Delight*Abide*Love For People in Pursuit of God
Wimpy behinds McDonalds wasn’t fast enough Clean toilets for eternity Too dang much And much more…
February 2013
Dear Reader: I just want to warn you before you get too deep into this month’s magazine, it’s raw. What I mean is that it is jam-packed with emotion, mine. I had a rather rough Spiritual beginning this year. I started to doubt my calling and purpose; I’ve lost a bit of faith in some people I thought were leaders. So, yeah, it’s been challenging. What I discovered is that my lily-livered article from last month was a real representation of just how cowardly I can be. You’ll find that there are two main focuses in the verses chosen this month and I hope that perhaps you are in need of these messages just as much as I was (and am). This month I have found great comfort, encouragement and reassurance in the topics of His love and His protection. I cannot tell you how eye-opening some of these pieces have been for me. What I will tell you is that even if they don’t benefit you, they’ve been hugely therapeutic for me and thusly I am thankful for having the opportunity to share them with you. I am a firm believer in the fact that we can learn a good deal from one another’s struggles. Before venturing any further I’d like to pray with you. Father, I thank You for enabling this magazine to exist, for using these hands to put thoughts on paper. I ask that You would richly bless those who are reading it and that if they are struggling with grasping Your love that You would empower them to do so, that You would make Your presence in their life tangible and comforting. Thank You so much for the sacrifice of Your Son, in Jesus’ Name. Amen. Peace and blessings, Ginny Mink
www.delightabidelove.com
Too Dang Much “Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride.” Ecclesiastes 7:8 (NLT) Have you ever discovered something about yourself and then thought, “Man, I wish that weren’t true!”? In fact, you wish that so intensely, that you try to make up excuses for your behavior, or somehow disprove the revelation. Well, that’s kind of where I am this day. You see, I am pretty good at starting things; actually I’m really good at starting them. Take this magazine, for instance, we are closing in on the completion of one year in print and I recently told the moms’ Bible study group that I wasn’t going to do it anymore. I could delineate my reasons for you here, but suffice it to say that it boils down to two things, cowardice and pride. I’m a runner, and not the kind you initially would envision; my fat behind is not hitting the pavement (although if I did actually lace up the Pumas that might be exactly what happened). Rather, I’m the type of person who starts something with grandiose imaginings and then when either it takes too long to realize those dreams, or it starts getting close to those realizations I run, I quit, I give up. Now I know those statements may seem contradictory, but they are truth nonetheless. You see, I’m a lazy bum and so if things don’t take off as quickly as I anticipate I start to rationalize that perhaps I wasn’t going in the right direction and thusly I give up on the project. Then there’s the other side of the coin, that’s the problem when things do start to look up, like with this magazine, I start reconsidering my motivations. I get concerned with becoming too proud should success ever come to fruition; I get concerned about my own historic failings and having my wretchedness brought to light in the midst of said success. Perhaps the fact is I think and doubt too dang much! Father, please forgive me for overanalyzing and doubting. Give me the strength and patience to complete the task before me. Amen!
Do Flames Halt Completion? “let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:22 (NLT) I read this verse in other translations but this paraphrase just really encouraged me. I don’t know, nor do I need to know, your epic vileness, I have enough of my own to cover twenty people, easy. Perhaps your heinous past is a tool the enemy uses against you to prevent you from moving forward in Faith. Perhaps he tells you that eventually it will come back to bite you, to expose you, to imprison you. Maybe those threats, those flaming darts that ignite a guilty conscience within you have immobilized you. Maybe they have penetrated so deeply to your core that you can only start the things you feel the Father calling you to do and then the flames therein halt completion. I know how you feel. What is so reassuring, what I feel the Father explaining to me in His most loving and incredible way, is that we have been made clean! Christ’s blood has washed away all those sins, all the worst ones people can imagine, all the things Jason Gray sings, “I won’t deny the worst you can say about me.” All those sins were known to Christ, to the Father, to the Spirit before you ever committed them and before He willingly laid down His life for you. He knew what He would be casting as far as East is from West, He knew you before you knew yourself; He knew what you were capable of and yet He called you, He cleansed you, He washed you white as snow. He is making you like Himself and nothing you have ever done will change that Truth! Here’s the other thing I am learning, once He has forgiven us, He has forgotten our worminess. He’s a good Daddy and would never let anything hurt us or damage His reputation based on past failings. He will protect you; you can go right into the presence of God fully trusting Him. Hallelujah!
The Human Condition “We live by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV) This is one of those verses that we’ve heard a million times and thusly ignore when we see it as the heading of a devotion. I ask you to reconsider that instinct though, and ask yourself if you can honestly say you abide by Paul’s proclamation here. Really, do you live by Faith? I so wish I could say that I did. I mean, if I truly lived by Faith, think about how much more I would do with my life, how little I would worry, how peaceful and joy filled I would be. I wouldn’t have spent the last week in a funk if I’d been living by Faith and not sight. What about you? It hit me, just now, how bad we feel for people who are disabled, those who can’t see or hear or are missing appendages. I have a brother who is a burn survivor and an amputee, and I have a grandmother who is deaf. She once told me that her malady (which she has endured since she was four years old) was, “a minor inconvenience.” My brother, who is missing half of his left arm, is able to dress himself and button his own pants; feats that I am still amazed by though he’s been in his condition since 2000. If I look at them via sight I see people who must struggle every day, people whose lives are hindered. Yet, since I know them, and I am aware of the things they have both accomplished, my grandmother plays the piano beautifully and my brother is raising his daughter on his own, I realize that these two people must be living by Faith. Here’s the problem with the human condition, most of us can see. God obviously gave us eyes for a reason, and perhaps that was so we could appreciate the beauty of His creation and watch Him work in miraculous ways. Unfortunately, we have a tendency to focus on the tidal wave of life, the tsunami of worldly events and happenings rather than trust Him to part the sea. We see our efforts as in vain, as pointless, and thusly we walk away from them, we give up. However, if we’d lived by Faith, we’d see that He’s been using those same efforts to change lives all along. Faith sees what we are blinded to; perhaps we can start living that way more consistently.
