God is MORE than pink or blue…

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. The heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it...” (Isaiah 55:8-11)

One of the best marriage books I have read is called “Love and Respect” by Emmerson Eggerichs. He is able to talk about some pretty deep and difficult things with light hearted humor but is able to send his point home. One of the more impactful things he says is when he describes the difference between how men and women communicate and hear. He says women have “PINK” sunglasses and hearing aids and men have “BLUE”. As an example; He says typically, when a women says she has nothing to wear, she means she has nothing “new” to wear. When a man says he has nothing to wear, he means he has nothing “clean” to wear! In my 30+ years of marriage you would have thought I would have clued into this at some point but Noooo! I had to read it in a book before the “light” went on. Only then did I start to piece things together :P

I had an epiphany one day when I realized that, I “SAY” I know men and women are different, but when it comes down to it, I keep EXPECTING Tom to think, act and behave like me, and then I get upset, surprised or confused when he doesn’t. Bottom line is, I keep thinking he understands me and I understand him but, I don’t REALLY understand his language and he doesn’t really understand mine, If we truly want to have a healthy marriage, we have to learn each other’s languages… which, of course takes time and effort and is NOT easy!! What is so hard about it is that we use the same words and it SOUNDS like we are saying the same things… but, we are not… It would be a whole lot easier if I heard French and he heard Spanish then we could hear the difference, then can work with that! :)

So, to take this a step further. One day as I was pondering this pink and blue language barrier thing, the thought came to me that the same thing happens with God too!! How many times in my life have I heard Him say something and the end result looked completely different than what I had imaged… and then I end up getting surprised, upset and/or confused? Can you relate?  Isaiah 55:8 says it really clearly “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. The heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” So here it is again, I READ and KNOW that God’s ways and thoughts are higher than MY ways and thoughts but I keep EXPECTING Him to DO things MY way! God’s language is not pink or blue but, I think it is more ETERNAL or WHITE. While I do believe he applies things in a “temporal” sense, His perspective is much more ETERNAL than temporal. We are so temporally focused and entrenched, we hear things through that filter and apply His words that way too. I think Job got this message at the end of his ordeal when he said “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted… Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know… My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.” (Job 42:1-5) He got it!! After all that he went through, which I am sure was not on his agenda, he got the “eternal” perspective and understood God in a new and wonderful way.

Could this be a part of the “transforming process” that Paul talks about in Romans? “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2) I believe that, if we let Him, we are being shifted from “temporal” thinking to His “eternal” perspective. The more we see through eternal eyes and hear through eternal ears, the more we will understand God’s language and the less we will be surprised.

We can also call this a language of TRUST. Because His ways are so much higher and greater, there is NO WAY we can really comprehend all that He is doing or saying, and we need to just TRUST Him with whatever it is. In Hebrews 11 the writer goes through a lengthy list of people who were known to have lived by faith; Moses, Abraham, Joseph, Jacob, Isaac, Rahab… and at the end of this chapter of faith he says a very startling thing “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.” (Hebrews 11:39). What!! God promised them something, but they never received it!!? So, were they wrong in trusting and believing in Him?? No, they weren’t wrong. They knew God well enough to TRUST Him no matter what things looked like. “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7)

I love this part of the Isaiah scripture “…so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it...” (Isaiah 55:8-11). God doesn’t make empty promises. EVERYTHING He says will come to pass in His perfect way and timing. If it doesn’t go “my” way, will I trust that God is God and I am not!? I always have a choice in how I see things. I can go to my default “pink” or I can go the extra steps and trust Him and allow Him to teach me his “eternal” language.

Father, I thought I was done with school but apparently I am not! If I want a healthy relationship with You I need to learn Your language and allow You to transform my heart and mind to think and see Your eternal perspective. Help me Lord to trust You… “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 1:20)

I got it, I got it, I got it…. I ain’t got it!

There are times in my life when I think, “I GOT this!” God says something to me in such a way that things just seem so CLEAR and I wonder how I missed it before! Then, things don’t go quite the way I thought they would and I wonder… what the heck happened? I ain’t got this after all… or I lost it or something?? Did I really “have it” to begin with?

The disciples lived, ate, slept and traveled with Jesus for three years and THEY didn't get it. “IT” being what Jesus came for. They had in their mind what their “Messiah” would do and how he would do it.  They were looking for Jesus to be a warrior king, like David. Someone who would rally the troops, gather the people together and come against the Romans and lead them in a rebellion! Then, they imagined, Jesus would sit on the “earthly” throne and rule them like all the other kings Israel has had before. Right? And of course, when all this took place, they themselves would have positions of honor! Oh yeah! (Matthew 20:20, Luke 9:46-47 and Luke 22:24)

Poor Peter was so ready to fight for this ideal that he kept tripping over himself and making a fool of himself when Jesus would do something completely different than what he expected. He was so amped up in the garden he even cut off someone’s ear trying to protect, defend and fight for Jesus’ reign.

