Step into the unknown

A while ago I began to work through a book with my leadership team when I led a children's ministry called "If you want to walk on water, You've got to get out of the boat." It was a book about taking risks and having faith. But I have found that the greatest challenge to truly walking in faith each day is fear.

God has been dealing with me a lot lately about fear. He has reminded me of the numerous times that He has told us in Scripture "Do not be afraid." When I was preparing for my first missions trip to Haiti a few years ago, I began to almost talk myself out of going until I prayed. I asked God to give me a confirmation. I needed a Word from God. The morning I prayed, my devotional was Joshua 1:9, "This is my command -- be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." I held on to that verse because it reminded me that fear is not of God.

So why do we tend to be like Lot's wife? We look back in spite of how things have unfolded in our past. She seemingly did not consider that God was merciful and had provided a way for her family to escape and experience new life. The Israelites complained bitterly as they wandered in the desert and wanted to go back to Egypt. Like Lot's wife, they seemed to have forgotten that in Egypt they were in bondage. Things were so bad that they were forced to make bricks without straw, but yet still they wanted to go back.

I believe that both Lot's wife and the Israelites could not move forward because they did not know what they were moving toward. They did not trust God enough to go in obedience. They were afraid of the unknown and unwilling to let go of the familiar.

To get out of the boat, like Peter, and walk on water, we first have to recognize that it is Jesus that we are walking toward. He is the One that sustains us. And then there is that phrase again. As Jesus approaches, He says to them in Matthew 14: 27, "Don't be afraid. Take courage. I am here." Then Peter takes that first tentative step. He inquires of the Lord. Peter doesn't just jump out of the boat. He asks, "Lord if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water." And Jesus' simple reply is "Come."

Our faith is not in our own ability, but we trust in the leading of the Holy Spirit to confirm the message that Christ speaks to us, "Come." The question then is this, Do we trust the nature of Christ enough to step into the unknown?

Peter did not just get out of the boat. He stepped out of the familiar into a storm because he trusted in the One that was greater than himself.

I was in the familiar. I knew it would cost me something, actually a lot, to step into the unfamiliar, in fact into a storm of doubt, regret, second-guesses and conflicted emotions. But I inquired of the Lord, "Lord, if it is you..." and His reply was "Come."

It's still pretty scary out of the boat. Not sure I've begun to sink. Probably still taking my first few tentative steps, But I have to keep my eyes on the One that quiets that storm, The one that says to my personal storm, "Peace. Be still!"

I will not look back. I can't go back. And I don't want to. When God says go. the best thing to do is obey. I trust Him. Joshua 1:9, "Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

How much do I love Him?

The end of 2015 was hard for my family. We had to make a difficult decision that impacted us personally and many people that we knew. But I have always found when I have to make a decision like that, God is faithful to lead. Even when I don't agree with what He tells me. He is faithful. Sometimes, I say, "It's too hard Lord." He is faithful. Sometimes, I ask, "Is there another way?" And He reminds me, His ways are not my ways, and His thoughts are not my thoughts. 

And here is how God showed confirmation for me. I had been praying for several months regarding this decision and God had already directed me to several passages about being alert, about having a discerning Spirit, about being obedient. And one Scripture that had stood out to me in those months was Matthew 28:18-20, "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'"

Every time I had heard it recently preached, it was always cut off at therefore go. Which seemed to imply to me that we could choose to fill in the rest. But in that verse, God is very specific in what He tells us to go and do. We are to make DISCIPLES. That's a pretty specific word. It is much more detailed than just making a convert. But then God tells us HOW we are to make those disciples. We are to baptize them and teach them to obey. We sometimes can focus on the baptism and forget the teach them. Discipleship is important. So I struggled. Was this just raising a red flag in my own head? Was I just looking for things to nickpick? Was God continuing His call to me to WAKE UP?

On my birthday, we had decided to visit a new church. Before my feet hit the floor, I grabbed my phone off the night stand and looked at the verse of the day. It was Matthew 28:19. And I smiled to myself, because that same verse that had been nagging at me for months, it was like God was saying, you know the truth inside of you. Here is your confirmation. Then we headed off to the church and the ending Scripture in the sermon was Matthew 28:18-20. And I just smiled again. Because when God sends me the same message twice, it is a reminder to pay attention. Just like when Jesus would start out saying, "verily, verily I say to you..."