The Source of Sustenance “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit.” Psalm 51:12 (NASB) I read this today in the NLT version and I have to admit that I can truly appreciate its, “and make me willing to obey you,” interpretation of the concept of a willing spirit. If you have the pleasure or pain (depending upon your personal opinion) of knowing me, then you are probably well aware of my penchant for rebellion. I really, really, really don’t like being told what to do. Certainly it is that rebellious nature that led me into my shameful previous behaviors and no doubt anyone Biblically educated is aware of the Israelites proclivity for the same and the difficulties they endured as a result. Therefore, we should at some point in our lives, in our finite and mostly infantile minds, come to an understanding that rebellion equates with trouble (yes, there is wisdom to be gained from folly if you will open your eyes). Anyway, since this verse is of two fold import, let me return to it. The first thing is David’s request to have salvation’s joy restored to him. I think this is infinitely significant as the farther we get from the day of our salvation the easier it is to forget how incredible it is that the Most High God would even recognize our existence let alone desire to call us His children. It’s that thrill, that joy of salvation, which makes the new believer so on fire, so encouraging and evangelistic and thusly as we mature we should ask the Father to restore that joy; our lights get dim as time muddies our lives. I know I told you that I appreciated the NLT’s version of this verse, but I chose the NASB because I wanted to address the issue that a willing spirit is a source of sustenance. You see, when we are in trouble due to our own unbridled rebellion, we starve in a number of ways: we starve for His presence, His peace, His cleansing. Yet, if we have a willing spirit, an obedient personage, we will stay close to the source of sustenance, our Savior!
Trusting in the Wrong Things “And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.” Psalm 9:10 (NASB) Sometimes I read verses like this and I think, “Oh, yeah?” Then I am confronted with questions like, “Do I really know His name?” I mean there is a vast array of names for the Father, and then there is the vowel-less Hebrew name, which I doubt any of us pronounces correctly. Of course, then I have to laugh at myself for being both excessively literal and hyper-analytical. What did He tell Moses to tell everyone His name was? I AM. Therefore, if we know that name (not to mention all the others) then, we should according to the psalmist, put our trust in Him. You know, I am always amazed at my inability to trust the Maker of all that is in existence. I am awe-struck by my capacity to believe in my husband’s ability to provide for our family, or in the benefits of benjamins in the bank account rather than resting easy in the hands of the Almighty God. I don’t understand how I can trust a man (wonderful man that he is) more than I can trust the Creator. I don’t get why in the world I would put faith in a green piece of paper that I can personally destroy should I so desire (and if I didn’t care about the fact that it’s illegal to do so) versus trusting in the One who can squash me and the entire universe like a bug if He wanted to. What is wrong with me? This leads me to the greatest part of this verse and though we see the same concept in numerous places throughout the Scriptures, it should awe us every time: He won’t forsake us. Man, after all the things I have done to Him, after all the times I have disobeyed or just plain out ignored Him, He still won’t let me down. In my faithlessness He will prove Himself faithful. Joyce Meyer frequently says that we are educated (Biblically) well beyond our levels of obedience. Oh Father, that you would renew a right Spirit in me and enable me to thirst for and seek You always. Amen.
He Died to Have Us “For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.” Psalm 94:14 (NIV) The ESV says forsake and the NASB says abandon but reject is the word I needed today. What about you? How many times have you been rejected in this life? Some of us have been rejected by the very people who are supposed to love us unconditionally and at the very least until we are eighteen. I got kicked out at seventeen (and while that’s a story with multiple perspectives, it happened nonetheless); some of you have had even worse situations (my husband was on his own by about age 14). Rejection happens; for some, we start life off rejected, others have to wait a few years for the lovely experience but ultimately even the Brad Pitts and Angelina Jolie’s of the world experience rejection. Why? Because we are daily faced with each other and we are all sucky. So what’s super cool here is that God won’t reject us, ever! He had already made up His mind not to reject us before He even knit us together in our mother’s wombs, before He sent His Son to die for our sakes. He knew He wanted us, that He would always want us and that He’d be willing to give Himself just to have us. I think that’s the other great part about this particular verse, it’s the concept that we are His inheritance. I am not sure why He chose to Word it that way, seeings as all of everything is His, but He died to have us. Let me say that again, HE DIED TO HAVE US. Think about it, you don’t get an inheritance until someone dies and leaves it to you (unless you’re a greedy prodigal who insults his family for the sake of squandering what he should have had to wait for). So, with that in mind, God so wanted each of us He willingly stepped down from Heaven, took on the form of man and sacrificed Himself so that He could have us. That’s why He won’t forsake us; He paid too great a price for each of us. We may not be worth much to other people, but we are precious to Him!
Stunted Faith “but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm." Proverbs 1:33 (NIV) This is Wisdom speaking and if you are unaware, Wisdom is personified in feminine form (which I always find intriguing). Anyway, we should realize the fact that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom and thusly in order to gain Wisdom we have to have some level of understanding about the Father’s character and nature. Also, I think that in 1 Corinthians 1 we discover that Christ is the wisdom of God. So, basically, if we know God and place our trust in Christ then we will attain this Wisdom. I had to preface this piece with that information because I really want to talk about listening to Him. I needed you to see that Wisdom comes from Him so that you wouldn’t think I was taking this verse out of context given the fact that it’s the feminine form of Wisdom making the above declaration. We are often told to listen to Him, to wait on His direction and we’re frequently prodded to hear from God. I wonder though, how many of us can actually attest to hearing anything with certainty and if we can, how frequently have we experienced such revelation? I know that many times there are people on TV telling us that God told them this or that and we should certainly test the spirits in all occasions of that nature. I know also that the world would tell you that if you are hearing things then you should probably visit your doctor. In addition, I am aware that some preachers will tell us that we only hear from God via His Word. However, I think there is a reason we are told to pray in the Spirit and I think there is a reason we are told that the Spirit within us will lead us in the ways of understanding, that the Holy Spirit will only tell us what He has heard from the King. So, do I believe we can actually hear God? Absolutely! Unfortunately, I think most of us aren’t listening and even when we are, our Faith is so stunted that we question what we’ve heard rather than obey. Oh but if we would listen, reread the promises!
