If the horse is dead…get off! December 22, 2009

How difficult it is to let things go.  How difficult it is to let go of things that we have become so accustomed to that we mistakenly view them as our identity and equate them with our worth.  We are more than the sum of our parts and with that revelation we must pull back the curtain of our life and discover who we really are without defining ourselves by the people who have become part of our lives. 

Even more revealing is when we define ourselves by a title as if that title gives us worth and definition. For years, I was Randy’s wife, and then Todd’s mom, and then Chad’s mom, and back to Randy’s wife.  I’ve had a few other titles as well but my point is we must not get our self-identity by these. I have found whatever we put our identity in is what the enemy goes after. Listen, people and titles come and go, life changes, plans go awry, assumptions are derailed, callings morph, priorities are re-priortized and life goes on. We ‘must’ maintain our identity in Him and humbly acquiesce to His ways…they are higher than our ways afterall.

We are getting ready to enter a new year and with that event always comes the idealistic thinking that somehow by the simple change of a calendar date, life will move in a new direction…maybe it will…maye it won’t.  To be sure unexpected things will come but what must take place is the release of that which is gone.  We will never embrace or enjoy what ‘is’ if we grievously hold onto what is not.  I might sound somewhat ‘Pollyanna’ but I can’t help but believe that when we lay down what was, God will reveal what still is…and it is good…and we’ll be glad.

I was in a restaurant the other day and saw this sign that said, “If the horse is dead…get off!”  What a simple reminder to us all that we won’t get anywhere this new year if we keep trying to ride a dead horse.  If the horse is dead…GET OFF and anticipate the new that God has for us this New Year!

Roger…call home? December 7, 2009

What’s in a name?  Well I believe it varies in importance based on the context of how and when it is used.  For example: I was startled from sleep the other night and leaned over and shook my husband’s shoulder calling out…”Roger, Roger.” Now that might  not sound so alarming but the problem is my husband’s name is Randy…still trying to figure out the identity of Roger!  But anyway, in that context the right name is pretty important.  Some people give great importance to names and yet we recall the famous quote from Shakespeare’s, Romeo and Juliet...”that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet…”  I believe it was Anne of Green Gables who took issue with that statement, but I digress.

God thought names were important.  He thought they were important enough that from time to time He would change someone’s name based on their assignment from the Lord.  He changed Abram to Abraham because he was to be the father of many nations; He changed Simon’s name to Peter meaning ‘rock’ because He saw Peter as a strategic part of the foundation on which He would build His church.  I have known people who have changed their own names based on their changed lives.  I never changed my name but I changed the spelling several times throughout my growing up years.  I was Susy, Suzy, Susie, and finally Susan because a cousin suggested that it sounded more dignified than all of my ‘Susie’ names.  I looked up the meaning of my name, ‘Susan’…it means ‘graceful lily.’  Somehow I don’t think that exactly fits but it is my name just the same and I think I will keep it unless the Lord chooses to change it at some point.

It doesn’t really matter what our name is, what matters is that we know ‘the’ Name.  I can’t help but focus today on the Name; you know, the Name above all Names.  “Therefore God has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…” (Philippians 2:9-10)

In this Christmas season there are so many ‘names’ vying for our attention but let’s remember the only Name that offers us, not temporal things that will turn to dust, but eternity with Him…now that’s a gift that keeps on giving!!  “…for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)   Jesus… Jesus… there’s just something about that Name!

p.s. if anyone knows who Roger is please let me know. :-]

Is it a hot-flash or am I running a fever? November 23, 2009

Life gets complicated….to say the least. Things that we once thought of in black and white terms now seem to have taken on a  hue of various shades; you know, close to a certain color but never really absolute.  I looked in the mirror the other day and my face was flushed and I couldn’t even determine whether I was having a hot-flash or running a fever.  Nothing is ever simple.

I like black and white.  I use to live in black and white.  Life is easier in black and white.  The shows on TV were even better when it was black and white. (I still laugh at I Love Lucy)  But regrettably or maybe not so regrettably life changes colors in proportion to our perspective.  I believe God planned it that way!

It is peaceful to me somehow to know that life is not black and white; that there are variations to the color scheme of life and that it is ok to not have all the answers, and it is ok to not get revelation every time you pray, and it is ok to still be a bit confused on various scriptures in the bible, and it is ok to question God…He doesn’t get anxious.  Life is not clean and tidy but at times brutal and unforgiving in our attempts to organize our lives and God! 

Accepting the reality that life is not served up on a black and white platter facilitates our ability to now embrace the colorfulness of our life!  It is coming to terms with the fact that God is God and He will do it His way! (His way is the best way you know)

If God intended us to live in black and white He would not have created the rainbow and attached a promise to this excercise in lavishness.

“I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.” Gen 9:13

From a mess to a movement… November 16, 2009

It does not take too long when in conversation with anyone these days before the ‘woe is me’ and ‘life is tough right now’ topic comes to the forefront of the conversation.  I was driving the other day pondering those various issues that we, as a society, are dealing with; wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, swine flu, terrorism, financial challenges, dysfunctional families, luke warm Christians, dishonest politicians and on and on until I finally just sighed and said to myself…’what a mess.’  It was at that moment that I ‘heard’ this statement, out of messes movements are born!

