Following His Footprints

I remember as a child the joy of getting a balloon filled with helium. We didn’t get them very often because they weren’t as available as they are now.  No, you didn’t see them at the grocery store check-out line. A carnival or circus was the most common place to get them, and they didn’t come to town very often. That just made the balloon extra special because it was not only fun to play with, but it represented a special time that I had with my family. My parents would tie the string of the balloon to my wrist. Every time I took a step, the balloon “took a step” with me. If I jumped, it jumped. If I ran, it ran. I’m sure it didn’t last for days, but in my mind, the balloon stayed with me a long time. The hardest thing for me to do was keep the balloon string on my wrist. I was quite an escape artist and before my mom could turn around, I could slip the string off my wrist. Of course, my mom would always tell me to put it back on or I would lose it. I was in preschool. I knew much better than my mom, so I would slip it off, and cry because it would float up to the ceiling and I could not reach it. In a house with an 8-foot ceiling, that simple act wouldn’t be a problem, but at the time, we lived in a two-story house. The bottom half of the house was my dad’s office and the top half was our home. The ceiling in the office was “super-duper high” and it took a step stool to get the balloon down.  Of course, we only played in the office area when dad was not working there.  And yes, it was the best place to play because it was a huge room, with very little furniture in it. There was a lot of space to run and play.

One day, I remember my sister and I heading outside to play. We HAD to take our balloons outside. Nothing else would be as fun to do. We NEEDED our balloons outside with us. Once outside, we decided to slip the balloon off of our wrists. We had promised mom that we would not, but we did. “Yes mom, we know we can’t get it back if it gets away.” But since I knew best as a preschooler, the balloon would come off my wrist.  My sister was faster than I was, and off her balloon went. Up, up, and away, higher than the porch of the house. Higher than the nearby tree. Up, up toward the clouds.  By the time mom heard us screaming and crying over the balloon, it was long gone. Never to be retrieved. She was heartbroken. I remember lots of tears. I can’t count the times as an adult that I have seen the remains of a helium balloon stuck in the top of a school gym. Stuck on a high line wire going down the street. Stuck in a tree. All because a person (maybe child) couldn’t hang on to it. All because someone let it slip off their wrist. There is no way to retrieve a helium balloon once it is let go in a large open space. They are just gone. Off to places unknown. Never to come back.

James, the brother of Jesus, wrote about balloons (NOT REALLY, but I got your attention!) He did write about damage that words cause that “slip off the tongue”.  James 3:4-6 (NCV)“…. a ship is very big, and it is pushed by strong winds. But a very small rudder controls that big ship, making it go wherever the pilot wants.  It is the same with the tongue. It is a small part of the body, but it brags about great things.

Ok, I’ll just come right out and say it. I was a GREAT basketball player when I was in high school. You might say I was a legend in my own mind. (ba-boom ching!) One thing I would love to be able to do, is take back the words that slipped easily off of my tongue while playing the game. Out of my mouth would come words that I would never hold in my hand. Out of my mouth would come curses on referees and players from other teams. James really hits me between the eyes when I read a little farther down to verse 9, “We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people, whom God made like himself.”  The NIV Study Bible said something that I had never really thought completely about: “Praising the Lord is the BEST activity that our tongue can do. Cursing those made in His image, is one of the worst activities because it is an implicit curse on God himself.” When I allow words that harm others to slip off of my tongue, I am leaving a damaging wake of a ship behind me. Just as my mother told me to hang on to my balloon for safe keeping, I need to hang on to my words, carefully release them in a way that blesses others and won’t damage them.

Let’s look at verse 10 now. “A big forest fire can be started with only a little flame. And the tongue is like a fire. It is a whole world of evil among the parts of our bodies. The tongue spreads its evil through the whole body. The tongue is set on fire by hell, and it starts a fire that influences all of life.” 

You might read this in “Cherie’s Version”….a red helium balloon appears to be harmless, yet if it is let loose outside, it can damage wildlife. Yes, even destroy it. When the balloon pops, it becomes trash. People that walk on a beautiful path can forget about what God created and focus on the mess they see.” (No, I’m not going for an environmental discussion here. I’m just trying to show you how something can turn ugly when it is not kept in its proper place…inside the house.) Isn’t that what happens when we don’t control our tongue? When we don’t keep it guarded inside our temple? (1 Cor. 3:16-17 says we are the temple of The Holy Spirit. We are His house.) Someone can literally become “damaged” from their reputation being called into question. People will look at them and see “trash” and not who God created them to be.

When I stop and think about James writing this, I think about all the things that he saw the persecuted Christians go through. Lies were told about them. Lies that caused them to lose jobs. Lies that caused them to be thrown into prison. Lies that caused them to be beaten. AND he had to have known about all lies that had been hurled at Jesus, his own brother. These lies became rumors that “godly Jewish” leaders spread. (One example is in Matthew 12:22-32). Mobs came after Jesus because of rumors that were spread about him. James called his fellow Christians to look and act different from the world. He called them to hold their tongues and be careful with their words. His entire book is on Christian ethics. I too should look different from the world.

Watching what I say about others is a full-time job. It’s time for me to take a close look at what I do.  I think there are times as a Christian that I let my balloon go. I think I am in a room where it is safe to slip it off my wrist and play with it for a bit. The conversation goes something like this: “Have you heard about _____________? We need to pray for her.” Mind you it’s not that the prayer is not important, because it is.  The problem is the information I give to another person that should be kept to myself. I have slipped the balloon off of my wrist and given it for “safe keeping” to someone else.  We give them the opportunity to send the balloon on to others. And the floating “word balloon” starts to cause damage. I confess now that there have been times that I have released “balloons” through things that I have said. The words that I have spoken have drifted from my tongue out to other’s ears. From there, who knows where the words land.

There is a phenomenon in our world today that allows us to say anything we want and not take responsibility for any damage done to others. In “the old days” gossip and rumors were easy to do in a group setting, but many times you would see the direct impact that it would have on a person. Personally, the sight of the impact on others helped me to keep the words attached to “my balloon inside my house”. Our “smart phones” and computers that we own now let us hide behind their screen. We don’t see the faces of those that we hurt. A quick tap on a keyboard, and our balloons are set free for the world to see. We never see the person that has been trashed. We never see the impact of what others think of that person.

King Solomon was known as very wise. When God told him he would give him anything, Solomon asked for wisdom. God blessed Solomon with more wisdom than anyone (1 Kings 3:12). Solomon is credited for writing most of the book of Proverbs. It is said that he wrote the chapters 1-29.  Let’s look at the wisdom he wrote in Proverbs 6:16-19. There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:  haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,
a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.It blows my mind how relevant scripture written centuries ago is still so relevant today.  Words that slip off of our tongue easily, words that are said without a second thought, words that are typed quickly to someone, words that are lies and cause conflict with others, are one of the things that God hates and finds detestable.