Faith-less Stagnation “because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:3-4 (NIV) Let’s define perseverance, shall we? Merriam-Webster says it’s, “continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition.” I have to chuckle at this because my experience would say that when my Faith has been tested I have had the exact opposite of perseverance, I’ve a tendency to just give up. Now, this is of course not applicable to moments in which people have persecuted me for my belief in Christ, amazingly He enabled me to endure such persecution and according to His Word be blessed due to it. However, I find that I lack perseverance when things I am attempting to do get difficult or challenging or aren’t immediately successful. It takes Faith, enduring, persevering Faith to continue in a path you have felt led when there is no obvious purpose in so doing besides the initial aspect of obedience. However, obedience is probably the most important purpose of our lives! Anyway, getting back to the verse, James tells us that if we persevere in the midst of trials (the kind verse two tells us to count as joyous) then that perseverance will complete its work in us which is to make us mature and lacking nothing. I like the idea of being a mature believer; I don’t want to be considered infantile, still requiring milk. Do you? So how then do we persevere in the midst of trials? I suspect that the first thing that we need to know how to do is understand when we are being tested versus when we are being tempted. I know that these two seem to go together, but as the Scripture tells us, the Father tempts no one and can be tempted by no one. So, I guess that we can tell the difference via the outcome of our choice in the matter. Will the choice result in sin, or will it result in faith-less stagnation?
Help Dissuade You “Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly.” Psalm 85:8 (ESV) This Psalm is apparently composed by the sons of Korah. If you read the whole of it you will see that they are reminding God that He has been forgiving to their people in the past and therefore, they are asking Him to restore them again. Surely, they say, Your anger won’t last forever (v. 3-5). I wonder, have you ever felt like He was mad at you? I know I have and generally it’s because I am aware of my own misbehavior. You know the feeling; you do something wrong and then your guilt makes you assume that everyone is upset with you, giving you dirty looks and the cold shoulder. Well, thankfully, our Father is merciful and hugely forgiving; His wrath does not last forever and as these gentleman write, He will speak peace to His people. I need Him to speak that peace to me right now, what about you? Listen, we live in some very uncertain times. We just passed the fiscal cliff and though we somehow managed to hang onto the edge for dear life, chances are we are just being appeased so that some other wool can be pulled over our eyes. Certainly people aren’t oblivious to their $40+ less a week paychecks. So, yeah, I’d say we could use some peace. I’m glad that as His saints (and by the way, such a title absolutely floors me!) He will comfort us, that He will work things together for our good so long as we love Him and are called by Him. I am so glad that there’s nothing that can separate us from His love. However, we need to take note of the last part of this verse, “but let them not turn back to folly.” The Israelites were undoubtedly experts in this behavior, but if we are honest, aren’t we equally talented (or perhaps cursed is a better word choice). We must make conscious efforts not to return to folly, not to be dogs returning to our own vomit. Hopefully that visual will help dissuade you as it does me.
Spiritual 911 Hotline “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 (ESV) How many times have we heard that the love of money is evil? Well, the actual verse says that it’s the root of all kinds of evil, not evil in and of itself. This is an important distinction, though either way loving money is bound to get you into trouble as we are told we cannot serve two masters. That said, I think that we rationalize away our love of money. How many times have I heard believers say, “Oh I don’t love money I just need it,” or “I just need more of it?” Really? Do we really need money or have we been so conditioned by the ways of this world that we falsely assume that we do? If we ventured back in time we would discover that there weren’t any little green bills or shiny coins with important people’s faces on them. Rather, people utilized their skills and their crops/livestock to barter with one another for what they needed. So, no, we don’t really need money, we just find that life is made a little bit easier with it given today’s economy. Of course, that’s not the point here. The fact is, we don’t need money to find our peace and joy; we don’t need benjamins to be content. What we need is a Savior, a Redeemer, Someone to rescue us from the pit of this world and our own wretched humanity. Amazingly, our Father not only does that but He promises to never leave or forsake us. I want you to think about that. Let’s say you were in a burning building and thankfully a firefighter crawled through a window and saved your life. He told you to get a smoke detector and be more cognizant of the coffee pot and then guess what, he left. He saved you and he left you. He did his job and then moved on. Our Father though, saves us and then upholds us with His righteous right hand. He will forever protect us, not just come to our rescue when we call the Spiritual 911 hotline. Oh that we’d be content with what He’s given us and thankful for what He’s done for us.
Orchard/Vineyard or Barren? “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT) I’m really enjoying the NLT this month; I hope you are as well. Anyway, obviously we have read these verses before and most translations say simply, the fruit of the spirit is…. I like that the NLT makes it personal because that makes me question myself. If the Holy Spirit produces these kinds of fruit in my life, is there any evidence that He is so doing or that I am obediently participating in the producing? I find it pretty amazing that Paul lists love first here because I think it’s a lot easier to be kind than it is to be loving. I’m not sure that makes sense. I know that true kindness is an extension of love, but I think we are capable of being kind to people we don’t love (of course then, since our motives aren’t proper no real fruit appears?). Anyway, when I start looking at my own life I have to wonder if I have produced anything remotely resembling love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I think that maybe they show up in various sizes, as fruit often does. For example, maybe my love fruit is only grape size, but my peace fruit is more like a grapefruit? I suspect that my measurements are off and chances are I’m in need of a lot of fertilizer and growth hormones to get these babies increasing. What about you? I have to wonder though, is it the size that matters or the quantity? I ask that because we are told in other verses that some will produce 30, 60 or 100 fold. So maybe if I have 100 grapes I’m doing better than if I only have 30 grapefruits? I’m sure it seems like I am trivializing the verse, but what I wanted to get across is the concern that I have for actually producing fruit at all. Can I truly see an orchard/vineyard in my own life or am I barren? How does your self-assessment look?