This is a great scripture to show how the disciples didn't really get who he was! “Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" (Mark 4:38-41) They were astonished at what Jesus did and asked “who is this!?” They had the creator of the universe in the boat with them and they didn't even know it!

Are we in that same boat?

Oswald Chambers’ September 5 devotional has some powerful words on this subject:

“…Stay here and keep watch with me” (Matthew 26:38) “…Our Lord is trying to introduce us to identification with Himself through a particular "Gethsemane" experience of our own. But we refuse to go, saying, "No, Lord, I can't see the meaning of this, and besides, it's very painful." And how can we possibly watch with someone who is so incomprehensible? How are we going to understand Jesus sufficiently to watch with Him in His Gethsemane, when we don't even know why He is suffering? We don't know how to watch with Him --- we are only used to the idea of Jesus watching with us.

The disciples loved Jesus Christ to the limit of their natural capacity, but they did not fully understand His purpose. In the Garden of Gethsemane they slept as a result of their own sorrow, and at the end of three years of the closest and most intimate relationship of their lives they "all . . . forsook Him and fled" (Matthew 26:56)…”

Are we in that same garden?

John the Baptist was an amazing man. He prepared the way for Jesus, telling everyone to “get ready” for the one who is to come… “Repent and be baptized!!” He seemed so unwavering and confident in Jesus through it all until he was imprisoned. After a few days in that prison cell, he sent someone to ask "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" (Matthew 11:3) I can picture him in his cell thinking, “If Jesus Is who I think He is, why the heck isn’t he getting me out of here!!” I know I would!

Are we in that same cell?

You would think that his family would have some clue as to who he was but not even his

brothers understood. You would think that Mary would have said something to help them out!!  At one point they kind of mocked him saying “You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world. For even his own brothers did not believe in him". (John 7:3-5) They didn't really believe he was the Son of God, they thought he wanted to become a “public figure” and be a world famous miracle worker!

Are we that same family member?

The Pharisees, Priests, & Teachers of the Law all studied the Scriptures diligently (John 5:39-40) so that they would know the Messiah when he came, yet they could not recognize Jesus as the One when he was right in front of them demonstrating God’s power. They also were expecting the Messiah to come as a conquering King, to restore Israel’s glory. When he didn’t meet their expectations, they got so mad at him, they had him killed (which of course was God’s plan all along).

Are we that religious person?

Are we open to hearing ANYTHING from God? Are we willing to accept ANYTHING that He is doing in our lives regardless of how it looks to us, or others? Will we be obedient to ANY command He gives us even if it doesn't fit our doctrines or beliefs? Or better yet, will we be ok with Him NOT doing something we believed He would do, even if we have all the right scriptures to back it up? Will we allow Him to be God in our life or will we tell Him that He MUST do things our way? We get locked into a certain pattern of expectations of what, how, and when God is supposed to do things and get angry and disillusioned when He doesn’t meet them. I think most, if not all the time, I ain’t got it!

In all the situations listed above, the common denominator seems to be the desire to control their circumstances… Being a “control freak” I can relate to this!! This makes me think of one of Tom’s funny analogies. He says we try to put a steering wheel on a roller-coaster, frantically gripping the wheel, turning it back and forth, and hoping to gain control of the car even though it is on rails. LOL! That pretty much describes what we do, doesn't it?! Our lives are in the best hands ever, even better than “roller coaster rails”, but we still feel the need and try to control the ride. We can do that, or we could trust God, (who makes NO mistakes and has taken everything into consideration) and just throw our arms in the air and enjoy the ride, hooting and hollering as loud as we can, with joy :)

Are we on that ride?

Lord, my heart truly desires to throw my hands up in the air, trusting You and Your control of my life, no matter what it looks like. Please give me the courage to let go of the wheel, and enjoy the ride! With all my love, Linda :)

Faith vs Fear part 2

“He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. (Matthew 8:26)

I had to do a "part 2" on this topic because there were still so many scriptures that I hadn't used yet! This has been such a good exercise to remind me of who I serve! The more I work on this topic the more I wonder why we allow fear to rule our lives. If we are "believers", what are we “believing in”? Are we believing in “God” or in what we think or hope He will do for us? Oswald says "If your faith is in experiences, anything that happens is likely to upset that faith. But nothing can ever change God or the reality of redemption. Base your faith on that, and you are as eternally secure as God Himself."... And if we really have “given our lives” to the Son of God, our life belongs to the one being in existence who has the power and wisdom to do what is right with it. (Galatians 2:20, 1 Corinthians 6:18)

Interestingly enough, Oswald had a couple devotions featuring “fear” at the end of October and then another one in November so I copied them below. He has a way of getting to the “heart” of the matter!