I have debated about adding pictures of damage that happens to wildlife when they encounter balloons that have gotten away.  I chose to add it in link form so you can choose to look or not. They are very vivid. U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE  So why show you such a thing (especially if this is not an environmental piece)? I don’t think I could paint a picture of the damage that is done as well as these pictures do when “word balloons slip off of our tongue and leave our house”.

Let’s determine today to hold on to the “balloons” that have been entrusted to us.  Don’t let them “slip off” around others.  Keep them in our house and be very careful with them so they will not cause damage and harm to those that have been created in God’s own image.

Be blessed – Cherie

Thirsty. Parched. An image of a movie comes to mind when I hear these words.  You know the one. A man joined the “foreign legion” and was crossing the Sahara Desert. Yep, you guessed it, The rest of his platoon was destroyed in an attack. He is the only one left and he needs to get back to safety. While crossing the desert, the hot sun bears down on him.  The dry wind blows. All of his water is gone. His canteen is empty. His lips are cracked. His tongue hurts it is so dry. Swallowing is hard because there is no moisture in his mouth. His sweat drops are the only “water” around.  There is no shade. Nothing in front of him but miles and miles of sand. No place to get out of the elements. No place to take refuge. No place to get water to quench that deep thirst. No place to replenish the source of life.

Have you been there? No, not on the Sahara Desert, but at a place in your life that you were devasted? You felt like there was no place for help, no refuge, nothing to quench the pain that you were feeling? I have.  Actually, very recently. The mental punch I took caused my body to physically react. I actually felt “kicked in the gut”.  The harsh words, caused tears, truthfully sobs. I could not see a way out of the situation. I could not find comfort. I just wanted to sit in a dark house and cry. Nothing compares to that type of pain.  Maybe you too have experienced something like that. Have you been through a divorce? Have you been diagnosed with cancer? Have you lost a spouse, child or parent to death? Have you been fired for something you did not do? Have you been pregnant to learn that your child will have a permanent birth defect? Or worse, might not live? These scenarios cause us to become parched.  We need “living water” desperately. We need to find an oasis that will give us refuge and bring us back to life.

Psalms 63:1, “You God, are my God, earnestly I seek you: I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is not water.”These words are written by David during a period of his life that he had been crushed by life circumstances.  If you have time, go back and read 2 Samuel 13-15.  These chapters are the background for Psalms 63. This is a “snip it” of what happened. All though this is a brief summary, you need to see where David was when he wrote that he was “in a dry and parched land”. David’s son, Amnon was “in love” with his sister, Tamar. (Let’s just say it for what it was, “in lust”.) Amnon tricked Tamar into his bedroom and raped her. David did nothing to Amnon for this horrible crime against Tamar. Absalom, David’s other son, was furious that there were no consequences for what had been done to his sister.  For two years, Absalom fumed. For two years, he plotted against Amnon.  Finally, Absalom had enough, and he took revenge. He murdered Amnon.

Can you imagine where David was mentally and spiritually in his life at this point? If that was not enough “family trouble”, Absalom fled to his grandfather’s homeland.  He stayed away from David.  At this point, David had lost two sons from the one sin Amnon committed. Finally, David sent for Absalom. There was no resolution with Absalom though. David had nothing to do with him. Absalom’s anger grew, and he started a plot to take over the kingdom. He started “wooing” those in David’s kingdom trying to show that he would be a better king…. if they would just follow him. And just like that, David lost control of  his kingdom. Many followed Absalom. A coup was set in place to remove David from the throne. King David fled to the wilderness of Judah, a desert.

Let’s take a minute and add up all David had lost to this point…just in this part of his life, not all he lost in the previous times: (1) Tamar had been raped by her brother, Amnon, (2) Absalom murdered Amnon, (3) Abasalom fled to another city, (4) upon Absalom’s return to David’s kingdom, David banished him from his sight, (5) David was in a battle for his kingdom against his own son, Absalom , (6) David took those in his household and fled to Judah. He was in exile. Do you see the pain and torment David was going through? If he was like me, the “what if” scenarios were running through his mind.  Tormenting him. Causing pain and anxiety.  2 Samuel 15:30. “David walked up the road to the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went. His head was covered, and his feet were bare as a sign of mourning. And the people who were with him covered their heads and wept as they climbed the hill.” David’s soul was parched. He was thirsting for help. He needed a drop.  Just a drop of living water. He needed to drink in the source of his life. Back to Psalms 63. “I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name, I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.”

 David knew where his source of life was.  He knew how to satisfy his thirst. He turned  to worshipping God in his pain. I get this. On April 22, 2004 I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Almost a year long process of doctor appointments, radiation, chemo and surgery followed. My oncology doctor lived two hours away from me.  (Sometime I’ll tell you my God story of my healing.) For 28 straight days, I drove a 4 hour round trip to Lubbock. I dropped my daughter off at school each morning and headed to Lubbock. I went in for my radiation treatment, stopped and ate lunch then headed back to Midland to get her from school. There was no one in the car but me and God. It was my time to pour out my heart to Him. To weep before Him. To praise Him for all He had done for me. To beg Him to strengthen my family during this time. I worshipped. I talked to Him and told Him my deepest fears and concerns.  I sang praises to Him, knowing He was still on the throne and cared deeply for me and my family. My soul was strengthened.  I did not know what the future held, but I knew who held my future.  I did not know what would happen to my family, but I knew my God did.

Just like David, during one of my most desperate times, I turned to my source of life. The Living Water we are all offered. This Living Water sustained me. It quenched my thirst. It restored my parched, dying spirit to life again. Jesus says in John 6:35 “…whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Are you parched? Are you dried up inside? Are you seeking an oasis filled with refreshment? Drink deep from The Living Water. Quench your thirst in Him. His living water sustains life. Drink Up! Drink deep! Thirst no more.

Blessings – Cherie

I grew up in a mining town in southwest New Mexico.  It was an open-faced copper mine.  At one time it boasted that it was the largest open-faced copper mine in the U.S. My father did not specifically work for the mining company, but everything about the town was built completely on the copper mining industry. In fact, I can’t currently think of anyone but my dad and one other man at church that were not miners…or worked somewhere in the mine. Some of my earliest memories are living in a two-story house where the top story was our house and the bottom story was my father’s office.  He worked for the real estate company that owned the town around the mine.  Big dump trucks drove past our home all the time, all hours of the day (and night).  My grandfather was an electrician, my two uncles and a great uncle worked at the smelting plant (and no I don’t know what that means exactly, I was too little to tour the plant). I knew men that worked on the big dump trucks, and men that worked the cranes. There was a lot of work to get the rock dug out of the earth, melted in fire, and purified to get to the copper bars that are needed to make wire, pots and pennies. Copper mining in the 60’s was a very involved process.  It takes some extra digging to get down to what is needed to get the rocks with copper in them to make the bars. Although I’m sure the copper mining industry has changed the way they do things since the 1960’s, there is one principle that is the same.  You must dig into the earth to find something of value.