Excuses and Lame Attempts “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives.” Galatians 5:25 (N LT) For those of you uncomfortable with the NLT’s paraphrase nature, I’ll tell you that most translations read, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” However, I find that the Word frequently tells us the ways in which we should walk and sometimes it’s refreshing to get a deeper visual of so doing. I mean, following the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives seems to be much more specific to me than walking in the Spirit. I hope you can understand my rationale there. This verse is only a few down from the ones that tell us what the fruits of the Spirit are. So, if we are living by the Spirit then we would be exuding said fruits. But, I have to wonder, what life would be like for me if I followed the Spirit’s leading in every part of my life? Haven’t there been times when you felt a nudge to do something, say something or act in a certain way but you kind of mentally swatted the thought away as if it were a pesky fly? For instance, today, as I was taking my husband to do some extra work for someone, I passed a broke down station wagon in the middle of 5 o’clock traffic. The people standing outside the disabled vehicle were old and I said, aloud, “That bites.” As soon as I said it that internal bump to stop and help hit me. “I’m pregnant and I have to get Chris to work,” was my immediate swat back at the nudge and thusly, I kept driving. What if though, I had stopped? Surely my husband would have gotten out and pushed the car for them (I saw him turn around to assess the situation and I wondered if he hadn’t felt that same nudge). How would our evening have differed? I’ll never know. Instead we went on to our destination, had a late dinner and got in an argument before he went to sleep. Could helping that elderly couple have influenced the way we treated one another tonight? I guess it’s possible that it might not have but part of me suspects the opposite. Father, help us to abandon all excuses and lame attempts to get out of Your Spirit’s nudgings. Empower us to follow You at all times. Amen.
What More Do You Need? “So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:6 (ESV) I bet there have been times when we felt we could really grab on to this statement, that we could honestly proclaim we weren’t scared of what man could do to us. However, let’s reframe the concept. Let’s say that someone could destroy your reputation and not with false accusations, but with a horrendous truth from your past, would you fear then? I read this verse and automatically I am reminded of the verse that tells us that man can only kill us, but the destruction of one’s reputation often seems like a fate worse than death. At least death means not facing all the disappointed faces and destroyed relationships, right? Maybe you don’t have any skeletons in your closet that could do you such detrimental harm and therefore this is a hard thing to comprehend. No matter. The problem is, that fear often hinders us from the greatness our King has for us. It hampers our ability to move forward, stifles our effectiveness and impedes our usefulness to the Savior. I’m not sure why we allow it to, I mean look at the beginning of that verse; it says the Lord is my helper. There is Scripture elsewhere that says, if the Lord is for us, who can be against us? I suspect that one of the enemy’s greatest weapons is the remembrance of guilt. He likes to throw our pasts up in our faces and threaten us with retroactive punishment. Our God however, says that He has forgotten our sins and will remember them no more. Who are we going to believe? Listen, if the enemy is hurling your antiquated iniquities in your face chances are he’s doing that because he’s afraid of what God has planned for you. He’s doing all he can to prevent you from walking in the Father’s path; you are a threat to him, not the other way around. You have the Creator, Almighty God, the Most High as your Helper, Protector and Sustainer, what more do you need? Quit fearing man and follow Him!
The Power to Grasp Christ’s Love “may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:18-19 (NIV) This is key! Today has been a day of revelation for me and so to stumble upon these verses is so encouraging! You see, I have been struggling with trusting God, with keeping on keeping on as it applies to doing the things I felt certain I had been called to do. So, I had to ask myself what the reasons are for lack of trust and since I frequently discuss things with myself, I replied, “Because we don’t believe He loves us.” Maybe you always felt loved and so embracing the concept of a God who loves you without condition is quite easy and therefore you have seen mountains leap into the sea and trees get uprooted via your Faith, but if you are like the rest of us, trust can be a serious problem and the main cause of our little Faith. Imagine the exuberance I felt when I saw that Paul was praying that the Ephesians would have the power to grasp Christ’s love for them. That implies that we cannot comprehend His love on our own, we must have supernatural assistance in that realm. INCREDIBLE! What a Word from God that is for me. It is impossible for me to wrap my mind and heart around His love for me, His desire for me, His view of me as a saint. However, He can enable me to get it. This is something I will definitely start praying because I suspect that if I could become fully cognizant of His love for me then I would have way less difficulty stepping out in Faith, in persevering. Here’s another super-cool part of those verses, Paul tells the Ephesians that once they are empowered to grasp His love they will be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God! God longs to fill us with Himself but we have to believe He loves us and in order for that to occur we have to allow Him to enable us to do so! WOW!
Gentle as a Freight Train “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Ephesians 4:2 (NIV) Verse one tells us to live a life worthy of the calling we have received. Initially I was going to write about that, but then when I saw verse two’s explanation of the manner in which to live that calling, I changed my mind. See, we all have specific and unique callings; things that we are hand-crafted to do on this earth, and that’s what I was going to write about, but this seems to be a more inclusive concept. Meaning that our calling is the one that led to our salvation, our calling is to be servants of Christ and as such we are to be completely humble and gentle, bearing with one another in love. Humility is a problem for me, I won’t lie. In fact, I’ll reveal to you that I bought a book entitled: Humility, in hopes that it would be some sort of instructional guide for me. Unfortunately, it would appear that for me, humility is something I only learn when I fall flat on my face after my pride has radically tripped me up. I hate pride; that is true, I hate it in myself even more than I hate it in other people, yet…it seems to constantly grip me. Actually, I am of the belief that pride is the root of most of our Spiritual struggles and the instigator of most of our sins. So, to hate pride seems quite becoming and yet I am so easily ensnared. Ugh! I wish I could say that gentility is an easier concept for me, but sadly, I fall quite short in that arena as well. I’m as gentle as a freight train or as the old adage goes, a bull in a China shop. I have a tendency to be blatantly honest and that’s not always the most genteel way to be. In fact, I’ve told my husband not to ask me questions unless he knows that I am going to answer the way he wants me to, otherwise there’s a distinct possibility I might hurt his feelings. This leads us to the whole bearing with one another in love which is a nudge at patience and I’m pitiful in that realm too. So, I guess if you are like me, then we should be praying to live lives worthy of our calling. Father, enable us to be humble, gentle and patient so that all will see You in us. Amen.