October 30

Faith

Hebrews   11:6 - “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

Faith in active opposition to common sense is mistaken enthusiasm and narrow-mindedness, and common sense in opposition to faith demonstrates a mistaken reliance on reason as the basis for truth. The life of faith brings the two of these into the proper relationship. Common sense and faith are as different from each other as the natural life is from the spiritual, and as impulsiveness is from inspiration. Nothing that Jesus Christ ever said is common sense, but is revelation sense, and is complete, whereas common sense falls short. Yet faith must be tested and tried before it becomes real in your life. "We know that all things work together for good . . ." (Rom_8:28) so that no matter what happens, the transforming power of God's providence transforms perfect faith into reality. Faith always works in a personal way, because the purpose of God is to see that perfect faith is made real in His children.

For every detail of common sense in life, there is a truth God has revealed by which we can prove in our practical experience what we believe God to be. Faith is a tremendously active principle that always puts Jesus Christ first. The life of faith says, "Lord, You have said it, it appears to be irrational, but I'm going to step out boldly, trusting in Your Word" (for example, see (Mat_6:33)). Turning intellectual faith into our personal possession is always a fight, not just sometimes. God brings us into particular circumstances to educate our faith, because the nature of faith is to make the object of our faith very real to us. Until we know Jesus, God is merely a concept, and we can't have faith in Him. But once we hear Jesus say, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (Joh_14:9) we immediately have something that is real, and our faith is limitless. Faith is the entire person in the right relationship with God through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

October 31

The Trial of Faith

Matthew 17:20: “He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. "

We have the idea that God rewards us for our faith, and it may be so in the initial stages. But we do not earn anything through faith --- faith brings us into the right relationship with God and gives Him His opportunity to work. Yet God frequently has to knock the bottom out of your experience as His saint to get you in direct contact with Himself. God wants you to understand that it is a life of faith, not a life of emotional enjoyment of His blessings. The beginning of your life of faith was very narrow and intense, centered around a small amount of experience that had as much emotion as faith in it, and it was full of light and sweetness. Then God withdrew His conscious blessings to teach you to "walk by faith" (2Co_5:7). And you are worth much more to Him now than you were in your days of conscious delight with your thrilling testimony.

Faith by its very nature must be tested and tried. And the real trial of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God, but that God's character must be proven as trustworthy in our own minds. Faith being worked out into reality must experience times of unbroken isolation. Never confuse the trial of faith with the ordinary discipline of life, because a great deal of what we call the trial of faith is the inevitable result of being alive. Faith, as the Bible teaches it, is faith in God coming against everything that contradicts Him --- a faith that says, "I will remain true to God's character whatever He may do." The highest and the greatest expression of faith in the whole Bible is --- "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him" (Job_13:15).

November 13

Faith or Experience?

Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

We should battle through our moods, feelings, and emotions into absolute devotion to the Lord Jesus. We must break out of our own little world of experience into abandoned devotion to Him. Think who the New Testament says Jesus Christ is, and then think of the despicable meagerness of the miserable faith we exhibit by saying, "I haven't had this experience or that experience"! Think what faith in Jesus Christ claims and provides --- He can present us faultless before the throne of God, inexpressibly pure, absolutely righteous, and profoundly justified. Stand in absolute adoring faith "in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God --- and righteousness and sanctification and redemption . . ." (1Co_1:30). How dare we talk of making a sacrifice for the Son of God! We are saved from hell and total destruction, and then we talk about making sacrifices!

We must continually focus and firmly place our faith in Jesus Christ --- not a "prayer meeting" Jesus Christ, or a "book" Jesus Christ, but the New Testament Jesus Christ, who is God Incarnate, and who ought to strike us dead at His feet. Our faith must be in the One from whom our salvation springs. Jesus Christ wants our absolute, unrestrained devotion to Himself. We can never experience Jesus Christ, or selfishly bind Him in the confines of our own hearts. Our faith must be built on strong determined confidence in Him.

It is because of our trusting in experience that we see the steadfast impatience of the Holy Spirit against unbelief. All of our fears are sinful, and we create our own fears by refusing to nourish ourselves in our faith. How can anyone who is identified with Jesus Christ suffer from doubt or fear! Our lives should be an absolute hymn of praise resulting from perfect, irrepressible, triumphant belief.

When we say we have faith in God, what does that really mean? What should trusting in God look like in our lives?  

“So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6)

“So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.” (Matthew 10:26)

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32)

“But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed… "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." (1 Peter 3:14)

“But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid." (Matthew 17:7)

“Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe." (Mark 5:36)

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Father, I know I need more faith which means I need more of YOU! Forgive me for all of the times I allow fear to rule my life and my heart instead of Your Spirit.  Please teach me to have more confidence in You, the God of all creation, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, who is, and who was, and who is to come, God Almighty... and not what You can DO for me!

"Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. (Revelation 1:17-18)

Faith vs Fear

The subject of “fear vs faith” has been rolling around in my head for a few years now. I can’t say that I have it all figured out, not by any stretch of the imagination, but I thought I would write out some of the thoughts that have run through my head on this subject… maybe in this process I will get a little more clarity… or not :)

“… like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. (1 Peter 3:6)

The reason it has been rolling around in my brain is because most of the women God brings to me seem to be full of fear, on so many levels… and most of them are Christians. I get where some of the fears come from when you are dealing with a spouse of an addict, their whole marriage just blew up in their face and their future is uncertain and scary… These all seem like normal legitimate, and understandable fears, but the other fears like, fear of bugs, germs, flying, storms… those I don’t get so much. And some people even wear their fears like a badge of honor saying things like: “It’s my job to worry about my kids, if I don’t who will?” But I can’t help but hear the words of Jesus saying "do not worry” and “do not fear" over and over again... which leads me to believe that we can live our life completely, or mostly, free from fear and worry.

“But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. don’t be afraid." (Matthew 14:27)

So, why is it that we have so much fear in the body of Christ? Not that I don’t have my own struggles with fear, but it seems to me that, over the last few years, the fear level in general in the body of Christ has increased to new levels. Or, maybe it is just my “new” awareness of it and it’s always been there?? That may be the truth of the matter, but even still it makes me wonder, why is it even there at all when we have such an amazing and faithful God? Are we doing something wrong, do we not “get” something important?? What are we missing here??

“He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" (Mark 4:40)

For me personally I have noticed that the closer I get to the Lord, and the more I get to know Him, and see the amazing things He does in my heart and life, the more my faith grows and the less “fear” I have. So, would it be fair to say, we can know the depth of our relationship with Jesus by the degree of fear or faith we have in our lives? Or, in other words, if we think we know Jesus, but have more fear than faith, can we really say we “know” Him?

“…Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." (Mark 6:50)

There was a time in my life when I self-righteously and pride fully “thought” I knew Jesus and would confidently tell anyone that asked me that I knew and loved Him! But fast forward 15 years, and LOTS of trials, refining fires and difficulties have come and gone, I look back and have to admit to myself, I didn't really have a clue who Jesus was back then!! And to be honest, I pray that my relationship grows even more in the next 15 years so I can say again, I had no clue back then who Jesus was… I want to keep pressing into my relationship with Jesus more and more every day… I feel like Paul when he said, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…” (Philippians 3:8) (Sometimes this is evident in my life and sometimes, no so much :P)

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18)

So, what exactly is fear? When I asked Tom he said: “The absence of faith... Faith in things other than God… Afraid that God won't do what he promised… The belief that things won’t go the way I want them to.” (I think he has something here…) Google says it is “an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.” And Dictionary.com adds: “a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined…”

“Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:7)

And what is “faith”? Hebrews 11:1 says “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” When I think of faith I think about a young child completely unconcerned about the difficulties and stresses of life. A child who is with his daddy and has not a care in the world because he knows and trusts in his daddy and has that childlike confidence that his father will take care of everything. He doesn't think about where the food on the table comes from or the gas in the car, or the roof over his head, he just enjoys life with childlike faith. Hmmm…. That reminds me of when Jesus said:  “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3) Logically this makes no sense to us at all! What does He mean, “Change and become like little children”? I am a grown man or women and need to take care of my responsibilities! How can I revert back to the carefree life of a child!?  When Tom and I were talking about this I realized that maybe, what He means is, as we grow in our knowledge and faith in Jesus, we do change and the fears ebb away, our faith grows and we are just like little children, trusting in our heavenly Father so much that we no longer have any more worries, fears or concerns about where the food, rent, car payment, or job will come from. We will no longer worry about our children, our health or retirement because we have such childlike faith that our Father will take care of all things that we can go about our “adult” business and responsibilities without fear, trusting Him to care for us. Is this even possible?? I believe it is! But it certainly won’t happen overnight, and I think it is ONLY possible in our journey to KNOW GOD, surrendering OUR life and taking up His.

“But he said to them, "It is I; don't be afraid." (John 6:20)

The Word of God is refreshing to me. It calms my heart and is like a salve to my confused and conflicted mind and thoughts. I decided to look up the scriptures that would help me with this topic. The first one I found is one that I had never noticed before. This is the prophecy from Zachariah after John the Baptist was born and God loosed his tongue so he could speak again: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us-- to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. (Luke 1:68-75) Did you catch that? We can serve him without fear all our days!

Is it truly possible to live a life without fear??