God's plan has not changed. We are to win the world to Christ. We are to share the Gospel. We are to make disciples. I am a disciple of Christ because many people invested in me, taught me, walked it out before me. 

We look at the craziness in this world and wonder why does God not end it all, why has Christ not returned. 2 Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord isn't really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent." The days are shorter. The time is urgent. The time is now! 

We have to share the Gospel. Tell your story. Pray for people. Pray with people. If we are ashamed of the gospel, and we are afraid to share, how will they know? How can they respond to Christ? 

In this season of life, God is calling me deeper. He is expecting more from me through the power of His Spirit. Christ said to Peter, "if you love me, you will feed my sheep." My question to myself, "How much do I love Him?" 

His quiet and gentle voice

You know what I love about God? If we are still and we wait on Him, He will show us great things. In our church, we've been talking a lot lately about the supernatural, but more in the sort of BIG things that God does. Things that WOW us because they are so out of the natural, that they are in fact supernatural. But all along I have felt in my heart that we miss the point when we are always looking for God to do something BIG.

Do I believe that God does things big? Absolutely! But I think that is the exception and not the rule. I am reminded of Elijah in 1 Kings 19. God wasn't in the big things, He spoke to Elijah in a gentle and quiet whisper. I think daily God is calling us to a deeper relationship with Him. And sometimes, yes, it is in something awesome that He does to get our attention. But I believe that daily God is speaking to us in a gentle and quiet whisper. The only way you can hear a whisper is you have to be still. I believe it is the daily times that God is calling me to "Be still and know that He is God!" It is in those moments of quiet obedience that He also moves supernaturally. Because in those moments, He is shaping my heart into the image of Christ and boy is that a supernatural act!!!

Over the summer, I had been having a conflict with someone I love dearly. This had been going on for years and I could not quite put my finger on what was going on, but it seemed like that there was something going on underneath the conversations and interactions we were having. There were days I had cried about the relationship, days I had screamed in frustration venting to myself, "How dare you? You don't know me. You don't know anything about me." There were days my heart hurt because I wanted the relationship restored, but I felt like it was out of my hands, or maybe it was just easier to walk away.

And in one of those days of praying to God and seeking His guidance, I asked Him what I should do. Was reconciliation possible? I was ready to give up. And God in His quiet and gentle voice moved me from the natural to the supernatural. First, He spoke to me in a devotional about the reunion of Jacob and Esau. Now, mind you, I was not doing a Bible Study on them. I was not even looking for what God's Word said about reconciliation. I just prayed and He answered. And as soon as I read that devotional, I knew that God was telling me that there was hope. That no matter how long it took, I was not to give up. I was to trust Him to redeem the past.

This week, I had an encounter with the person again. And they shared with me some hurts and we just talked honestly. And again, I heard God's quiet and gentle voice say to me, "With me all things are possible." And with that confirmation, I knew that God had started us on the road to reconciliation.

And then I was reminded of this season, where we celebrate the birth of the Savior. But not only a Savior, but a Redeemer. Jesus came to earth that we might be reconciled to the Father. And there is no greater mystery, than the mystery of grace, God's amazing grace. That the God of the universe would choose to save an unrightous sinner. That He would choose me and call me His own. And that He would entrust to me the message of His Gospel to save the world. He lavishly pours on His grace, grace upon grace.

So yes, I am looking forward to see what God does in this relationship. I know full well that it is not me. In my flesh, I was ready to walk away. But it is God's Spirit at work in me, daily conforming me to be more like His Son. That's pretty supernatural to me!

He keeps His promises. So my encouragement to you today. Cease striving. Be still and listen for His quiet and gentle voice. And don't lose hope. God is still redeeming, still restoring broken things, still giving life to those things in our life that are dead. This Christmas, BELIEVE it. He has sent the Savior, Immanuel, God with us. And truly through Him ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!

I won't be quiet!

It's like fire in my bones!

FROM GOD'S WORD

"But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord or speak in his name, His word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it!"

Jeremiah 20:9

FROM MY HEART

I will just start out today saying, I don't believe in coincidences. I believe that God has seen my entire life and knows what will happen, when and how. He has seen it because He exists outside of linear time. That may be too deep for some but that is my starting point. God doesn't see my life unfolding one situation at a time. That is a linear approach. He knows all because He exists outside of that construct.