McDonalds Wasn’t Fast Enough “I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope.” Psalm 130:5 (NASB) What a beautiful eight verse Psalm! Check it out, I’ll wait. We see that it begins in despair, in the depths, and the psalmist cries out for the Father to listen, to hear his voice (v.1-2). Then there is the obvious understanding of personal wretchedness, the confession that our sins, if remembered would make us all crumble (v. 3). Ah, but then there’s the beauty of verse 4, the revelation that our Father is forgiving and thusly the writer moves to verse five, he will wait for his King and hope in His Word. We live in a world that has all but eradicated our understanding of the word wait. Everything is so fast-paced, drivethru, high-speed, technologically distorted that we can barely hold it together at a traffic light. Really, think about it, how many times have you wanted to curse when the yellow popped up in front of you or brake lights shone? Listen, McDonalds wasn’t fast enough for us anymore so they had to add a second lane. This is what we have come to and so when we read verses that tell us to wait on Him we can barely imagine the concept; let alone adhere to it. As per usual, I speak from personal experience. When I felt the Father tell me to write, I jumped in head first, churned out piece after piece, published two books in one year and yet…nothing seemed to happen. My husband was all thrilled that he’d be married to a best-selling author and hitherto he’s just married to a half-butt writer. I think we both expected that this calling would just take off and maybe that’s because of the world’s fast-food, fast-everything mentality. I suspect that the truth is we are just supposed to do what we are told and wait on Him. I’ll keep writing if you’ll keep reading (and truth be told, I’ll keep writing even if you stop, because I want to be obedient). Oh, Father, please give us the strength to wait on You, to hope in Your Word and to be obedient to Your voice. Amen.
Radically Changed for Sure “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (NIV) You’ve got to love the book of Isaiah, and if you’ve never read it I definitely recommend it to you. If nothing else, go read chapter 41. God is talking to the Israelites, His chosen people, and as we have discussed before - the things He says to them are applicable (in most instances unless time sensitive) to all His children. So, when we look at verse 9 where He tells them they are called and chosen, then we can understand why verse 10 is so comforting. I think that we often have this image of a faraway, up in the clouds, King. A God that sits high up in the heavens on His throne and kind of looks down His nose at us, but we find throughout the Scriptures His proclamation that He is with us; He is near to us. I know that we are taught that seeing is believing but I think when we become believers we realize that pretty much all the world’s wisdom is the exact opposite of His and so the truth then is that believing is seeing. I have a friend that is working on a book (and believe me once this is published you will definitely want a copy of it, she’s hugely talented) comprised of short stories. Each of these stories is a personal revelation of moments in which she got a glimpse of her King. The insight she has into His Presence is incredible and it makes you want to pay better attention to all the little nuances of life. After all, the Word tells us that He is in the still small voice rather than the earthquake and the fire. Anyhow, He’s here, He’s with us and He’s our strength and help, just read what He has to say about our enemy’s fate in verses 11-12. I so wish we would really trust Him; this world would be radically changed for sure!
Clean Toilets for Eternity… “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” Psalm 84:10 (NIV) I heard a woman talking about how wonderful her husband was, how when they got to heaven he would be up near the throne and she would be in the back where she could feel the heat of hell singeing her rear end, but at least she’d be in the gates. I’ve also heard people discuss the fact that they’ve been such pitiful believers that they’ll happily scrub toilets in heaven so long as they get there. While some people might find comments like these slightly sacrilegious I have to admit they make me laugh. I think that the psalmist understood how invaluable entrance into the King’s courts is. He said he’d hold the door for all eternity; that’s a pretty thankless and boring job but in his mind it was infinitely better than hanging out with the bad guys, the sons of destruction. I wonder if we are willing to do the same thing, especially when sometimes it appears that those individuals are enjoying better lives than we are. I mean, sin appears fun, if it didn’t, it wouldn’t be so tempting. I know it’s easy to look at the tents of the wicked and covet the things they have, the things they get to do and for some of us, we are readily able to recall what our lives were like before we surrendered to our Savior. I’ll tell you, I spent a lot more time at the mall and in fancy restaurants; I had new clothes and matching shoes and I drove an Audi TT. It would be so simple to look at those parts of my past and wistfully reminisce but if I allowed myself to do that, I would inevitably have to remind myself of how miserable and wretched a human being I was. None of that stuff was of real value; it placated a huge hole for a minute moment, but I always needed more. Yes, indeed, I would rather clean toilets or hold doors for all eternity then spend it with the wicked. What about you?
All Good “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.” Psalm 84:11 (ESV) Our King is our Light and our Protector. This is an important revelation, I know we hear things like that all the time but how frequently do we stop to consider exactly what they mean? For example, this is a dark world, a world in which people take pills to insure death to the unborn; a world in which men walk into elementary schools and kill six year olds. I mean really, this is the epitome of darkness. Thusly, we need a Light, we need a Guide; we need the One who can see the end of this void. Elsewhere we are told He’s a lamp unto our feet and a Light unto our paths, the repetitive nature of this illustration should make us consider just how bleak things are and how desperately we need Him. In addition, we are warned that our enemy is prowling around trying to eat us up; that he’s constantly accusing us and shooting flaming arrows at us - so the concept of our Father being our Protector has some serious ramifications. We are unable to defeat the enemy or to survive the darkness without Light and protection. Initially I was going to rant about the second half of this verse but I found the necessity to share our impotent weakness with you. Now however, I will venture on to the, no good thing does He withhold… Obviously we are incapable of walking blamelessly or uprightly but thanks to the sacrifice of Christ we are clothed in Him so that if we are seeking our King we appear as Christ to Him. That said, we are told that He will not withhold anything good from us. I was recently talking to a friend about how difficult it is to understand the reality of His love and so this falls into that category because if I struggle with believing He adores me then I will doubt His desire to provide me with good. Thankfully, He has blessed me with children and that opens my eyes to the concept of wanting to provide all good for them. I would do anything for them and would try to bestow all good things on them, and if my sucky behind wants that for them, imagine what the incredible King of the Universe is capable of doing for us; and not just what He’s capable of, but what He desires to do for us. He wants to bless us, that just blows me away!
