Blooming

We hear so much about the persecuted church. We play out in our minds just how we would react if storm troopers burst into our houses of worship and demanded that all of us to denounce the name of Christ. We complain about how the government is working so hard to remove any trace of God and His Word. We see and cluck our tongues at how history is being rewritten.

Yes, there are Muslim countries where one’s faith in Jesus Christ just might get you killed. For most of us, however, the danger isn’t persecution but rather it is seduction. The world is a delight to our senses. We relish the idea of a steamy hot cappucinno on a cold day like today. The heat from the fireplace draws us like moths to a flame. The whir of the computer or colors of the TV keep us easily captivated.

Rather than focus on how we will react when a full persecution comes to the church, perhaps we should examine how we a are reacting to the seducing tactics the enemy has already employed. He has us square in his cross hairs today. He is good at what he does. We must be on guard.

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field

which the Lord had made.

And he said unto the woman,

yea hath God said ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Genesis 3:1

…and the battle began.

Beware–seduction of far more dangerous that persecution.

Let  all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, to be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.                                                Ephesians 4:31,32
By nature I am an organized person. I enjoy making lists and checking things off as I go. I like to know what is on the agenda for the day and see things happen exactly the way that they were planned. Last minute changes should never occur. In my view, things should move smoothly and efficiently with no interruptions. (I am gaining on this–trying to embrace flexibility)
If you are a parent, you know already this form of ideological thinking is living in a fantasy land.
I banged my head against the wall for years trying to make this fantasy become reality.  Sometimes I could make the smooth transition from Plan “A” to Plan “B”, but if it looked like a Plan “C” may be necessary, I was done. I would get so frustrated if the unexpected happened. Frankly, I liked being in control!
As a child, I knew when my mom was close to reaching her overload capacity. She’d holler,  “I’m gonna blow my ever-lovin’ stack!”  My brother, sisters and I would interpret that as, “Warning, warning evacuate the area quickly and quietly!”  We would slink out of the room and wait until she calmed down or was able to ferret out the culprit and  give them their due.
My girls weren’t quite so blessed. I didn’t usually send a warning. I just blew. Making themselves as stealthy as possible, they would slip out of the room if I hadn’t already laid hands on them. The duck and cover routine wasn’t always successful. Sometimes I would detect movement in the perimeter, while other times I’d go on a search and destroy mission. All these military terms are appropriate because I  was like a boot camp drill sergeant, barking orders and demanding respect. It was bad!
Will was able to escape most of the shrapnel from my explosions by spending more hours at work, but the poor kids, they were stuck with me. I don’t know how they survived those early years.
Although I may be sounding lighthearted and flippant, knowing how I behaved really crushes me. Instead of enjoying the girls and “realizing the blessing”, I was consumed with order and responsibility.  Looking back, I see that my rigid ways kept me from enjoying many precious moments. Not that I overlooked them all, but I must have missed thousands.
God faithfully kept working on my heart and mind until I began surrendering control to Him. I discovered I had been so busy trying to figure out what I was supposed to be doing, my eyes were closed to what He was already doing.
God began exposing the dark spots in my heart to me. He did this bit by bit so I wouldn’t become overwhelmed and run from His constraining love. Looking deep within my heart was painful. It frequently was an ugly sight. But as He begin to strip away pieces of my old nature, He began to reveal more of Himself to me. His nuances became mine.
The vision I have of this wonderful work is simple. It works for me because I cannot tolerate the smell or appearance of canned sardines. I see myself as this tin can filled with sardines. God has His hand on the key and begins to peel back the lid. Once the lid is cracked, out wafts the horrendous odor of stinky sardines. God continues to roll back the lid exposing the full panorama of the dead fish.
Then He does something amazing. He begins to pluck them out of the can. As He removes each sardine, the smell diminishes. Before long, the shiny reflective bottom of the can begins to peek out around the fish. In that mirroring surface emerges the face of God. As God empties me of all the malodorous garbage, He begins to fill me with His sweet presence. The more I lose of me, the more I gain of Him. It is a wonderful, mind-warping transformation taking place in my spirit. God is  faithful to continue working on me as long as I am willing to change.
His lessons are daily, moment by moment. God continues to prove to me how much he loves  my family and me. I am responding by becoming more trusting and flexible. My time in prayer and reading has increased. I’ve accepted the fact that things will happen that I won’t know how to handle, but its OK. God is there to uplift me. He is my stronghold and my sure tower. He will give me the words and wisdom I need in each battle with the enemy. Ultimately, I have learned its about His strength, not mine.