Many times, when I study the Bible, I come across the same thing.  I’m strolling along through the scriptures walking on the “plain rock”, and all of a sudden there is something that catches my eye.  Something that seems worth a bit more time to me. It needs to be “dug into” and see if I can find the “vein” of truth that I need in my life.  The next few paragraphs are thoughts on some of those nuggets that I found in my study of Hosea. Let’s “dig in” to the “veins” of scripture.

Scripture Vein #1– The first place I want to dig a little bit is in Hosea 4. God is pronouncing judgement on the Israelites.  His purpose is to turn them back to Him.  Chapter 4:4-7 is a frightening scripture to me.  The Israelites had been blindly following the priests without seeking what God was wanting them to do.  Verse 6 says “my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you asmy priests; because you have ignored the law of your God…”  Today, it is hard to watch the trend in our Lord’s church.  Life has us busy. We are chasing our children and grandchildren to all of their events.  Our work days are longer. Because of our wealth, it is easier to follow our “leisure dreams” and focus on anything other than our Father.  When we allow other things to push into our lives, our gods take the place of God. We seek knowledge on trips, sporting events, fashion, the latest technology, and cars (that’s my list). We blow off seeking our Father and His word.  Our heart follows our desires. It makes me wonder, where is my heart? What do I focus my time and energy on?

Turn to Ecclesiastes 2. Solomon goes through a long list of things he sought. He built beautiful homes, planted incredible gardens. He had many slaves, herds and flocks of animals. When he wanted to be entertained, he merely requested it and it was his. He had more wealth than I can imagine. Anything he wanted….ANYTHING HE WANTED WAS HIS. Ecclesiastes 2:10 says “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired: I refused my heart no pleasure”.  Now look at verse 11, ”Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun”.What god am I focused on? Am I seeking God, my Father? Or am I seeking all that is meaningless in life?

Go back to Hosea 4:6-7. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children….they exchanged their glorious God for something disgraceful.”That is really tough for me to see.  If I don’t focus on my Father, I will exchange Him for a disgraceful god. It is so easy for me to read scriptures like that and think it only applies to gods that Canaanites had, or gods of other enemies of Israel.  But the nugget of truth is that my gods are disgraceful.  They can cause me to turn my eyes from God. The gods that I have in my life cannot direct my path, protect me from satan, and has certainly not given me opportunity to have an eternal life in heaven.

So what does seeking knowledge of God look like? I’m the first one to say that I can’t quote scripture for everything that goes on…truthfully, there is very little scripture that I have memorized. As important as that is, I don’t believe that is what is being said here. The nugget of truth that I have found is the importance for me to see who God is, and what He is wanting me to do. I can only find that out through a relationship with Him. A relationship only exists when I spend time with Him. Time in His word and prayer.  It is only through this relationship with Him that I can know God. When I have this relationship with God, when I know Him, it transforms everything in my life.  My thoughts, my actions, my priorities and my values are based on Him and what He wants for me….from me.

Scripture Vein #2 – Hosea 4:10 pronounces a judgement on the people of Israel. “They will eat and still be hungry. They will play the prostitute and gain nothing from it, for they have deserted the LORD to worship other gods.”The NIV Study Bible has this note in it about that scripture. “God’s judgement matches the punishment to the crime. The Israelites worshiped Canaanite fertility deities with the expectation of bountiful crops and herds….” God directly attacked the god that the Israelites worshipped.  Make no mistake about it. It wasn’t that Israel had totally abandoned God, they just simply added other gods to whom they worshipped. OUCH! That felt more like a boulder falling on me from a landslide, not a nugget of truth that I found on the scripture path.

Do you remember other times that God attacked the gods that Israel had put before Him? Look back in Exodus chapters 7-11.  Each of the plagues that were used to attack the Egyptians, were gods that they worshipped.  Make no mistake about it. God will attack our gods. He will not share His throne. There are times that I have made wealth my god. God called me and my family to be all in for Him. That required putting away some of the trips we like to take. It required refocusing finances. It required a more dedicated time alone with God. It required seeking those that are hurting and hopeless.  None of this was easy for me to do.  I’m like every American I know.  I like my time to be mine. I like my stuff the way I like it.  I enjoy my life of leisure. “All in” looked different to me. Satan is no fool.  He crawled into my life and started telling me that “all in” didn’t really mean I had to make sacrifices.  He said God was okay with the status quo of my life. Just like Eve, he just changed a couple of words in his temptation. I confess, I have failed God. I have been guilty of putting wealth gods in front of God.  How did God attack my god of wealth? Everything now is meaningless. It’s like I looked at the promised land and can’t go in.

Scripture Vein #3 – Now go to Hosea 6:6 “I want faithful love more than I want animal sacrifices. I want people to know me more than I want burnt offerings.” (NCV)  This verse goes along with Micah 6:8, “And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” It would be easy to just walk down the scripture path and only see that we need to be merciful. But when I stop and take a good look at the path, there is a lot more in this scripture than just being merciful. There is a vein of information that needs to be mined.

I have lived my entire life as a Christian.  I want to confess to you right now though that most of my life I was more worried about whether I was doing church right and not if I had a personal relationship with my LORD.  Can you relate? Why is it so important to make sure “I look the part” of a Christian and not truly seek to be Christ like? Why do I get so hung up on the sermon, the music, how the church building looks, and not on who knows Jesus? I confess this is a sin I have struggled with.  My God never intended for me to be caught up in appearance over substance. My God never intended for me to spend all my energy on “getting things right” and “ignoring what was righteous”, like mercy towards those around me.

A few years back, I purchased my husband a beautiful wool sweater.  It was soft…VERY SOFT. He loved to pull it on and wear it on cold winter days. One day as he was about to walk out the door, I noticed a large hole on the back of it, up by the neck. You guessed it. There were other small holes in different places that he had not noticed when he put it on. We opened the drawer where his wool sweaters were stored, and yes, two or three others had holes in them. Moths had ruined them. They took something that was beautiful and destroyed it.