Ax in the Battle “Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me. Who is he that will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up.” Isaiah 50:7-9 (NIV) I know this is a long section of Scripture to assign for a devotion but I wanted you to see just how emphatic the emotion is. I needed to see the Faith displayed here, I needed to be reassured that my Father loves and helps me and that no enemy I might face can disgrace me or condemn me. How incredible is that? Maybe you don’t have a past that is worthy of condemnation or accusation, maybe you’ve been pretty pure for ever-how-many years you have existed on this wicked planet. I however have much to be ashamed of and the enemy likes to throw that at me. In fact, that appears to be his favorite tactic to get me to stop moving forward in the ministry I know I have been called to. So, when I see that God was willing to help Israel (take a look at the beginning of the chapter (v. 2) when He sarcastically asks them if His arm is too short to ransom them or if His strength is too little to rescue them), I have to be reassured, don’t you? There is a theme running through this month’s pieces and I hope that you are seeing it. I know that it’s a topic I needed to be educated on, an area in which I needed further encouragement. Oh dear one, if the enemy is trying to scare you with retroactive punishments, or accusations, or condemnations, please read these verses over and over. Not only does Isaiah tell us that our Abba will help us but that He will vindicate us, He is near. There is something great about the word vindicate, it means: “to set free, deliver, avenge, to free from allegation or blame, confirm or substantiate,” (Merriam-Webster). Think about it, He’s not just going to disregard the enemy’s accusations; He’s going to free us, deliver us and avenge us! He’s our ax in this battle and He will win. Oh that we’d start trusting Him more; He really does love us!
Obstinate, Stiff-Necked and Stubborn “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” Jeremiah 33:3 (ESV) Zedekiah imprisoned Jeremiah because he had prophesied that Nebuchadnezzar would take Judah captive and that Zedekiah would be taken to Babylon (Ch. 32). So, Jeremiah is currently in the court of the guard, which I can only ascertain means he’s in jail essentially, when the Word of the Lord comes to him a second time (33:1) and thusly he is informed that if he calls on the Father he will be told great and hidden things. Of course, we don’t see in the Scriptures that he immediately calls on the King but rather that God just goes right ahead and reveals the future of Judah and His covenant with David and His plan to bring about Christ. These are indeed great and hidden things that probably took Jeremiah by surprise as I am sure any prophesy would. I guess maybe you’re wondering what my point is in bringing this verse to your attention, well, I want to tie it into a verse in James. Please look up James 1:5. Maybe you won’t immediately see the significance here but to me I see some consistency in the Father’s willingness to share His knowledge with us if we’d but ask. James 1:5 tells us that if we need wisdom all we have to do is ask for it. Jeremiah 33:3 says that if we call on Him, He’ll answer us and tell us stuff we don’t know. Seems pretty unswerving to me! This instills in me an even greater appreciation for the trustworthy immutableness of God’s character. He says the same stuff throughout His Word; He is reliable and that’s really comforting. However, what’s even more incredible here is that the One who knows all and controls all is perfectly willing to let us in on His secrets. He’s unabashedly offered to tell us whatever it is we want to know, to give us wisdom without finding fault or rebuking us. Scripture tells us that He’s not the God of confusion; He wants to make things clear to us and so if we are stumbling about in darkness and disorder we need to cry out to Him, to ask Him to provide us with wisdom. Sometimes I think He just shakes His head wondering when we’re going to realize He’s waiting to help us. Man we are obstinate, stiff-necked and stubborn!
Emotionally Charged Rollercoaster "With your unfailing love you lead the people you have redeemed. In your might, you guide them to your sacred home.” Exodus 15:13 (NLT) I came across this verse and, as is my habit, I went back to the Scriptures to read the whole chapter so that I would make sure I completely understood what was going on. I had to smile when I realized that this was part of song that the Israelites were singing to God after He brought them through the Red Sea. They are all so happy that He destroyed their enemies, they are confident (by verse 13) that He loves them and leads them and will take them on to His holy abode. I can only imagine that if we’d been there we would have definitely been singing along with them, I mean the Red Sea stood up and cleared a path for them but then it swallowed their enemies, pretty incredible, a sight that would instigate praise for sure. I bet they were feeling pretty confident about His love for them and their value to Him. Then we get to verse 22, they’ve just come out of the Red Sea and they have ended up in the Desert of Shur where they spend three days without water and when they finally find some it’s bitter. By verse 24 these same people who were so filled with praise are grumbling to Moses about not having anything to drink. We are so much like the Israelites it’s astounding! We ride an emotionally charged rollercoaster called life and unfortunately we allow it to dictate our Spiritual state-of-mind. We can watch our Loving Father part a Red Sea for us and destroy our enemies and be at the peak of Spiritual enthusiasm and praise and then as soon as one of our bills is higher than we’d anticipated, or a tire blows on our car, we’re in the valley questioning if He really loves us. We’re so fickle! Somehow we have to realize and accept that circumstances in life change, that the world throws curve balls but that our Redeemer, our Protector, our Provider, the Lover of our souls doesn’t budge. He loves us enough to part the sea and to give us a piece of wood to turn the waters sweet (v. 25). He really does have unfailing love for us and will lead us if we’ll but follow.