OK...I think I made my own head hurt. :)

But here's why I started there. I have had situations in my life where I was just crying out to God to give me understanding, or to help me deal with grief, or just to provide direction. And in those moments I have heard a song, or read a Scripture, or read a daily devotional that ministered to me and met me right where I was.

If that has ever happened to you then you know that feeling that God just personally spoke to you in answer to your prayer. How can it be that an area of my life that I am struggling or challenged in that on a certain day I am given the insight, the counsel, the comfort that I need? The answer is God speaks.

Earlier this week I wrote a blog about choosing my current devotion without really knowing what it was about, but how each day it has just challenged me more and more. But it's not a comfortable encounter, it's one of those "OK God, what do you want me to do with this?"

Yesterday's lesson was on spiritual discernment and today's lesson was titled "Punked." Remember that Ashton Kutcher show where you pull a prank on someone and everyone is in on it. Then you discover that you've been deceived. But in the case of my devotional, I wasn't laughing. There was just Scripture after Scripture about "Don't be deceived." 2 Timothy 3:12-13, Galatians 6:7, James 1:16, Luke 21:8. So I'm reading these verses and I'm saying to God, "OK God, what do you want me to do with this?"

Remember, I don't believe in coincidences. So why these verses at this season of life? I know what God is speaking to me about current teaching and current situations. I know the foundational, biblical truth that has been taught to me. And I know how closely counterfeit can look like the real thing. So my assignment is to study the real thing.

If I want to know what God's  Word says, I pray about it and read God's Word. Looking for God to speak to you while chasing after man's wisdom will never be the answer.

For me, God is raising the flag, saying "Daughter, do not be deceived." It's hard to go against the status quo. It's hard to be the one that stands up and says "I don't believe this. This doesn't line up with God's Word." But when I am tempted to shrink back and just keep my mouth shut, it is like Jeremiah 20:9, "His words burn in my heart like fire." I cannot keep quiet.

If you even look at my archive, you will see that my blogging is sporadic at best. But God has been speaking to me so much lately that even when I tell myself I am not going to blog, I can't help it, I have to stop what I am doing and write.

God is sounding the alarm. This isn't new. He has warned us that there will be imposters. Those who would deceive the very elect of God. Do not fall asleep. Don't get lazy. Don't be afraid. Ask questions. Challenge what you see and hear and feel. Go back to the source. Does it line up with God's Word? The whole counsel of God. Don't just pull one Scripture verse to validate a point. Read your Bible for yourself. 

Are we always sitting waiting for someone to feed us God's Word, to tell us what it means, and how to apply it? Or are we digging in God's Word for ourselves, growing up in our faith. I'm absolutely not saying that we don't go to Bible Study, or listen to preachers, etc. But I am challenging you to think for yourself. Seek God for yourself. Don't live on someone else's experience.  

Seek God. He is speaking. We must listen!

Leave the results to God

FROM GOD'S WORD

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7

FROM MY HEART

When my kids were little, there were times that I would tell them to do something, and I could see that they were not going to obey. Sometimes that required getting down at eye level and repeating the directions so that I know they heard me and understood clearly what I wanted them to do.

I had that encounter on Sunday, except I was the one that needed a reteach.

I was in the lobby at church and saw a young lady lying on the floor. I have known her since we started attending church here, and probably as long as I have known her, I have known that she has health problems. In fact, I've seen her lie on the floor before, so it didn't surprise me. But as I was greeting people, I had the sense that I needed to go over and pray that God would heal her.

I heard it in my Spirit and I acted like I didn't. Don't know if you can relate to that. So I finished greeting and then I went in to hear the rest of the service. As soon as I sat down, the young lady on stage was getting ready to bless the offering. Pretty straight forward right?

Then God got right down at eye level and repeated His directions so that I would hear Him and understand clearly what He wanted me to do. The young lady was giving a testimony about a guy that provided money to a ministry. But here's the part that was for me. She said, if God tells you to give $300 and you give $3, you are being disobedient. There was a murmur of amens, because I think everyone could clearly see that. But then she said, if God tells you to give $3 and you give $300, you are still being disobedient. WOW! It's not the number or the size of the task. The question is, will I obey?

Yep, that was a gut punch. I just said, "OK, God." Got up out of my seat, went back out to the foyer and prayed for the young lady.