If we back up to Hosea 5:12, I think we see how we get to the point that we are focused on the wrong things.  “I will destroy Israel as a moth consumes wool.  I will make Judah as weak as rotten wood.”Again, I will refer to my NIV Study Bible. It is sin that comes in and destroys. My focus should be on where God is leading me and what He wants me to do.  My piousness causes me to not look to Him, but to things I want, even the way I want things done.  If I dig deep enough into who I am, it is my sin of pride that causes me to seek things my way and not the way God is leading me.  Just like the moth-eaten sweater, by the time I realize that the moth has been eating away at my relationship with God and His people, there is a big hole in my life.  I have caused damage to those around me. I have damaged the reputation of my Father and family to those that see my lack of mercy.  My lack of mercy toward others reflects who I believe God to be.  Is He merciful? Or is He sitting in the sky writing down everything I do wrong?

As you reflect on this blog, I pray that you consider where Israel was during the time of Hosea.  Hosea was sent by God to have His people return to Him.  It was a painful process. The attacks on their gods were real. They did not make the right decisions very often. (Sadly, I relate.) They would start turning to God, then turn back to their gods. BUT God never gave up on them. He never stopped pursuing them. That is great news for us today because HE STILL PURSUES US. He wants that relationship with you and me. He wants us to represent Him to all those in our life by showing His mercy toward others.  Can you join me in digging deep into these truths of God?

Blessings – Cherie

Karen Kingsbury is one of my favorite Christian romance writers.  Last year her work was introduced to me and I love the times I get to sit down and just read her love stories.  They always have a happy ending. They should be made into movies and run on the Hallmark Channel (just sayin’). The last one I read was actually a series about a young Christian girl, Bailey, who loves to act.  She actually wins a part in a movie and her costar, Brandon, is a playboy. Because of her influence he gives his life to Christ. His lifestyle completely changes, and he lives all out for Jesus. A period of time passes, and he falls in love with Bailey. He wants to marry her. Bailey does not make it easy for Brandon.  She is not sure that he is Mr. Right.  Through four books, he pursues her until finally she says yes. It took some serious convincing. Bailey kept turning to someone else she thought was the man of her dreams. She continued to believe that Brandon was not for her. She chased after “a better catch”. She wanted who was just out of her reach.  Someone she had on a pedestal.

The book of Hosea is a story about a man pursuing his bride. Before you get the warm fuzzies started, this is not a typical love story.  No fairy tale ending.  No Hallmark Movie made. Hosea is God’s man, His prophet. In a move that I can’t fathom, God instructs Hosea to go and marry Gomer, a well-known prostitute. When Gomer walked down the streets, the women in the village changed the sides of the road and shunned her.  Some glared at her as they passed by. Others gossiped and snickered. Men noticed Gomer and the provocative way she dressed. Some looked the other way when she walked by. Hoping against hope that their wives would not realize they had just been with her.  Imagine. This is the woman God told Hosea to marry. Hosea, God’s prophet. This book in the Old Testament has always bothered me.  Why did God do this? Why place a godly man in a relationship with such heart ache?

God uses marriage to show the type of relationship He wants to have with His people.  He did this in the New Testament too. Jesus is referred to as the bridegroom by his cousin, John (John 3).  Paul tells men to love their wives as Christ loved His church (Ephesians 5), and in Revelations 19, John celebrates Christ being married to His church. Why a marriage? Is it because of the love, concern, and care that husband and wife have for each other?  Is it because of their patience, forgiveness and devotion to each other? Yes. God wants that type of relationship with His people.  Hosea goes to extreme lengths to show Israel how much God loves them.  Hosea 1:2 “When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, ‘Go marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the LORD.”

Israel left their holy relationship with God.  They have turned their love and devotion to God almighty and mixed it with other idols. That’s what Gomer did.  She married Hosea only to have her head turned and start looking for a better relationship.  She gave other men her innermost self. The part of her that should have been reserved for Hosea.  I’m sure that it all started very innocent.  She was determined to make her marriage with Hosea work. She promised that she would no longer flirt with the cute man he worked with.  She promised that she would not allow another man to come between them.  Then one day, a strong mysterious stranger came into town.  The way he handled himself was exotic, the way he looked at the world seemed ok.  It was different than the way Hosea thought, but it wouldn’t hurt to just explore his ideas. Right? She really didn’t mean to give herself completely to him and his ideas. BUT she did. AGAIN, and AGAIN.

Back to Israel. Jeroboam is the king. Israel was in a time of peace and was living the life of prosperity.  They started relying on self.  They did not pay attention to what was going on in their lives. One glance, one curious look at the exotic way of worship, one carless moment of giving in to the idea of an idol was ok to have in their home.  That was all they were doing. “Just this once” they thought they would try something new. The next thing they knew they had fully accepted the Canaanite religion and added idols and prostitution into their worship. Their priests did not follow God and did not encourage Israel to follow Him. In fact, they encouraged pagan worship.

BUT God was patient.  He wanted Israel to return to Him.  He was willing to pay a price for them to belong to onlyHim. In Hosea 3, Gomer had returned to her promiscuous ways.  She was back on the street seeking something that she was missing in her life.  She managed to get herself in so much trouble, that she became a slave.  Hosea had to search to find her, but when he did, and when he saw how broken she was, he bought her back. Only a husband that has a deep love for his wife and a heart willing to forgive could purchase her back. Only God who loves unconditionally can purchase Israel (and all humanity) back.  Only God who is Holy can forgive when mankind would say “Stone Her!” “Death to Gomer!” (Leviticus 20:10)

The analogy for us today is simple. What am I prostituting myself with? WAIT, WHAT? I don’t have idols.  If you can say that, then God bless you and keep on keepin’ on.  Me on the other hand, I struggle every day. It starts out simple. What’s the first thing I do in the morning? Get on my iPhone and check out Facebook (I even justify it by saying I’m looking to see who I need to pray for.) I get in the car to take a trip, I pull out my iPhone and start playing a game.  (I’m bored. It makes the trip go faster. See how smoothly I justified that one?) iPhone starts with the letter I for a reason…it’s about me, myself and I.

Another idol that zaps me – We get an invitation to a wedding. I can literally go to my closet that is FULL of clothes and shoes and decide I need the perfect dress (which of course needs shows that match) for the occasion (even though I have 3 or 4 that were “perfect” at other weddings). Pride becomes my idol because I needto be able to say that I fit in with those around me.

What about discontentment? It’s an idol that I definitely struggle with. The ridiculous thing about this idol is that I do it to myself.  The more I’m on social media, the more I see what others have and what trips they are taking. Guess what? The voices in my head say, “I need to go on that trip”. “I need the new car.” My discontentment takes over my thoughts and actions. The more discontent I am, the more things I purchase online. Each time I do that I get more emails that show up with the “one thing I need”to make me happy.  I don’t have to get up and walk away from the mirror to see someone that struggles with idols. It’s me!

