Life in the Desert

 

Psalm 63 is really a fascinating passage of Scripture.  It was written while David was in the Desert of Judah.  So here's King David, going through this dry season (literally!), and how he deals with it is, to me, pretty astounding.
    Things are not going particularly well for David; we know this because in verses 9-11, he talks about those who are seeking his very life.  In spite of all this, there is David; not complaining, not cowering in fear.  Instead, he chooses to praise the Lord, and cling to Him.  David's choice was not contingent upon his set of circumstances, or his surroundings.  He chose to seek the Lord earnestly (vs. 1), to bless Him and "lift up his hands in [God's] name" (vs.4).  He meditated upon the Lord, even in the watches of the night.
    It's kind of like Jeremiah 17:7-8 says: Those who trust in the Lord are blessed, and will be like a tree that's planted by streams of water.  It's "...roots spread out by the river", despite the heat; this tree is still green and bearing fruit regardless of it's surroundings, because of where it's planted.  Physical safety and water were not the source of David's confidence; God was.  King David drew from an endless stream of hope and strength.
    It doesn't matter what my circumstances are, it doesn't matter whether or not I seem to be in a desert place; if my roots are spread out by the river of Living Water, I have all I could ever need.  All I have to do is trust and obey right where I am at the moment.  David could not control his circumstances, but he could control himself; he chose to do what was right. Seek God in the good times and the hard times, and let God take care of the rest.

10,000 Reasons

    I don't know how many of you have heard the song by Matt Redman, "10,000 Reasons", but it's a great song; very worth listening to.  Several weeks ago at Bible Study, we decided to see just how many reasons we had to be thankful in our own lives.  None of us reached ten thousand, but we collected quite a few!  Our friends Joy and Esther had been gone to Japan for five weeks, and we couldn't wait to see what things they would have on their lists.  They certainly had some interesting points to contribute!

I am thankful for the Shepardsville
Team, as well as our weekly Bible
Studies; I have been blessed time and
time again!

    Something I have found in my life personally is that when I intentionally choose to be thankful for even one thing each day -regardless of how small or large that thing may be- being thankful becomes less of an effort, and more of a treasure hunt.  Suddenly, I find myself thankful for things I had never even thought to be thankful for.  There are so many things I take for granted.  Take lightning bugs, for example.  They light up our world, quite literally!  I couldn't help but think one evening that it's almost like God created a fireworks show just for us; just looking at a whole field blinking in the soft, summer-evening breeze is testament to how deeply involved God is in every detail of our lives.  They make me thankful, not just for the beauty they bring, but also because they remind me that God cares about His creation enough to take care of each aspect of my life.  Like Jesus said in Matthew 6:25-34, we don't have to worry about anything.  He tells us to look to the birds of the air, how they don't sow or reap or store away in barns, but our Heavenly Father feeds them. He also tells us to look at the lilies of the field, how they grow; they don't labor or spin, but they are clothed so beautifully.  If God takes such care of His creation, how much more will He care for me?

I am thankful for life-long
friends :)

    There were many, many other things mentioned too, such as a tall glass of water, eye doctors, music, blueberries, hugs, grass, and Godly friendships, to name a few.  But stop and think about it:  Where would we be without these things?  What would life be like if these things were suddenly stripped away from us?  Or what if God allows us to go through a season of life in which everything seems to be going wrong: Would we still find things to be thankful for?  

 Ephesians 5:19-20 says, "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.  Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ"  (Emphasis mine).  What are you thankful for today?  

I am thankful for HSMA!

Shaving-cream fight, swimming in
the creek, and piling as many people
on the quad as humanly possible;
thankful to have had a FANTASTIC
Independence Day!

I am thankful for my wonderful
~ family ~

I am thankful that I get to
have a garden this year, and for
wonderful neighbors/landlords!

I am thankful that our CD's finally
came in, and the wonderful
memories they bring
flooding back :)

I'd Rather Have Jesus

I love our Bible Study group.  Being surrounded by men and women of faith; brothers and sisters with whom I can laugh, cry, and be accountable to has been a tremendous blessing in my life.   Lately, we have been going through a series about being a follower, versus a fan, of Jesus.  

     In Luke 9:23, Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”  As I pondered this, I realized something.  This is an offensive declaration. To take this verse to heart means to realize that we cannot go our own way any more, for it is not enough.  It means leaving the comfortable, popular road and choosing the Villa Dolorosa,“Way of Suffering” instead.