Now, if you know anything about kids, they will sometimes obey the letter of the law, without obeying the spirit of the law. That's what I did. I clearly knew that God had told me to pray for her healing. Now, don't get me wrong, I prayed a heartfelt prayer over her, but stopped short of straight out praying for God to heal her. It was one of those "God, Your will be done prayers." Well, that is silly for me to pray with that as my primary thought, because every prayer I pray, I am praying it in the spirit of "I want it to line up with God's will."

So I went back into the service. The message was based on 2 Timothy 1:7, "But God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind."

In a nutshell, fear is not of God. He has been speaking that to me since 2011 since my first trip to Haiti. And He has been driving that message home more and more. The power that is in me to do anything in Christ, is the power of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:8). He has been pounding that Scripture into me over the last couple of years as well. The last piece is it is God's love that compels us to serve, to pray, to walk out our faith.

When I was in college, we were given these words of encouragement that gave us perspective during evangelistic efforts. "Take every opportunity to share the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit and leave the results to God." The importance of that reminder was in the end, God would work according to His will. I didn't have to stress. Obey and leave the rest to God.

I walked away from that message knowing that I had not shown love. God is love. He is not just loving. If I had been compelled by love in that moment, I would have prayed for the young lady in the lobby to be healed. It was not up to me to heal her. God calls me share the gospel though it is not in my power to save. Likewise, he called me to pray for her healing, though it was not in my power to heal. The results are left up to Him. But the question is, will I obey? He may not call me in every situation to pray for healing, but certainly in the times when He does, I cannot shrink back in fear because fear is not from Him.

That truth was HUGE for me. I believe in the power of prayer. I believe in the power of God. If I just stepped out there without fear...to pray for people, to infuse their situation with the power and presence of God, how would that change people's lives? Their marriages, their families, their spiritual growth, and on and on?

I gained a better insight into John 13:35, "Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." Christians should change the atmosphere. It is love that compels us to act, but we leave the results to God.

I want to be that kind of change agent. I want to be that kind of force for the Kingdom. What about you? What are we waiting for?

God will answer

FROM GOD'S WORD

"Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8

FROM MY HEART

God will answer!

Have you ever had a time when God just knocked your socks off?! Like you see clearly the answer to a deep yearning prayer of your heart, and you know, that you know, that you know that God is speaking to you.

And when it happens to me, I must confess that I am still awed by God, by His willingness to be intimate and personal with me. I am overwhelmed by His love and the knowledge that not only does He hear me, but He will answer.

Typically, when I choose a Bible Study, I kind of stand in the store trying to figure out which one to choose. Sometimes I read the back cover, etc. With my current study, I went into the bookstore maybe 10 minutes before they closed, thinking I would just grab something, probably the new Beth Moore study, but nothing grabbed me. Then I saw Faithful, Abundant, True. I couldn't figure out for the life of me what this study was about. I'm looking on the inside cover, on the outside, trying to find a synopsis. NOTHING. As the clerk continues to give the, we are closing in 10 minutes, we are closing in 5 minutes. I was still frantically looking through the other studies, but kept coming back to this one. With the final, please bring purchases to the cash register, I decided what the heck. Now that all seems random, but here is how God worked.

The first week was about living on God's whole Word. I had been praying about some Scripture teaching and interpretation. And BAM....God reminded me through this study to take the whole counsel of God. I was also wrestling with some fear and anxiety about standing on God's Word even when it contradicted what others were saying. How do you speak truth and also not offend? God answered with a lesson on suffering for His sake, walking by faith and pressing on to maturity. And that was just the first week. I didn't know what I was going to need, but God did and met the need before I even knew I had a need that needed to be met. WOW God! Love you.

A couple of weeks later, I was dealing with different issues of faith. Again, asking God to help me as I wrestled with what did I believe about Him and how was I living out that truth. BAM! A lesson on foundational truths, God reminded me that I was needlessly struggling, He had already given me a foundation of truth...long ago, the issues I was currently wrestling with, God had already settled and taught me. He was gently reminding me, stand on the firm foundation which is Jesus Christ, Him crucified and resurrected, spread the message of the Gospel.

Those weeks ended with a lesson on don't put God in a box. Yes, He reminded me to stand on the foundation of truth I had been taught, but don't think that He exists only within the limits/confines of what I have experienced or believed. That was another WOW moment.