Israel didn’t stop worshipping God. They just added other gods to their worship.  That looks way to familiar to me. When you read Hosea 2, God says He will punish Israel for chasing after her lovers. He will not share His throne.  He did not share it then and He will not share it now.  The question that should be asked every morning when I wake up is “who will sit on the throne today”? When the decision is made to keep God on His throne, I must live my life fully and completely in relationship with Him.

Be Blessed – Cherie

Have you ever started a project and had a hard time getting it finished? Boy I have. There is a building in the downtown area that has been in the process of being remodeled for a couple of years now. When we moved here in 1981, it was a hub of business.  It had a bank in it, many oil company offices, a deli, and yes, an aerobic center (it was 1981 after all). Our city boomed a few years back and a person bought this building.  They went through it, gutted it and construction crews came in and started putting in metal studs. Then one day, the construction stopped. I really don’t know why. This building has been sitting in this condition for over a year now. The building sits there. Right next to it is a new fast food restaurant and fairly new pharmacy. The hospital that is nearby has recently been remodeled. But this building just sits empty, unfinished.  It has no purpose. It is just there. The owner has gotten distracted.

My life is a lot like that building. I want to build my relationship with God, so I make a commitment to spend more time in prayer and more time in The Word. With a shopping trip to Mardels, my arms are filled with a new prayer journal, bible study material, and highlighters. When I sit down to do my study, the phone rings and there goes my “dedicated” time. I commit to fasting. Next thing I know, I get an invitation to lunch. Life distracts me. The distractions are not necessarily bad things. They just become the urgent thing in my life. Somehow the urgent takes over what’s important. (Can I get a “preach it” out there?)

Distractions. The Jews struggled with them over and over. Think back to the time Moses went to Mount Sinai to get the 10 Commandments from God. The Jews that were waiting on Moses to return quickly looked for the next shiny object (golden calf – “kaboom ching”) and started worshipping it. When we move forward in the history of the Jewish nation and go to the book of Nehemiah, they still struggle with distractions. Honestly, they are a problem for Christians today. Distractions are one of satan’s tools that he uses on us. It’s a very successful tool.

Nehemiah is working for the king as a cupbearer (modern day wine steward) when his brother, Hanani, comes to him. Hanani tells him that the Jews are in trouble. They are disgraced, and the walls of Jerusalem have been torn down and burned. Nehemiah’s heart broken. Nehemiah’s mourning turned him to a time of worship. He spent time in confession, prayer and fasting to seek where God was leading him. (Remember, WORSHIP THEN BUILD.)  He wanted God to direct his steps.  It’s not lost on me that Nehemiah was a student of the Law of Moses. During his time of worship, he goes back to scripture in Deuteronomy 4:25-31. It is the very scripture where God says He will scatter the Jews if they disobey Him and become wicked in His sight. Nehemiah knew what God wanted for the Jews.  He knew God’s desire to have a relationship with them.  He also knew that God would not tolerate disobedience. (Praise God that just as then, today God gives me a way back to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.)

One of the next times Nehemiah took wine to the king, the king realized that Nehemiah was distraught.  Once Nehemiah tells King Artaxerxes the circumstance of his people, he gets permission to go and help them rebuild the walls.  Just as it happened with Ezra, the king gave Nehemiah supplies to rebuild. When I read this, the scripture Romans 8:31 come to my mind – “If God is for us, who can be against us?”He provides all we need. Soon after Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he inspected the walls. He assigned different families to work on different sections of the wall. It was time to build. Time to focus on the task that God placed before him and the Jews.

All is well in Jerusalem. Progress is being made…then comes trouble, a distraction. In Nehemiah’s time, those that opposed the rebuilding were afraid the Jews would become too strong of a nation to keep under control. As threats grew stronger, Nehemiah stationed people around the wall to protect the workers. I love what Nehemiah says in chapter 4:20 “Our God will fight for us”. It is encouraging to me that even though satan tried to distract Nehemiah and his “construction crew”, they kept building. They were faithful and those that were attacking became frustrated. (4:15)

Have you ever felt that you were being attacked? Sometimes it is obvious where the attack is coming from, but not always. Have you been growing spiritually or a part of a ministry that is helping those in need? You can bet satan is not happy about it. Sometimes you are attacked in so many areas that you can’t stay focused on what is important in life. Consider the fact that satan is after you.  Spiritual warfare is real.  If you feel that there is no end in sight, if you feel that the hits just keep on coming, take courage. Nehemiah was right “our God will fight for you”.  Daniel 10 gives a very specific time that God sent an angel to fight for Daniel.  There is a battle around us daily. As hard as the battles are, take courage. You have already won if you are in Christ.

In 2004, I was attacked. I know it was a spiritual attack with a very physical implication. A few of us had started a ministry to reach out to students on the local college campus. It was booming. Many students became Christians and many others were learning about Him. God was at work. Then just like that, I was diagnosed with the “C” word, cancer. Our family was turned upside down. I praise God for my husband who helped me stayed focused on God throughout this battle. It would have been easy to get distracted from God’s call for me at that time. Part of this story that I love is a young man in our ministry approached us and asked “Why are you different? I’ve seen many people diagnosed with cancer, but you are handling it differently. What makes you so confident that you will be healed?” Needless to say, we had an opportunity to sit down and talk to him at length about Jesus Christ and who He was. My conviction came straight out of Paul’s writing in Philippians 1:21, For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.”The point is God takes things satan means for harm and can do great things with it. After all, HE IS GOD. Today I continue to praise God that cancer did not distract my family from building on Jesus Christ.

Back to Nehemiah. The first part of chapter 5 hurts my heart (5:1-13). It is a group of Jews that take advantage of other Jews. They enslave them in debt, literally. Their children are sold into slavery to other Jews in order to make a living. Let’s just take a minute and stop here. Let this soak in. Debt is a distraction.I’m not talking about house payments. I’m talking about house payments that are not manageable. (Hear me on this! This is not about businesses that have gone under, or illness that throughs a person into debt. This is a pride issue of keeping up with others.) We live in a society that we MUST have the newest cars, designer clothes, best electronics, big houses, and “toys” we don’t need. All of a sudden, we are building on “the name of success” and not Jesus Christ. Reality is we are covered in debt. This is a heavy price to pay. Chasing these things cost us time with our family. Chasing the newest items cost us time in ministering to others. Chasing these things cost us time alone with our Father. I know. I’ve lived this. It was a hard life. It was hard on our marriage, our family, and our friends. When our focus is not on where God has called us, we look just like the building in the picture above. We are unfinished. We have not fulfilled the original purpose that God called us to do for His kingdom. Jeremiah 29:11, says that God has plans for me. Where do we choose to build?