My mind raced and suddenly I was flooded with images from the sixties; the Viet Nam war, unbridled drug use, burning the American flag, sit-ins and love-ins, rebellion, chaos in the streets and hopelessness…what a mess.  But in the midst of that mess the Jesus movement was born.  I then reflected on other times and seasons of unrest and yet again movements were formed that impacted the world. 

I thought of the beginnings of the church itself that out of the chaos of that time from pagan worship to religious leaders that were more like white-washed  sepulchres (tombs) than men of God; the Savior was born, the church was birthed and a movement was released that would change the world.

I have to tell you I was encouraged by the imagery.  We can even take it to a more personal level…out of our personal ‘mess’ God will birth something new…a movement, if you will.  God’s like that you know; He takes dead things and makes them alive; He takes broken things and mends them; and He takes our mess and, if we allow Him,  He will turn it into a personal revival or movment.

“…For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning…’Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me; Lord be my helper!’  You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to You…”

“Oh God I give you the ‘mess’ of my life and trust You to birth a movement that will impact many.”  God ‘is’ going to get some glory out of the messes in our lives.

Bathing daily is recommended! October 28, 2009

I know we know this but like so many truths a regular reminder is needed.  I read a quote by Zig Ziglar, well known motivational speaker, that said, “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.”

While there are certain principles and/or motivations that we have heard time and time again there are some we need to ponder daily.  A friend called me early this morning with just one of those reminders.  I was barely awake when he began to talk to me about the importance of considering eternity in spite of the trauma of this temporal life. ( I don’t know why but his fatherly voice of care and concern always makes me cry.)  He went on to share with me some insights he felt he had received from the Lord that morning.  Not only the focus on eternity but that the pain of the ‘here and now’ was part of the preparation for eternity.  He said that preparation of my heavenly garment was being bespeckled with jewels and that these jewels were being sewn on with a very large needle which ‘pricked’ the garment with each stitch. The pricks of that large needle, as it was fastening the jeweled stones, were the temporal pricks of pain that I am now enduring.

Now I know that this man is not given to ‘etherial’ musings but rather he is a somewhat straightforward, in-your-face kind of guy so when he began to speak to me this visual, I listened.  I ‘needed’ to be reminded that the way we traverse through the temporal tragedies of life is to keep our eye on the goal of eternity.  It is not that we are to become passive in ‘fighting the good fight of faith’ but rather fight with the secure footing that the outcome has been assured!!

I know you know this…“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.  For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” ( I Corinthians 4:17-18)

Who do you want to be when you grow up??? October 21, 2009

A few weeks ago I stopped in to see Mrs. Freda Lindsay, co-founder of Christ for the Nations.  She is now 95 years old and we have become good friends through the years.  She has always encouraged me and supported me in ministry….she likes it that I am loud enough for people to hear!

The picture is not of the best quality because it was taken with a phone camera…that is all that was available at the time.  She said there were always people coming to see her lately ’snapping pictures!’ However, she didn’t hesitate when I asked for another picture to be ’snapped.’

She is a woman I greatly admire and respect because she has survived more than most of us will ever even face.  I respect survivors. I trust people with scars.

Some life lessons I have learned from Mrs. Lindsay:

*When you don’t feel good, don’t stay in your pajamas.  Get up and get dressed; don’t let the devil know how you feel.

*When you are confronted with a battle, enter into warfare immediately.  Many battles are lost in the first few minutes because we wait too long to engage and we allow the enemy to gain ground.

*Read what your critics say and then, ‘get over it.‘

*When some diabolical warfare attacks you don’t waste time trying to figure it out, just acknowledge that it is ‘pure devil.‘

*Don’t get caught up in every new thing that comes to the Body of Christ; maintain your foundation.

*To keep yourself from ever falling, read your bible through every year…three chapters a day and five on Sunday.

I’ve told her many times that I want to be just like her when I grow up!

High ‘hills’ or High-heels October 20, 2009

We always think our spiritual journey is somehow unique.  We have the unsupported belief that the things that happen to us, only happen to us and they happen only to us because there is something terribly wrong with us!

While we are, by design, unique individuals the trauma of unbelief and life circumstances comes to us all, albeit in varying degrees and descriptions.

I have the privilege of teaching a class on the Minor Prophets at Christ for the Nations Bible Institute.  Each prophet has its own unique style and varying insights and purpose within a similar message.   This past week I started our look at the prophet Habakkuk.  What what kind of name is that and what were his parents thinking???  While those may be first response questions a look at the prophet’s message soon takes precedence over his unusual name. 

The theme of the book of Habakkuk is “The perplexing ways of God.”  The message basically revolves around Habakkuk’s questions regarding the ways of God and is basically an account of his pilgrimage from doubt to worship, from questioning to assurance, from unbelief to faith.  Whatever terms you want to use the message is clear; it is his life’s testimony.  It documents his journey from complaints to confidence, from doubting to trusting, and from the valley to high hills.  Isn’t that true for all of us?  Our life is a pilgrimage from one extreme to another; from darkness to light, from weakness to strength from unbelief to faith!