For at least the last couple of months, I have been praying for God to give me discernment. If I were to list my spiritual gifts discernment would probably not be in my top 5. In fact, I would say that I think of myself as very trusting and at times verging on gullible. So I have just asking the Lord audibly and within my spirit to show me and then help me to recognize His discernment.

A Scripture that I have been clinging to is John 14:26, "But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you."

So what stopped me in my tracks this morning was the Scripture reading for the day, John 14. It was that WOW moment, when God says to your heart...not your head, I have heard the cries of your heart. I hear you. I am the Answer. When Moses asked God who should he say had sent him, the answer was "I AM."

I had no idea what this study was about, but God did. I didn't know all the questions I would be asking, or what Scripture and teaching and direction I would need, but God knew. And each step along the way, He has reminded me of His faithfulness. I am so grateful to have a Heavenly Father that is intimately connected to my life and walks with me daily.

It is not a mystery, but we have to seek Him. He is not purposely hiding His will or His message, but as our hearts cry out to Him, He will reveal what is needed for the day. He does not give me more than I can handle, but He gives me what I need. I am reminded of the Lord's Prayer, "and gives us this day, our daily bread." "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4. Yes, God meets my daily needs, but my greatest need is not am I going to be able to pay that bill, or what are my kids going to wear, or anything else that deals with the temporary. God is interested in the eternal. Yes, He will take care of those things, but my greatest need is to know Him and His will for me. And He will provide that daily, if I seek Him.

WOW! What a day already, and I haven't even finished my study. I just had to stop and write. Can't wait to see what else God has in store for me today!!

Be blessed.
 

You already have it!

FROM GOD'S WORD

"And when you believed in Christ, He identified you as His own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago." Ephesians 1:13

FROM MY HEART

I had the opportunity to close out our women's Bible Study last night in prayer. Someone came up to me afterwards to speak a word of encouragement to me. She said in effect that she loved to hear me prayer because she could tell I was filled with the Holy Spirit. She almost brought me to tears because it was such high praise. It wasn't that she was lifting me up, it was that she was saying she could see Christ in me, and what higher praise could there ever be to a believer?

But what also struck me about that was though yes, I recognize the Holy Spirit working in me at those times, I don't know that I have ever prayed any other way. That is to say from the time I became a believer when I was 18, I have always talked to God as my Daddy. Whether I am praying in a crowd, or in my car, or prostrate in the privacy of my home, I talk to Him the same.

So as I was praying this morning, I was so overwhelmed with gratefulness that God's power is at work in me. And I was reminded that not so long ago, I was at a revival. I was standing there in a sea of folks with hearts desiring to experience God at a deeper level. And like many of those around me, I was asking for God to fall fresh on me, to fill me with His Spirit, to give me more.

Later, in the service, a young lady came to me, she hugged me and whispered in my ear, "God told me to tell you, He has already given you what you asked for. You already have it." In that moment, I felt that God was just telling me that He had answered my prayer. But since that time, separated from the emotion and desperation of the moment, I believe God was speaking something else to me. I believe He was trying to remind me to walk in His Truth. The moment I believed, when I was 18, He filled me with His Spirit. I was begging and pleading for something that He gave me completely long ago.

A few months later, someone else was praying over me, and he leaned in and whispered to me, "God says cease striving." Striving means to "make great efforts to achieve or obtain something, to struggle or fight vigorously" for something. I believe God's second reminder was much like the first. I needed to be reminded of the truth of God's Word. I already had the power of His Holy Spirit in me to do the work He has assigned for me.

So God's presence lives in me to do His Will, to speak His Truth, to impact where I live and the people I encounter. I am wasting time asking God for what He already so freely gave me at the moment of confession and repentance. I can't be sidetracked. I must be about my Father's business.

So I am grateful for the reminder last night. I need to pursue God wholeheartedly and He will shine through. I don't have to "work" to show God, when we spend time in His presence, He shows up, He comes out, He overflows. My heart is hungry for God. I see a lot of folks who are pursuing Him. Just spend time with Him. It is not a mystery. What we are desperately seeking after, He has already freely given. Now, walk in it.

I pray these words encourage you today.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

How have you seen the Holy Spirit move in your life? Share your story by posting a comment below.