Am I the only one who is appalled at the condition of our country? We have been slipping away from God for decades, but the last few months seem to have speed up that process. Perhaps it is simply that what has been happening unseen in the spiritual realm for decades is now becoming extremely evident in the physical realm.

Could it be that we, the called of God, have been ignoring His call? Could it be that we have chosen the ways of the world rather than the ways and truths of God? Have we slipped? Have we, the standard bearers, laid down God’s standard for the pursuit of pleasure and money and hobbies and fun? Have we dropped the ball?

Oh no, that is too much to bear. Surely the decline of our nation, our world, has nothing to do with us. It must be those liberal, left wing, darwinian types-right? No, folks. It’s us. For God set us here to be the light and the salt. He left us in the this cesspool of lies to be the precious truth. Have we been? Or has the stench of this world rubbed of on us a bit? …………So what now?

O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself but in me is thy help. Hosea 13:9

O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Hosea 14:1

… the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them.. Hosea 14:9

Return to the Lord

I had the day off of work today so I decided to cram as many errands in the day as I could.
First, I was off to the hospital to get my blood drawn-something my doctor insists on annually to keep an eye on how my thyroid is functioning. Normally that is all done at  my doctors office is Shady Cove, but we forgot at the last appointment. Since I am more often in Medford I asked to have it done at the hospital for my convenience.
I walked into the hospital a bit unsure of where the lab was. I was directed down ahall, where I found a nice volunteer who signed me in. She then told me to go to the lady at desk three. The lady at desk three was an attractive brunette in her twenties. She promptly checked me amid some small talk. It turned out she was planning her wedding. I congratulated her and ask if she had chosen her florist yet (of course—always thinking flowers, you know). She showed me the photo collage of  her fiancé and herself that they were using for their invitations.  After allowing me enough time to peruse all the photos and compliment them, she handed me some paper work and directed me down another hallway to the lab.
There I was met by a bespectacled young woman in a white coat. She smiled at me and gestured for me to follow her. After seating me she stepped away. She quickly returned with several vials in her hand. Referring to a lingering conversation she was having with a co-worker she said  “We are talking about glasses and contact lenses. My three and half year old is getting glasses today.” I told her I wear contacts and I doubted it would be easy for a three year old to use them. She agreed adding that she could not wear them herself for the discomfort of putting them in. We chatted back and forth until she was done. I thanked her and made my way out of the hospital.
Next on the list was to get my oil changed. I pulled my car into the pit and gladly accepted a cup of coffee. As I sat looking over my mail, the guys working on the car hollered instructions back and forth. Even though I don’t really understand what they are saying, I enjoy the cadence in the way the shout to each other. But due to the separation (me in the car and them out of the car) there wasn’t much opportunity for conversation.
Next I decided to try finding some good buys at Sears. I was looking for something for my grandson, Colton’s, first birthday, my daughter, Kendra’s, bridal shower and a friend’s baby shower. I had heard there may be some good sales, and there were. I spent 30 minutes or so and found gifts for all three occasions. As the cashier was ringing me up she began to tell me of some of her credit card bills. She was hoping this new offer on a card with a lower interest rate would help her out. “First, though, I’m gonna run it past my mom and see what she thinks about.” I told her that was a good idea.
Carrying my bag I strolled back to the car.