    Interestingly, we as Americans have a Declaration of Independence; but when we become followers of Christ, we are making a declaration of dependence; becoming dependent upon Christ as our source of security, peace, joy, and righteousness; our everything. If He is going to be my all in all, then there are things in my life -yes, even good things- that I will have to sacrifice.  It means that I don’t just “Take up my cross” once, and that’s all; it means that I have to take up my cross daily.  

   My friend gave me a great quote one day:  “Good things can become bad things if they keep us from the Best thing.”  As Jesus said, we cannot serve two masters, because we will either love the one and hate the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other (see Matthew 6:24).  We have a choice to make.  If it came down to making God my first priority or my friends, which would I choose?  Or let’s say that God asked me to sacrifice my “Fun money” in order to help out someone who has nothing.  Would I do it?  Can I honestly say that I would rather have Jesus than silver or gold, or than anything this world offers me?  To depend on these things rather than Christ is not the mark of a true follower.  

Shepardsville Team and Friends at Levi and Joanne's Wedding
February 2013

   We cannot serve two masters.  We can choose to live for ourselves and think that our way is best, or we can choose to serve Christ.  If we are not following Christ, then who?  Choosing to die to ourselves daily is hard, but the rewards are more than worth it.  Jesus told the rich man, when he asked how he could obtain eternal life, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell all your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me.”  (Matthew 19:21).  What are some things in our own lives that are holding us back?  Do we trust God enough to let them go, knowing that He will provide?  Are we willing to die daily to our own will and let Christ have His way in us?

The Hand of the Diligent

Mere talk  /mîr – tôk/ – you are left with a wandering desire and are not going to be satisfied when you are forced to finally see what’s really there:  Poverty.  (See Prov. 14:23 & Ecc. 6:9)

  

  Let’s talk for a moment about “Mere talk”.  It’s not too difficult to imagine what this looks like in everyday life.  Simply stated, a person has a goal that they want to reach –or perhaps a desire they wish they could attain, or some standard they esteem- and instead of taking steps to reach it, all they do is talk about doing that thing, or daydream until the opportunity is well past. 

    It is far better for a person to take a hard look at what is right in front of them and face it head-on than to perpetually dream about what could be.  When we get so caught-up daydreaming that we forget to take any practical steps in life, that is when we will, most likely, wake up one day and see a boat-load of missed opportunities.  Because instead of laying the basic ground work in our daily lives, we look back and see that our time was spent dwelling on that which we esteemed or desired, or doing other little things that weren’t very high on our priority list.   

    Ecclesiastes 6:9a is such a good reminder:  “Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire.”   Even if what is in front of us at the moment may seem daunting or unattainable, it is better to ask God’s help and guidance and then do something about the matter than to ignore it and wish it didn’t require any effort on our part.  Look at the ant:  It doesn’t have anyone to tell it what to do, no one to make sure that the job gets done; and yet it always has food in harvest (Prov. 6:6-8).  The ant does not look at a task, declare it too difficult, and just give up; neither does it just talk about how the work needs to be done, and express its deepest hope that someone will come along, see the need, and fill it. 

    Clearly, diligence is applicable for day-to-day living; making sure that the house is clean, the bills are paid, and that dinner is on the table.  However, it also applies to our Christian walk.  Are we talking about following Jesus, and just admiring His cause?  The hand of the lazy will bring poverty, but the hand of the diligent man will bring riches (Prov. 10:4).  Diligence means setting about vigorously and persistently to achieve an end.  It is working with painstaking effort to accomplish a task.  Do we talk about being Jesus’ hands and feet to a lost and dying world, or are we diligently working to live that out each day?  Have we set the task of reaching the lost “on the back burner” or are we actually doing something?  Has talking about the importance of living sold-out lives for Jesus Christ become enough for us?  Are we talking about how wonderful it would be to remain close to our King every day, or how we should pursue Him with all of our being? Let’s say that we have following Jesus as our number one priority:  Can we honestly say that there are not little things that distract us from that priority, or even –dare we say it? - Subtly replace that priority? 