Hang with me here, this is getting a little long, but this next part may be the most important. Nehemiah knew that God wanted relationships with His people. Nehemiah knew now that he was governor, he had to lead by example. He showed the Jews what it looked like to live in relationship with God.  If you have time, read Nehemiah 5:14-19. Nehemiah went against the norm. You may want to underline the end of 5:15. “…But out of reverence for God I did not act like that.” Other governors put heavy taxes on the Jews, so they could live “above” others. Nehemiah says he did not do that ANDhe had 150 Jews and officials that ate at his table as well as foreigners. Nehemiah was generous. It would have been so easy for him to do as other governors had done. It was expected of him to act that way. But he did not. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I should look different. I need to use the tools that God has given me to build my relationship with him. What tools you ask?

Christian Tool Kit

• Fill our lives with the Spirit
  • Galatians 5:22-23 (The Message) But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

• Encourage and hold each other accountable
  • Hebrews 10:24-25 (NCV) Let us think about each other and help each other to show love and do good deeds. You should not stay away from the church meetings, as some are doing, but you should meet together and encourage each other. Do this even more as you see the day coming.

• Be generous
  • Tell those rich in this world’s wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they’ll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life.

• Do Good to all
  • Galatians 6:9-10 We must not become tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal life at the right time if we do not give up. When we have the opportunity to help anyone, we should do it. But we should give special attention to those who are in the family of believers.

• Pray for God to do exceedingly more through His Spirit
  • Ephesians 3:16-21 (NIV) I pray that out of his glorious richeshe may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, 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. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

Take your tools and get busy building. God calls us to build. Build our lives for Him, build up our families and friends for Him, and build our relationship with Him. Do not get distracted and cause your building to be unfinished. Become the temple God created you to be. Continue to build on the cornerstone, Jesus Christ.

Be blessed – Cherie

My husband and I have been blessed to own a ranch.  It’s not one with cows and horses.  It has deer, antelope, turkey and fish. (You will recognize it….”where the deer and the antelope play….”)  In an effort to make it a place where we can spend time with family and friends, we have had to figure out housing for our guests. The picture on the left is of the original house.  This property was owned by a family friend and was sold to us in January 2011.  In fact, this picture of the turkey fighting was taken at Thanksgiving the year we purchased it. (As awesome as the turkey are, take a look at the picture of the house and barn.)

We first started looking at this two-bedroom house to see if it could be remodeled to hold our guests. It was built in 1940’s. In today’s modern world, this house was far from modern.  Once the contractor took a look at it, it was determined that it needed new wiring, new plumbing, and new subfloors. There was very little insulation. Windows were broken. The front door was hanging by one hinge. The front porch was slanting funny and the 2×4 that was holding it up was crooked. The cost to make this house livable was HUGE.  We were told it would be cheaper to tear this one down and start over. That was hard to do because, my husband knew the man, Mr. Terry, that had lived there. My husband went to church with him as a child. We had visited him together, when he was 100 years old. The house had value in my husband’s eyes.

I have recently done a study on two books of the Bible, Ezra and Nehemiah.  There is so much I want to say about these books that I will break them down into a few blogs. These books tell how God used Ezra to rebuild His temple, and Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. I’m confessing to you, that I have never spent much time in these books. I never really saw how the information in these books could help me today. Thankfully I was wrong.  There is an application for today.  I need to get into THE CONSTRUCTION ZONE. Just like the old house, my spiritual temple is damaged. I live in a broken world. Routine maintenance must be kept up on my temple. And just like the old house, I have not continued “updates”. Spiritual satisfaction has led to spiritual stagnation and not a deeper relationship with God. I need repairs made on my heart. I can’t be satisfied with status quo or I will end up collecting dust and falling apart. Can you relate? It’s time for me to get to work on building my temple. After all, I am the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Just like the temple had been torn down and needed to be rebuilt, I need to go through my life and tear down things that don’t honor God and rebuild my life in a way to honor Him.

So how do we know it is time to work on our temple? I believe it is very much like it was during the time of Ezra.  Ezra 1:5 says that those whose heart God moved went up to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem.  There are new testament examples of God moving people to do specific tasks too.  Acts 8:26-40 is the story of Phillip being told to go and meet the Ethiopian and tell him of Jesus. Acts 9 tells the story of Saul’s (the Apostle Paul) conversion. Ananias is told specifically to go and teach Saul because he is God’s chosen instrument. If God moved hearts, then, why wouldn’t He move them now. I need to stop and listen to what God is telling me and obey Him.

Let’s return to the book of Ezra. The first two chapters give a background of why the temple was going to be rebuilt. Ezra was a priest. King Cyrus of Persia was moved by God to have God’s people return to their home and rebuild the temple of the LORD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL. He didn’t have a faith in God but wanted “their” God to be with them. God uses those that believe in Him as well as those that do not believe to fulfill His purpose. God wanted a relationship with His people. He used an ungodly king to do His will. Not only did King Cyrus send the people of Israel back to their homes to build this temple, he made sure that they had all the supplies that they needed.  King Cyrus gave LOTS of gold, silver and priestly garments to the Israelites. Scripture says that “All their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver, gold, good, livestock and valuable gifts”, Ezra 1:6. Only the one true God could do that!

There is a shift in the story in Ezra 3. Before the temple building begins, Ezra gathers the people of Israel together to worship God. An altar is built, and sacrifices are made. Skip down to 2:10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the Lord, as prescribed by David king of Israel. With praise and thanksgiving, they sang to the Lord: “He is good;his love toward Israel endures forever.” And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid”(Emphasis mine). This is not something to take lightly.  Worship is a time that we become closer to God. It is relationship building time with our creator….that’s what He wants. That’s why the rebuilding of the temple was so important in the first place. Worship is a time that we gain our strength. It is a time that we admit that we are nothing without Him. Ezra made sure that the priorities of the Israelites were in order, and they had spiritual strength for what was ahead. A simple formula for us today is WORSHIP THEN BUILD. This is the very foundation of the temple that is being built.

When you build a structure, the foundation is critical. Our spiritual temple must have a sturdy foundation too. When you look up cornerstone in the dictionary, one of the definitions is foundation. Peter calls Jesus our cornerstone in Acts 4:11. But I love how Paul writes about our foundation being Christ Jesus in Ephesians 2:19-20 (The Message) …. God is building a home. He’s using us all – irrespective of how we got here – in what he is building.  He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone.

Just as Ezra called the Israelites to corporate worship, we to need to participate in corporate worship. I don’t think that is enough though. Building a relationship, a deep relationship takes more than one or two times a week in corporate worship. Our relationship with God is the very foundation of our faith. How can Jesus be our cornerstone if we don’t know Him?  We must spend time with Him. Just as Ezra had the Israelites do, we must confess our sins, we must worship, and celebrate Him in praise. Doing this is like spending time with the master architect of a house and learning what his plans for our new home (our temple) will be.