On the drive home, I couldn’t help but reflect on what these three women had shared with me, a total and complete stranger. In my opinion, they were three intimate issues: wedding plans, child rearing and credit card debt. “Why?” I thought to myself. “Is it that everyone simply needs to be heard by someone…anyone.  Or is it that I seemed like a nice enough person they thought they could crack that barrier just a bit to let me into their lives.” But as I continued to think about through out the day, I realized these women were all placed in my path on purpose. Not just on purpose but also for a purpose. I was to be a light to them. God was asking me if I was going to slow down my day (my plans, my check list, my errands to accomplish) long enough to actually show His Spirit to others. He was asking me to put “me” aside and look out for the good of others.
God doesn’t really care if my car was two months past due for an oil change. Nor does He care if I saved $82.38 on the sales I found at Sears. What He cares about is His children. What He cares about showing them He loves them just where they are, whether planning a wedding, fighting credit card debt or cheering for your child and his new glasses. He has us here to be His hands, His feet,  His ears and His smile. He was testing me. I’m glad I started my day off in quiet prayer or perhaps I would have totally missed every opportunity he had placed in my path….I would love to say I missed none, but I doubt that.
As a matter of fact, I think I’m missing one right now……well….off to the bowling alley!

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers:for thereby some have entertained angels unaware.
Hebrews 13:2

I was watching TV the other day and there was an advertisement for one of those battery operated toothbrushes. On one side of the screen was a woman gleefully brushing her teeth with her fancy new battery-operated toothbrush. On the other side of the screen was a man scrubbing away on his teeth with his manually operated toothbrush. The woman finishes brushing her teeth, smiles, the looks woefully over at the man. “That looks a lot like work to me.” she quips.

I thought to myself, “Come on now just how lazy have we become, when we consider brushing our teeth too strenuous!” I mean, what next a George Jetson shower where we just stand and a robot washes our every crevice?

Just when did work become a four letter word?

I know some folks who find it more appealing to find a government run program to sign up for than to do an honest days labor. It seems like if you know how to operate the system, you may never have to work. Just fill out the paper work, provide the correct documents and voila’ government funding! It just yours there for the asking!
Why bother working when good old Uncle Sam is a trillionaire!

Oh, how far we have fallen from God’s directive. He never said, “Sit on your duff and wait for someone to serve you the world on a silver platter.” Quite the opposite.

Sure there are times when we all need a helping hand. I am not disagreeing with that.
I’ve been there. It is a humbling experience to ask for help. But simply asking a brother for help is not what I am talking about.

I am talking about the reliance upon the government. There is a real danger here. Government was not originally designed to provide for you, it was designed to protect your rights. When we look to Government rather than God to provide our needs we have become idolaters. Our government becomes our God. This is unfortunately a very easy trap to fall into. Think about it for a minute. Examine your thoughts about this.

What does God say about work?

We know that He provides us with endless examples in the Bible of folks who knew about hard work. Ever try making bricks with mud and straw? How about herding sheep?
Making tents by hand? Plant a field? Building a chair or other piece of carpentry without modern day tools? Or perhaps constructing an ark would appeal to you?

One of my favorite scriptures is about work.

And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us:
And establish thou the work of our hands upon us;
Yea, the work of establish thou it.
Psalm 90:17

I like the idea that I am not working to gain a paycheck or to just put in my hours, but I am working for God to be able to use me and my talents. This includes volunteer work too….or anything we do for others or to promote the Kingdom.

One of my favorite days is Sunday. It is usually a laid back day at our house. We get up, do a few chores, sip on coffee, prepare the church bulletin, and go to church.
We close the day out by going to evening Bible study. The hours in between are met with naps, quiet conversations, fiddling in the yard, or just basking in the sun. It’s just a lovely day of rest. But if I chose to spend all of my days that way….what a disaster that would be. God tells us to work six days and rest the seventh. I chose to use that liberty of rest and I do not feel a bit guilty about it!!

Six days thou shalt labor and do all thy work:
Deut. 5:13

Again, it goes back to our mindset. Do we chose to labor for the Lord or do we chose to serve the government and it’s ‘grand’ programs? Looking five or ten years down  the road, I don’t see how people could even consider the latter! We do not want a socialist government—we really do not!  Sometimes when our body is aching after a hard days work, or our boss has yelled at us for the fifth time, we think about quitting a staying home on the couch watching old reruns of  the Honeymooners or Full House. But that moment passes.

For the people had a mind to work.
Nehemiah 4:6b

Do not let disaster strike your home or your nation.
Do not be duped into leaning on the government for your substance.
God provides for his people.
Get up and get to work!!