   As Dani Johnson, a wonderful Christian, seminar-speaker, and millionaire says, “excuses are well-planned lies”.  What are some excuses we hide behind in our private lives?  There are no good reasons to not follow Jesus, no reasons to not get involved in the things that are close to His heart.  Even if we never physically participate in rescuing young girls sold into slave prostitution, or adopt twenty orphans, or go on an overseas mission trip, there is nothing stopping us from praying through these and other important issues.  There is nothing stopping us from living a life set apart for Him. There is nothing stopping us from seeking the Lord with all our heart, or reaching the lost around us; and what’s more, doing these things with diligence:  Putting God’s priorities first and vigorously setting out to see these things accomplished.

     Merely talking about following Christ is not the same as getting up and doing it.  Each man’s work will one day be shown for what it is (1 Cor. 3:11-15).  It is our job to be good stewards of all God has given us and to be faithful to invest in His kingdom, not to just merely talk about it, or dream about how wonderful it would be to get involved, leaving it up to someone else to do that which needs to be done. Sticking up our proverbial “support posters” to show that we encourage Jesus’ cause is not enough.  I want to challenge each of us to take a moment and look at our lives.  What are our priorities, truly?  What our His priorities worth to us:  Our painstaking effort, even our very lives?  Do we have the hands of the Diligent?  

Trail Blazer

    I am so thankful that I am not the one in charge of my life.  Our life-maps seem, at times, far more complicated than we know.  Can’t we just envision ourselves, all tangled-up in massive strips of squiggled-up, scribbled-on map paper, finally having to stop and ask God for directions?  Yeah.  A pretty laughable sight when we think about it, right? 

    Sometimes it is easy to wonder why something-or-other happened.  Perhaps we’ve lost a loved one.  Or perhaps a family has to move again for the trillionth time.  Whatever the case may be, it is so easy to assume that we know exactly what God is doing in our lives.  Then, when we “Know” what we’re doing and where we’re headed, we press life's “Auto-pilot” button, ready to sit back and enjoy the ride.  Until we encounter some turbulence. 

    There are times in life when it is easy to just assume ~usually subconsciously ~ that we know what God is going to do in and through our individual lives.  That is a big mistake.   To do so is to underestimate Him.  “…The foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength (1 Cor. 1:25).”  We do not know what tomorrow is going to hold (Prov. 27:1).  It is important to remember that He not only has a plan for His obedient children, but He knows these plans (Jer. 29:11).  His thoughts toward us are many; too many, in fact, to even be numbered (Ps. 40:5).  His ways are unsearchable, past finding out.  To put our confidence in tomorrow is foolishness. Take a look at what Paul says in Romans 11:33-36:

How great is our God!  He is indescribable.

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! 

How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!

‘Who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been his counselor?’

‘Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him”?

For from him and through him and to him are all things.

To him be the glory forever!  Amen.

    We serve a trail-blazing God, Whose thoughts are not our thoughts and Whose ways are not our ways (Is. 55:8).  Creation is testament to this fact.  At Bible Study last night, we watched Louie Giglio’s conference “How Great Is Our God”.  The power and majesty of God in His creation is enough to leave one speechless.  As one of my friends pointed out, “We think our problems are so big.”  But what are they, in light of a God Who spoke and the universe and all of creation was created (see Genesis 1!).  He breathed and the stars were made (Ps. 33:6).  He laid the foundations of the earth (Job. 38:4-7).  And by the way, He placed all of these celestial beings in just the right places so as not to utterly desecrate the earth. 

    If all we had were to be stripped away tomorrow, would that change Who God is?  Do our circumstances change the fact that our God is this all-powerful and all-knowing?  When life gets rough, it is good to stop and get perspective on the fact that God is the Creator of all.  And that is no small thing.  Clearly, if He put such detail into the heavens, and into us, who are “Fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps. 139:14), then why doubt that He will guide us, even if He takes us to parts unknown; an altogether different route than we were sure He was going to take us?  Or when the road of life seems full of rocks and bumps:  God is not only a trail-blazer, He created the trail.  He never changes (Heb. 13:8).  If that isn’t enough reason to trust Him, then what is? 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge Him,

and He will make your paths straight.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 (Emphasis mine)

I'll Tell the World that I'm a Christian

   

    What does it mean, to you, to be a Christian?  This is a question asked at our Tuesday night Bible Study this week.  There are several things that pop into the mind when I stop and think about this question:  Forgiveness.  Redemption.  Transformation.  Joy.  Grace.  Peace.   And truly, these are all wonderful, accurate descriptions of what the Christian who steps out in faith and claims these promises can and will experience.  Bu t yet, strangely, this is one of the most thought-provoking questions I have had to ponder in awhile. 