The ups and downs and back and forths of life are not unique to our spiritual journey but are consistent with the testimony of many men and women of God found in scripture.

Habakkuk begins his dialog with God, like many of us, with a complaint and then a ‘why’ question, “O Lord, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear?…Why do you show me iniquity, and cause me to see trouble?” 

After he pontificates his position of frustration, disappointment and even despair because of the dire circumstances around him, he concludes his musings by proclaiming, “The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills.”

A key verse in Habakkuk,“…the just shall live by his faith.”  The phrase, ’shall live’ means to not only just live, but to stay alive! 

I don’t know about you but I am going to put those high-heels on, climb out of the valley to my high hills,  and stay alive!!!

CLIMB A TREE October 12, 2009

What?…climb a tree?  What does that mean and how does that apply to me?  Those are just a couple of questions that I asked the Lord this morning after I sensed Him speaking to me.  I was just driving along and talking to the Lord and telling Him that I could not ’see Him’ very well right now.  I was fighting back tears and wiping mascara off my face when I ‘heard’ the Lord say to me in response to my declaration of not seeing Him…”Well, climb a tree.”

It didn’t take me too long to relate this command to the story of Zacchaeus that I had read earlier in the day.  Luke 19 was the chapter I was reading this morning for a devotional before I headed to campus to teach.  Interesting how we can read something numerous times and yet at the ‘appointed’ time God breathes fresh revelation on old information.

The story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector, has been the theme of many children’s messages perhaps because he is referred to in the bible as ‘being a short man’ so children can relate.  Because of his lack of stature he was unable to see Jesus over the crowd as He was walking through Jericho.  The scriptures say that, “He wanted to see who Jesus was…so he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see Him, since Jesus was coming that way.”  While the story of Zacchaeus is primarily one of salvation I think we could venture to say it is also a story of what lengths one will go to in order to see Jesus.  How desperate are we…really?

It was as if the Lord was saying, ‘You can’t see Me?  Learn from Zacchaeus; you must get above the raucous noise of the crowds, go beyond your own limitations, be creative and even a little unorthodox if necessary, but do whatever it takes to see Me.  Push, shove, navigate through whatever is hindering and climb whatever you  have to but get your eyes on Me!’

“…Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said…’Zacchaeus…I must stay at your house today.’”  We must make eye contact, in spite of blurry vision, in spite of obstacles, make eye contact.  Whatever it takes….climb a tree if necessary!

I can hardly see ‘you’ anymore! September 29, 2009

The thought process that helps me keep moving forward when the stresses of life try to stop me in my tracks is the ‘knowing’ that I ‘will’ get up and go on. I have to admit I do not understand the workings of God. He made us in His image with the features of emotion and yet He demands of us to follow Him ‘regardless’ of these emotions. In essence He continually calls us to walk by the truth we know rather than by the emotions we feel.  The scriptures say it this way…we must walk by faith and not by sight.  Yet, it is God who gave us sight!   What are His purposes here?  Why would He command of us something that is diametrically opposed to our humanness?

Could it be that the only way we will every move from the finite realm of seeing into the infinite realm of believing is to traverse the chasm between seeing and believing by dying; dying to what we assume our life should entail.

It seems that He is more interested in our ability to die than to live!  Our human nature wants to live, live, live; His call to us is to die, die, die…die to ourselves, our ambitions, our selfish motives, our rights etc.  Paul said in Corinthians that, “…we who live are constantly being delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh…”  That’s our goal then…or that’s what our goal should be…to be so insignificant that the life of Jesus is manifested, not in our spiritual being, but manifested in our mortal flesh! 

I spoke with a friend the other night and he said something like, ”… once we do not care about the promotions of life, then the life of Jesus will be seen more clearly in our lives.”  A missionary friend, Wayne Myers, said, “… the heart condition of lowliness is the only safe place in the world.”  Author and speaker Francis Frangipane said, “Here abides true spiritual fulfillment, not in our striving to create a place for ourselves, but in laying down self to create a place for Jesus.” 

The Gospel of John says, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Selah

cour·age September 22, 2009

Courage: mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.  (merriam/webster dictionary)

Courage…the strength that makes us move forward when our feet want to retreat. (susan bozarth)

Courage…the ability to face the unknown with tear-stained cheeks but head erect. (susan bozarth)

‘Courage rises when the cause is greater than the circumstances.’ (winston churchill)

‘Courage is not the absence of fear nor the guarantee there are no risks.’ (winston churchill)

‘Life is expanded in proportion to courage.’ (unknown author)

‘Courage is fear that has said its prayers.’ (unknown author)

‘Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.’ (John Wayne) :-}

“Be strong and of good courage…” (joshua 1:6)

“Only be strong and very courageous…” (joshua 1:7)

“Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (joshua 1:9)

I just wanted to ‘encourage’ you to look upon yesterday as a victory, face today with faith and tomorrow with courage.