Be Blessed – Cherie

I Love Hot Homemade Bread!  You can tell that by looking at me.  It is one of my favorite foods.  When my Kristin was little, I had a sourdough starter that she and I kept going for many years.   We ate it, gave it as gifts, and ate some more of it.  Lots of people were fed bread because of that one sourdough starter. Bread is interesting to me.  The more bread that I eat, the more I want. It is hard for me to eat just one slice….I even like to go back and have it “for dessert” after my meal is over.  I actually crave a good warm roll with butter.  Jesus tells us in John 6 that He is the bread of life.  That makes me wonder, do I crave Him like I do a piece of warm bread?

Take a moment and read John 6. It’s the first time Jesus miraculously feeds thousands of people. You remember the story, crowds of people came to see Jesus. They wanted Jesus to meet their physical needs. They followed him across the Sea of Galilee because they wanted more. The meal from the day before was not enough (6:2,26). The crowd had watched him heal the sick; they had heard the stories of Jesus. The news of all He was doing was rapidly spreading. The crowd wanted to be on the receiving end of any physical blessing they could get from him. WAIT. Is that who I am? Do I only look for what God can do for me?  Do I only seek him to take care of me or my family and friends?  Why is it that when I spend time alone with God, my prayers tend to go straight to taking care of the physical? Jesus tells us there is so much more. What does it mean to hunger for Jesus, to crave for Him like I do bread? He tells us that we will never hunger again if we eat of him. (John 6:35)

A few years back I heard the story of the Uruguay rugby team that was on its way to a match in Chile when they crashed in the Andes Mountains in 1972. Dr. Roberto Canessa was one of the survivors of the crash. He was a medical student. After impact, he realized that the plane was ripped in two.  There was a blizzard whipping around them. Immediately Dr. Canessa and other survivors started taking stock of their situation. Twelve of the 45 on the plane died in the crash. Temperatures were below zero. Clothing items had to be found, seats had to be turned into shoes and jackets. Food was rationed. They were optimistic that help would come. After all, the Chilean authorities knew that the plane went down in the foothills of Chile. Days passed. Six more men died. No help arrived.  Storms continued around them. They could not hike out for help; the weather and their strength would not allow it. Things were looking hopeless.  They were beginning to starve.

Decisions had to be made to survive. They needed food. They needed nourishment. There was no vegetation or animal life, anywhere.  Nothing. Nothing to eat. The answer for nourishment laid before them. The bodies of their friends that had died laid frozen and preserved. It was the protein and nourishment that they needed. No one wanted to think about it.  It was more than they could bear. Dr. Canessa writes, “For a long time we agonized. I went out in the snow and prayed to God for guidance. Without His consent, I felt I would be violating the memory of my friends; that I would be stealing their souls.” Dr. Canessa continues, “Javier Methol, at 35 the oldest of our group, told us he, too, had prayed for help from above. He said that God told him to think of it like Holy Communion. Javier recited the New Testament verses to us: ‘He who eats of my flesh and drinks of my blood will have eternal life. Take and eat, this is my body’”.  Dr. Roberto Canessa Story

These men gained life through eating the bodies of their friends. Dr. Canessa said that after he thought about it, he would have wanted his friends to use his flesh to help them live.  If it came down to it, he wanted them to be sustained and continue their life. We too gain life through consuming Jesus.  HE IS THE BREAD OF LIFE. He wants us to consume Him. He wants us to be filled with Him. Without Jesus our lives are left wanting, starving, hollow.

We go through life looking for something to nourish our souls, to satisfy us. We might look for satisfaction in a relationship or through travel. Maybe it is our social status or our things. Maybe it’s (you fill in the blank).All of these things leave us starving, wanting more.  If I count on my relationship with my spouse to fulfill me, I have a large hole inside when he disappoints me. If my life is fulfilled because of travel, when I get home from my big trip, I am left wanting. I start planning the next big trip. If my life is filled because of my social status, my insides are hollow when a friend becomes angry with me. If it is material things that I seek to fill my void, as soon as the new has worn off, I want the newest fad (I personally struggle with all the cool Apple products….wish they would not put out so many new products out so close together.)  My point is that it is only through my relationship with The Bread of Life that I am filled. My time alone with my Lord fills my soul. It feeds me, so I will be strong and ready to battle satan. It leaves me nourished, ready to face the challenges of life.  It leaves me full and ready so I can be poured into others. Don’t look to the “junk food” of life.  Turn to the Bread of Life.  Eat. Be Filled.

Blessings – Cherie

My grandson Preston (or as we call him, Bubby) has recently turned one. Of course, he is a cutie! My husband and I are blessed because our grandchildren (and their parents) live in the same town we do. We get to see them almost everyday. Bubby started walking in the last week or so….well sort of. He has actually walked for a couple of months, BUT he could crawl faster than he could walk, so why walk slowly when you can crawl really fast? Right? Why take wobbly steps when you are steady when you crawl? Letting go of mom and taking steps is risky. There is no security in it. Moving away from tables and walls for balance is hard…you might fall. Staying close to the ground to crawl is easy, safe. Why risk it?

First baby steps are the hardest. That is true both in our physical life and our life of faith in Christ. Baby Steps…. Trusting God…. Walking By Faith…it is my challenge daily. Anyone that follows God knows that walking away from the familiar to step into the unknown is hard! Sometimes we are thrown into the unknown. Sometimes it comes on us in a God moment, a moment that God compels us to make a major change in our life. Abraham had a God moment, a moment that God called him to leave the familiar. Leave all that he knew and was familiar to him and venture out into the unknown. I look at his life, and wonder if I would have been able to do what he did.

Read Acts 7:2-3. Abraham was called to the land of Canaan while he was in Mesopotamia (Ur), before he lived in Haran. At breakfast one morning my husband pointed out something I had never thought about. Genesis 11:31 states “Terah (the father of Abraham) took his son Abram, his grandson Lot…and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.” Settled there. Is that what I do? Do I start out taking baby steps of faith and then settle when I get a little bit comfortable? It appears that Abraham and his family did, at least until Terah died.

Stop just a moment and put yourself in Abraham’s shoes. This first step was very scary. God called Abraham to leave his comfort, his familiar life, and the family he had always known… he couldn’t even SKYPE them! He was to pick up and become a nomad. He was to leave his “top 1% lifestyle” and all of its comforts and live in a tent….not just a few nights, but for many, many years. He was to leave his way of making money and stepping out in trust that God would care for him. His first faith steps were hard. Was it because the first steps were hard that he was willing to “settle” in Haran? Have I settled when God has called me to walk by faith?