Insane Repetition of the Love Message “For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10 (ESV) The ESV labels this chapter: The Eternal Covenant of Peace; that’s a pretty strong label, but if you read the chapter, God makes some massively intense promises to His people. I have a tendency to write a lot about people using the God is love verse too much, and I am not going to back down on my stance there as I know and have seen it twisted for all kinds of evil purposes and deceptive tactics. However, I will admit that my focus on that has hindered my own ability to grasp His love. When I read this verse again tonight I was reminded of Romans 8. I love that there are things in the Old Testament that directly correspond to the New. I love that my King is unchangeable and one of the greatest aspects of His character is that He loves me, He loves you! God tells Israel in this verse that the entire earth could fall apart, that everything they know and see could come crumbling down but His love for them will never disappear. Romans 8 tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. I shake my head as I write this because we are constantly dissed by people, well maybe everyone always likes you, but I know I have been rejected a good deal. Sadly, humanity is the only tangible example of love that we have and so when we see the conditionality of love based on flesh and blood it’s incredibly difficult to imagine a God who doesn’t care how pitiful we are, how many times we question Him or fail Him, He just keeps right on loving us. No doubt that’s why He gives us children, without them we would have very little to compare unconditional love to and even then we aren’t comparable to Him. This month I am just in awe over the amount of love He has for us and the insane repetition of that message throughout the whole of Scripture. Why I doubt it still I have no idea. Oh Father, help me grasp Your love for us all!
The Least We Can Do “The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil.” Zephaniah 3:15 (ESV) This is a prophesy for the remnant of Israel and though I suspect it is probably meant for the end times, since He talks about pouring out His fiery wrath on the whole world (v. 8) I also think that it can be applied to the beauty of salvation. I read the statement, “the LORD has taken away the judgments against you…” and I think that’s exactly what Christ did on the cross. He took away our judgments, think about it: He told the thief next to Him that he’d be in paradise with Him. That thief was guilty, he admitted it as he hung there next to the Savior and Jesus had the power and authority to take away that judgment, that condemnation that certainly would have landed him in hell. That’s what He’s done for each of us, and when I say each of us I mean the whole world, He died to save the whole world and yet, so many spit in His face and condemn themselves. Christ knew He would die for Ginny Mink before He exited His mother’s womb, before He entered it, before He even made the earth He knew He would bleed for me, for you. Surely His foolishness is greater than man’s wisdom because I’m no moron, but that concept is particularly inconceivable. It’s like reading Paul’s words about how the Spirit is always telling him that he’s in danger of imprisonment and beatings and stuff everywhere he goes and yet he goes. I just don’t get that. I mean, if I knew I was going somewhere to die I think I’d be hugely reluctant to head in that direction. I’d definitely be more like Jonah, running from the things I didn’t want to see or experience and yet…Christ came here for us anyway. Paul went to those cities and told them about Christ, anyway. I know this doesn’t really pertain to the above Scripture, but in a way I think that it does because He has done so much for us, taken away judgment, removed hell from our list of destinations; we should willingly go where He sends us. He loved us enough to come here, it’s the least we can do.
Accept Dirty Looks “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. Psalm 91:14 (NIV) We’ve talked a whole bunch this month about how deep and wide the Father’s love for us is and how mind-boggling the concept is. Now, I’d like us to look at the flip side, our part in this relationship. Yes, we do have a responsibility. While it is nice to bask in love, the Word tells us that it is far better to give than to receive and though our King readily pours out His love on us, He does want us to return that affection. Amazingly, in so doing, He promises to rescue and protect us. Then if we read even further in the chapter we find that He will also: answer us when we call, be with us in trouble, deliver us, honor us, satisfy us with long life, and show us salvation (v. 15-16). All because we love Him and acknowledge His Name. Perhaps it’s that last part that is most significant of all. When I was in college I had some friends that were professors. I had no problem telling people that I just had lunch with Dr. So-and-So. Currently, I have friends who are lawyers, school psychologists and missionaries in Africa (if you want their names I’ll gladly tell you). You see, we have no problem dropping names, sharing our connections with people we hold in high esteem and yet…what about our Savior, the King of the Universe? See, that’s why I think this aspect of the verse might be even more significant than the first part. He did more for me than any of my (though highly valued and treasured) friends have ever even considered doing and yet there is a reluctance to share that Name. Why not tell the guy at the counter that Jesus is my Savior; that God loves him? What have I to lose? So what if he looks at me like I’m crazy and tells all the other cashiers to act busy when I come in? Is their opinion of me more important than His willingness to rescue and protect me if I’ll but acknowledge Him? Father, help us to fall deeply in love with You, so much so that we want to boast about Christ and Him crucified, that we’ll willingly accept dirty looks for the sake of acknowledging Your Name.
Wimpy Behinds “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” Joshua 1:9 (KJV) Moses has died and God has told Joshua that he will be crossing the Jordan with the Israelites to take the land into his possession. Interestingly enough we note, if we read the chapter, that the Lord tells Joshua three times to be strong and of good courage (v. 6-7 & 9). No doubt there was reason to fear, well, human reason to fear. Fear is such an interesting aspect of our make-up. I suspect that we had it instilled in us for the sake of respecting our Creator and unfortunately it has become a terrible tool for the enemy to immobilize us. We are told so many times throughout the Scriptures not to fear and obviously that’s because the Father knew that we’d have a tendency to do just that. Certainly Joshua must have been feeling some trepidation or else God wouldn’t have needed to remind him to be strong and courageous. I’m often amazed at just how weak we truly are. I suspect that if we really investigated our own composition we would discover that any good quality therein has been compassionately deposited there by our Maker. We have no strength or courage of our own; look at what Joshua was facing, GIANTS! We’d all run screaming back to Egypt. The only way we move forward in this world of Faith, in this walk of ours, is by the righteous right hand that upholds us; otherwise we’d still be wallowing in the mud, chowing with the pigs. I love that this verse tells us that whithersoever thou goest our Abba will be right there with us. I know that even if we don’t have great relationships with our earthly fathers we’d probably feel a lot braver walking in treacherous territory if they are with us and our Savior promises to never leave us or forsake us. That guarantee should be enough to instill courage and strength and yet we still chicken out and He has to keep reminding us of His presence. I’m just glad He’s so patient with our wimpy behinds!
