to know him. Today I can say I might not be chased by God, but today I am chasing Him. I am like the lovesick tween, feverishly checking Facebook for His status update, Instagram for His latest pics. I am chasing, I am knocking, and I am searching like a private eye, like an archaeologist digging for a clue about my God.

    “I cannot hear You God!” Ever had that statement fly past your lips? The psalmist said, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” (v.7). Like God is everywhere, inescapable.

    Are you searching for Him? Desperate to know Him? Look at this God chase, where the writer of the Psalm, David, is explaining the relationship he has with God:

    Psalm 23 NKJV

    The Lord is my shepherd;
    I shall not want.
    2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
    He leads me beside the still waters.
    3 He restores my soul;
    He leads me in the paths of righteousness
    For His name’s sake.

    4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I will fear no evil;
    For You are with me;
    Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

    5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
    You anoint my head with oil;
    My cup runs over.
    6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    All the days of my life;
    And I will dwell[a] in the house of the Lord
    Forever.

    Whether David was a young shepherd, or a fading leader we may never know but of this we can be sure he had experienced the presence of God enough to know that even when one cannot “hear” or “feel” God anymore – He is still all powerful. He is still in control. That in itself gives us comfort when we cannot recognize His direction, when we are lost.

    Today I am feeling lost because I’m not hearing Him. He is silent and for the first time in my own life I’ve been saddled with the question, “Does God hate me?”

    A few years ago while I was visiting Haiti, a missionary friend said to me, “I think God hates me.” Why that was the most preposterous thing I had ever heard! I came home and set my sites on praying for that guy. I couldn’t sleep I prayed and prayed. Here and there I sent him messages on Facebook with scriptures and all, he had to know God didn’t hate him. After all, “God loves us all”! Or so goes the popular mantra in the church. His statement completely baffled me, and made me think SO much! Here he was pouring out his life for God, among the poorest of the poor, yet he thought that! What could it mean?

    So I questioned… Maybe God cannot look at us sometimes, maybe our sin is so mounted up, He has to back off. Maybe we have pursued our own way so long He gives His attention to a new younger version of ourselves or maybe we just forgot our faith. Could it be sin in the way, blocking that interaction between God and the man, God and me? I just couldn’t see it.

    Please bare with me as I think out loud… maybe He backs off to see what we will do, maybe He wants to see if we will remain faithful even when we can’t hear or feel Him. I pay no attention to the air I breathe, because I’ve been breathing it for so long. But if you take it away I suddenly notice I need air! Could it be that God pulls back, to turn the chase on, with us in the pursuit?

    Could it be we are not lost after all, just learning a new way to trust God? A way to trust Him even if He is no longer spoon feeding us?

    Maybe He put us here, so we could not only be known by Him but have an adventure trying to find Him and know Him. I once read this fantastic old book by a fella named Gypsy Smith, called Your Boys. Gypsy had such a story to tell of sharing Jesus with some young soldiers. He told them how He could see Jesus even in the flowers. Maybe I’ve stopped looking for Him, and am experiencing a lack of His presence because it’s my turn to seek Him. Surely, this God who called on me so often would not suddenly desert me without a purpose.

    If I have lost all His favor, all His tremendous blessing maybe it’s not because I did anything so wrong or maybe it is, maybe it’s all part of a master plan I cannot fully understand to begin with. After all He said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Duet. 31:6).  He hasn’t left me, He’s just given me time to think if I really want Him, if I’d be willing to pursue Him now.

    When Job went through the endless tumult, it was a thing far above Job’s head that mandated it. It was a battlefield in the heavenly realms that caused it. How can I think God hates me, or I am lost from Him if it could just be a Job scenario – a time of testing?

    OH God! This experience of not feeling You will not go wasted! You are teaching me something, teaching me to take time to seek You alone. Teaching me to trust what I know about You. It’s different than the gushy infatuation I had with You at the beginning, now it’s waiting on You, trusting in Your plan, standing on what I believe. It’s not about feelings now. It’s about truth. Do I really believe You love me? Do I really believe You are with me? Thank You for this time, it’s hard, even painful, but I thank You for it! Amen.