The first faith steps we take are hard. It feels good when we take them and get to what we think is where God called us. But what if God has called us to more? Our challenge is not to get happy with those first steps. Our challenge is to not stop and settle when we are comfortable, but seek the rest of our God story. God has things for us to do, just as He had things for Abraham to do. In Genesis 12:1 God tells Abraham once again to get up and go! Go to Canaan, His promised land. He told him DO NOT SETTLE!

Genesis 12:2-3 God followed up the command for Abraham with His covenant to him. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you: I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse: and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” If Abraham had settled, he would have missed out on the promises of God. His descendants would not have become a great nation. God had a purpose for Abraham from the time he was in his mother’s womb (Psalms 139:13-16). He has a purpose for you and me too.

Turn over to James 2:14-24. My Bible titles this section as “Faith and Deeds”. I agree with that title, but I would like to give it another title, especially verses 20-24…”Faith and Fulfillment”. James argues that it was because Abraham took steps in obedience that his faith was “made complete”. It was Abraham stepping out in faith and obedience that made him known as a friend of God. It was his faith and obedience that made him known as righteous.

Do you see the analogy of Bubby letting go and Abraham letting go? What if Abraham had always settled? I’m sure he would have had opportunities to serve God and be an example to others while he lived in Haran, BUT it was not until he took those first steps in faith and CONTINUED to walk in faith and obedience to God that he lived the full life that God promised him.

Abraham chose to “get off the floor and stop crawling”. He chose to “let go of the wall, tables and couch” and step out into God’s promise. If he had not taken the first steps, the blessings that he had been promised would have never happened. If he would have “settled” His life would have been good, but not fulfilled. He would not have become all that God wanted him to become, and I believe that his life would have felt like “he was missing something”.

What faith steps do you need to take? Is it as simple as reaching out to a neighbor? Is it looking for a different job? Is it stepping up in your church family and becoming a part of a ministry? Without Abraham taking his first step, his life would not have been fulfilled. God has big things for you to do….no matter your age. He does not want you to settle for the status quo. He wants you to step out in faith. He wants you to experience His promises.

Join me in praying these scriptures:  For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith –that you, being rooted and grounded in love may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:14-20

Be blessed – Cherie

My four-year-old granddaughter, Emma, loves lightning bugs. It’s one of her favorite things we see at the ranch. She has a “butterfly” net that we use to chase them, catch them, and place them in a mason jar. The rest of the evening we watch them “light up”. When we go to the ranch and lightening bugs are not out, Emma is disappointed. That “magic” look of their bright light is fun to see, especially when there is no moon out and it is extra dark.

Lightning bug is a fancy name for an ugly bug. They are plain looking beetles. I must confess before I make my next statement, I hate bugs. If I see one of these beetles in the daytime, well let’s just say, they would NOT be around the next day. But at night, these bugs can be absolutely beautiful! I actually love them…. at night. They light up our yard and it looks magical. They are completely “invisible” until they spread their wings, then WOW a tiny bright light sparks! It makes me wonder what is it about light that we are so drawn to?  Especially light that we see on a dark night.

1 Samuel describes a dark world with a king that The LORD rejected (1 Samuel 15). God sends His prophet, Samuel, into this dark world to find light for His people. David is this light for the Israelites. David is ordinary. He is nothing special. You might say he is an “ugly bug”. Read the story of David being anointed as king in 1 Samuel 16:1-13.

God sends Samuel to go to Jesse’s household to anoint the new king. He tells him to go and sacrifice to Him. This was God keeping Samuel safe from King Saul. He did not want the king to be suspicious of the activities that were taking place. When Samuel arrived at Jesse’s house, he asked him to bring his sons home so that he could make this sacrifice. (God’s plan was to reveal the new king to Samuel during this time of sacrifice.) Eliab came first. He was the oldest and is described as strong and handsome. Samuel thought, “This is who God has chosen.” But God said No! Verse 7 says But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” Did you get that? The LORD doesn’t see things the way we see them. We judge others by their outward appearance but he LORD looks at the heart.

Meanwhile Jesse is still bringing the boys in to meet Samuel. In came Abinadab. God said “nope not him.” Next came Shammah. Again God said no! Seven of Jesse’s sons were brought in. Each time the answer was no. I think Samuel must have been wondering – “God I thought your new king was here, but you said no to each of Jesse’s son. Did I come to the wrong Jesse’s house” (my imagination added here).

Samuel had to turn to Jesse and say, “none of these are the young man that I’m looking for. Do you have other sons?” Again I imagine Jesse saying “let me think…Eliab is my firstborn…so strong and handsome. Next is Abinadab. Ummmm my 3^rd born is Shammah, and then there’s ________________. Wait! Wait Samuel! I do have one more son! He’s nothing special. He’s really pretty young. I didn’t even think about him. His name is David. He’s a shepherd. In fact, he is out with the sheep right now. Are you sure you want me to send one of my big, strong, good-looking boys out to get David? Are you sure?”

We know how this story ends. This young, ordinary man that even his father forgot about did mighty works for God. He rescued the Israelites from the Philistines when he killed Goliath (1 Samuel 17). He brought a divided kingdom together after King Saul died (2 Samuel 5). He brought the Ark of the Covenant back to Israel (2 Samuel 6). But David also did things that were not good (you may want to check out 1 Samuel 21, 1 Samuel 27, 2 Samuel 6, and 2 Samuel 11). The point is DAVID WAS A PLAIN ORDINARY BOY, BUT HE DID EXTRAORDINARY THINGS FOR GOD. He was a man that MESSED UP A LOT, but was a man that LOVED GOD AND HAD A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. He is listed in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:6), and he is called a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). In spite of his ups and downs, he had a light inside of him that led people to God.

This is so encouraging to me! Even though I am “an ugly beetle”…broken, sinful, and weak…God uses me to shine bright in this dark world. How you may ask? Let’s take a minute and brainstorm:

• Do you know someone in financial straits? Help them with their water bill.
• Do you know someone in the hospital? Visit them there or take a meal to their family.
• Do you know someone that has a child that is a prodigal? Sit with them, hold their hand and pray with them when they get bad news.
• Do you know someone that has been bullied? Be their friend.
• Do you know new parents that need a break? Watch their children for them to have a date night.

God created you to be light. He doesn’t expect you to do miracles. He expects you to show His love to others. You were created to have people drawn to Him through you. In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus says,  “…You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven. (Message Paraphrase)

God see’s you as His “lightning bug on a dark night”! Light up your world. Light up the darkness that surrounds you. Be someone that attracts people around you so that they are drawn to God.

Blessings – Cherie