That’s How Trust Responds “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3 (ESV) Obviously the book of Isaiah is a prophetic book and this particular chapter is based on a song that Judah will sing when the King tramples her enemies and restores her to Himself. I preface this piece with that bit of info for the sake of maintaining integrity and context. However, I will now veer slightly. I suspect that there are ear tickling preachers that will imply that being kept in perfect peace has something to do with prosperity and abundance, with the good life. I cannot tell you how sick of such deception I am. When my television is on, it’s either on Sprout or a Christian station (give or take a few History Channel or Wipeout moments). Thusly I am inundated with a vast array of pastors telling people that the prosperity and abundance mentioned in Scripture is attached to material things, thusly that the peace offered is worldly comfort. Which by the way is particularly bothersome since Christ says He gives us peace, but not as the world gives it. Anyway, I want us to understand that when we are told He will keep us in perfect peace we need to realize it’s that peace that passes understanding, that composure that can only be attributed to a mind that is stayed on Him. Perhaps a better way to say it is when the junk hits the fan we are calm and collected because we believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that our Redeemer is in control, that He loves us, that He will provide for and comfort us and that He’s somehow working it together for our good. As I have mentioned elsewhere, it’s this correlation between love and trust that will drastically alter our positions on this planet. If we really, truly, indisputably believe that He loves us we will trust Him. Why? Because when we know, unquestionably, that we are loved by Him then we can believe every other verse that tells us He only wants our good, that He will meet our needs, that He will bless us and rescue us and be with us. That’s what love does and that’s how trust responds, in perfect peace.
People Need the Lord “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT) We hear the first part of this verse a lot, but then the rest of it kind of gets disregarded. So I suspect that some people are left wondering, “Well what kind of spirit did He give us then?” I love that Paul lists power first; he wanted us to know that God’s Spirit is a strong one, that it’s a loving one and that it will enable us to beat these bodies into submission. Therefore, anytime you feel inclined to blame bad choices on your lack of self-control, be admonished, He didn’t give you an out-of-control Spirit either. That said, I would like for us to look at the two verses that surround this one because I find them quite interesting. First, Paul tells Timothy that he needs to fan into flame the gift of God that was given him via the laying on of hands (v. 6). Paul tells him basically, “You have a gift; I know you do because I prayed it into you and therefore don’t you chicken out on applying it to your life.” Then he instructs him further, “Don’t be ashamed to testify about the Lord and don’t be ashamed of me. Instead join me in suffering for the Gospel.” There are two reasons Paul is telling Timothy that God didn’t give him a Spirit of fear, number one, don’t wimp out on the gift He’s given you and secondly don’t be a wuss about testifying to His Salvation. I wonder how many of us needed to hear that today? Maybe your gift wasn’t deposited via the laying on of hands, maybe the King instilled it in you long ago, but the enemy keeps tripping you up and convincing you that your gift isn’t good enough, useful enough or some other stupid line he’s chosen to feed you. Don’t be a coward! Use your gift for His Kingdom, that’s why you have it in the first place! Perhaps the concept of telling people about the Messiah is a little unnerving for you, who knows, maybe it gets your knees knocking and your heart racing when you feel the prompting to tell someone the Truth, regardless don’t shy away, people need the Lord (Steve Green). Who else is gonna tell them and who else can utilize your gift? Use that Spirit of power, love and self-discipline; it’s there for a reason.
Don’t Beat Your Head Against the Wall “We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.” 1 John 4:6 (NIV) I’m sitting here reading 1 John and by the time you get to chapter four he is talking about discerning the spirits. This is a relevant topic of study as it is a skill necessary for protection from the enemy’s henchman, those who are wolves in sheep’s clothing. However, there is another lesson here that I want to talk about simply because I addressed it with my son tonight. He was telling me how he asks other kids if they believe that people came from monkeys. Then, he said, if they say yes he asks them where the monkeys came from. Apparently that’s his evangelistic lead in. I told him he sounded like a miniature apologist (of course then I had to explain what an apologist is). That conversation led to a discussion about the issue of trying to win people over by logic. I explained to him that it was impossible because people are only led to Christ if the Father implants some minute amount of Faith in them. Logic won’t get you there. Then I told him about a two hour long conversation I had with an atheist. Near the end of the conversation I thought I had gotten somewhere with him until he told me, “Even if I was the only one to survive a plane crash, I still wouldn’t believe God saved me.” When he said that I realized that further debate was pointless, there was nothing in him that wanted to believe in the reality of the Creator. This verse seems to explain that concept. I think that it is possible to proselytize and in so doing leave a grain of potential in the heart of a non-believer. However, I also know that we can talk ‘til we’re blue in the face to those who are not going to believe and nothing we say will change them. I think we get discouraged when people don’t want to hear about our Faith, or I think we push too hard. Neither of these things will benefit anyone. Let us learn to recognize the Spirits. If you start telling someone about your Faith and he/she listens, keep going, if not, just pray that you left a seed for him/her but don’t beat your head against the wall over it.
How Do We Expect to Overcome? “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” Revelation 12:11 (NIV) Jeremy Camp’s song that repeats this verse is a frequent visitor in my mind, especially when I wake up in the morning or at the weird wee hours (ah the joys of pregnancy). Anyway, I hear this song in my mind a lot and until just now, I didn’t realize that the verse was in Revelation. I guess that’s understandable though, I mean it is pretty prophetic. I think that we all get the blood of the Lamb part of overcoming the enemy but I suspect many of us are reluctant to grab onto the other aspect. In fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that some of us (myself included) would prefer to run from that second piece. If your testimony is a controversial one, like coming out of homosexuality, then there is a distinct possibility that going around broadcasting it could have some serious ramifications. I did a couple of seminars that focused around my testimony and there was at least one threat made to the place I was going to give it. God changes lives, He changes them drastically and He uses our ability to share those changes as a means of defeating the enemy. However, we are often too chicken to stand up and be used. That is of course the purpose of the very last part of this verse. We love our lives too much. We don’t want to be threatened by people who are anti-our-testimonies; we don’t want to hear boos or get negative publicity. Of course, that’s about all we get in our quite docile spiritual sphere. However, we need to keep in mind that our sisters and brothers are coming out of islam where they might be killed if they proclaim their salvation in Jesus Christ. We’ve Spiritual siblings in other countries who are tortured for His Name; they aren’t shrinking from death but I’m hesitant to tell people God can remove the sin of homosexuality from your life? If we can’t share, how do we expect to overcome?
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