    There are probably many different answers to this question, depending on who you ask; or at least, different ways of putting it.  But here is what it means to me personally:  Being a follower of Christ.  The word “Christian” means “Little Christ”; being His hands and feet to a lost and dying world.  However, I think that it can be easy to take that little word “follower” far too lightly.

    As we have frequently discussed in Bible Study, there is a difference between being a “fan” and a “follower” of Jesus.  A fan will cheer on the person or cause he or she supports.  He or she will do anything to greet the object of their starry-eyed gaze, get an autograph, and converse with him or her if they get the chance.  But facebook, twitter, and other social-media sources aside, they do not follow the person they adore. 

    Sure, they may dress, talk, sing, dance, have a poster of and wear the same haircut as those the crowed adores, but aside from that, they do not know the person; there is no relationship to be had.  They can boast no joys shared, sorrows felt, burdens lifted or love expressed by someone who is merely placed on a pedestal.  So why would we want that kind of relationship –or lack thereof- with our Lord? 

    Peace, joy, grace, forgiveness, redemption, transformation, and more are not, to me, the sole summation of Christianity; they are the benefits claimed at the foot of the cross, by a life devoted to following Christ.  Following Christ means exchanging my agenda for His.  His desire to bring glory to Himself becomes my top priority.  I am not my own anymore, because I was bought with a price ( 1 Cor. 6:20 and 7:23).  I am a new creation (1 Cor. 5:17)!  When I choose to obey, taking up my cross and following Him as His disciple, there is joy (John 15:7-11).  There is peace (John 14:27).  I find His ever-sufficient grace (2 Cor. 12:9).  To die to myself (2 Cor. 4:8-10) is not a lonely, dismal fate.  Is it challenging at times?  Absolutely.   He promised that there would be trouble in this world; see John 16:33.  But He also promised to give peace, joy, grace, and much more! 

    Following Christ is a great adventure, there is no doubt.  But perhaps some of us are thinking, “I already have a relationship with Christ, so why ask the question?” There is something else that we discussed this Tuesday:  In 1 Peter 3:15, we are told to be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks the reason for the hope that is within us.  Are we ready both in season and out of season?  As we follow Christ, we will probably have ample opportunity to share our testimony with others.  If they ask what being a Christian means to us, what will we tell them?  Will we have to stop and think about it, or will we have the answer ready right away?  Are we just cheering on Jesus and simply admiring His cause, or are we actively sharing in His work?  Like James pointed out:  “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?  Can such faith save him?  …In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead (James 2:14 & 17)".

                                 ~So I ask you:  What does Christianity mean to you?~

Seasons of Life

Life is always changing.  Fall is a good reminder that seasons of life change too.  Just as the trees change their color and usher in a new time of wonder and excitement, the changes we encounter are full of color and diversity.  No one knows what the next chapter of life will look like, and sometimes it’s easy to become anxious about what the future holds.

    As Ecclesiastes 3:1-4, 11a says, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance…  [God] hath made every thing beautiful in his time…”.  Ecclesiastes 3 is a fascinating chapter of the Bible. Solomon goes on to list several more “seasons” in life, such as time for war, time for peace.  Time to scatter and gather.  A time to embrace and a time to refrain.  The list goes on and on.  But it is interesting to note that he doesn't talk about a time to worry. 

    To be anxious is to not trust God.  Philippians 4:6 says, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”  There is never a time to worry.  I should always give thanks, in every circumstance and every season of life.   Certainly, God makes “…all things beautiful in his time”; so instead of worrying what may lay around the next bend in the road of life, I can claim my King’s promise that all things work out for my good and His glory, and that His grace is sufficient (Rom. 8:28; 2 Cor. 12:9). 

    Seasons of distress may not sound pleasant, but take heart!  We have a never-ending spring of grace and joy to draw from.  When we are weak, He can be strong.  Do not worry about tomorrow, our Leader is He Who parted the red sea to take His people out of Egypt, enabled a young David to kill a lion and bear with his two hands (not to mention a mighty giant!), and sent the mighty floods upon the earth.  Is He not capable of leading us through seasons of change?