True Freedom

 4 This matter arose because some false believers(I) had infiltrated our ranks to spy on(J) the freedom(K) we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. Galatians 2:4

These false teachers who came against Paul were devout Jews, possibly Pharisees who were jealous of the freedom the Gentiles had in Christ. They were bound in their own spirits and did not want to see others enjoying what they struggled so hard to keep. They only knew an “outward – circumcised righteousness,” while these Gentiles seemed to possess this righteousness at a very deep level without the outward pain.

I recognize that same attitude in my life when I see someone experiencing more freedom than I, who seems to be enjoying God’s presence in its simplicity without all the restrictions I have allowed to be placed on me by the church or well-meaning Christians. When I search scripture, I often find I have hung my spiritual hat on the wrong peg, the peg of tradition, or people-pleasing, false interpretations, or a works righteousness. It is sometimes much easier to keep a law, than to step into freedom that sets you apart from those around you.

Lord Jesus, forgive me when I have let another steal my joy, or make me feel guilty for a freedom that is found in your love.  When law and love come into conflict in my life, I have sometimes chosen law which is so much easier to practice than love. Law often exerts power over a person, while love always involves servanthood and choice. Quicken my heart to choose LOVE and freedom that only YOU have the power to work in me.

Shack Dwellers

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.  Ephesians 2:8

Our Salvation is a gift, freely given based on God’s love, not anything we have done or could do to earn it. Earned love is never a gift. When someone reciprocates love, it is not a gift, it is an exchange of love for love. God’s love for us was all one way from Him to us when we didn’t even care if He existed.

My mind was filled with a picture this morning of a shack and a palace.  While I was dwelling in a broken down, leaky shack, the King of the palace sent His Son out among us shack dwellers and offered us the gift of living in the palace with all the rights and privileges of His heir. It seemed too good to be true for I had done nothing to merit such mercy. In fact, I had been resentful of those who lived in the palace. I had no idea what palace life was really like. All I had ever known was the life of a shack-dweller. My parents and grandparents had been shack-dwellers and never talked about palace life.

When the Son offered us shack-dwellers the gift of living in the palace, I was afraid and uncertain, but curious and hungry for a better life. Some of my friends scoffed and said it was too good to be true and they laughed at my desire. I chose to step out and follow the Son into the palace, anyway, not really knowing what I was getting into.

For years I lived like a shack-dweller visiting the palace, eating the food, trying not to enjoy it as I was certain it would eventually be taken away. The Son kept encouraging me to take advantage of my full rights, but I didn’t truly understand the meaning of the gift. After all I had received gifts only when I deserved them, in repayment for some good deed I had done or on some special day in my life.  This gift came out of nowhere and for no reason other than the King’s desire to give it to me! 

As my years in the palace have progressed, I have come to trust the King’s heart and although I still do not deserve this awesome gift, I now realize how I have hurt the King’s heart by not taking full advantage of all He is offering me. I have watched Him smile, even laugh as others have enjoyed His gift to its fullest, taking advantage of everything aspect of palace life.  I want to make Him laugh too. I want Him to know how much I appreciate His generosity and kindness, even though I still do not fully understand it.

Oh, King, please forgive me for not accepting Your gift in its fullness and help me to take advantage of every privilege of palace life to the extent that I bring intense joy to you and help others who may be, as I once was, living like a visitor rather than a daughter and heir of the kingdom.

Understanding My Blessings

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, Ephesians 1:3

The Holy Spirit began to speak to me. First, I heard that word most precious to my heart, “Father!” My blessed, Holy, loving, affectionate, adoring, most honorable, Father!!  My Heavenly Father had blessed me with every spiritual blessing. How often, since early childhood, have I been taught that God would bless me physically, with good friends, food, housing, all kinds of worldly provision, but not once was it emphasized that my blessings would be internal, spiritual, heavenly blessings. The great relief I felt when I gave my heart to Jesus at age seven was that I would not suffer the horrible pain and punishment of everlasting Hell. Growing up I walked in fear of displeasing God, the Father, and I spent most of my youth riding the altar rails making sure all my wrongs were forgiven. In college I began to feel and see His love was greater than His wrath, but it was hard to accept “unconditional love” from one called “Father.”  My earthly father’s love seemed based on being a good girl and pleasing him. I remember more frowns than smiles, little or no attention at all.

Then I read that I was blessed with every spiritual blessing from my Heavenly Father, the blessings that really mattered in life. These were the blessings of a clean conscience, right thinking, inner strength and motivations that stemmed from loving and being loved. These were the blessings that allowed me to be holy and blameless before Him as I reflected the life of Christ, my brother and model of my Father’s love.  I began to understand the changes in attitude, the stirring of my thoughts, the desires of my heart, my growth in righteousness, and daily moments with my Father. I was being blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. I was being loved in a most tangible way. I had complete access to the Father through Christ. What an exciting realization of truth!! Oh, Father! This is such an exciting reality to discover in a way never seen before. Not that I have not read it dozens of times, not that I haven’t heard it preached or taught, but that it has never connected to my heart like it has today! Help me to see those spiritual blessings like never before and please continue to reveal your unconditional love in new ways to my heart.  This is so much fun. I love You, Father!!

Stink No More

19 And his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power(AT) is the same as the mighty strength(AU) 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead. Ephesians 1:19

Resurrection power is available to and in us.When I first read this, I pondered the idea of how much power I had in my life and walk with Christ. How often did I heal the sick or perform miracles or win someone to the Lord.  How was I using God’s power in my life to help others, or did I even covet that kind of power.  The more I pondered, prayed, and listened the more I realized the power talked about here was not the power to heal others but the mighty resurrection power of Jesus to raise the dead in me. I was reminded that Jesus was beyond a cardiac arrest, He was dead for 3 days…dead, dead, dead!!!  As Martha put it concerning Lazarus, “by now he stinketh!!  He was beyond resuscitation, but by the mighty power of God given to Christ, He arose and left all the stink behind and provided that same power to work in us.

It’s not what kind of power I have to work signs and wonders in others, but the awesome power of Jesus Christ to raise and redeem the dead areas in my life and heart that stink!  Those thoughts or attitudes of envy, resentment, rejection, inferiority, pride, prejudice, fear, or anything that stinks of “unchristlikeness” in my life.

 Now the emphasis is on RESURRETION POWER!  When sin entered the world, death with all its power and destruction entered and gained power over the perfection God created in us.  Only by the power of the blood of Jesus and His resurrection was the power of sin broken and the beauty of righteousness restored to us.  I am so encouraged to know that Jesus can truly change and redeem that which still is dead in me and stink. Sometimes we get so used to the smell of our sins that we don’t even notice them anymore.  We may be tempted to believe that some issues will only be solved with our physical death, but today I have hope that resurrection power is for here and now and is so mighty and strong it can bring life out of death!!! Thank You Jesus, that You are still working in me and bringing life to those parts of my life that still have the stench of death. You are raising Jesus in me and bringing a sweet fragrance to those areas in my life.  Oh, Jesus, please continue the work of Your mighty resurrection power in my life!

Jesus in Daily Routine

30. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight

.41.And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence. Luke 24:30, 41-43

During the Emmaus Road experience, Jesus explains all the prophecies in the OT about himself, but it is not until He eats with them that they recognize Him. Then He appears to the eleven apostles and He shows them His hand and feet and they still do not believe Him, until He asks for food and eats with them. It is then their eyes are opened!

This truth jumped out at me immediately as I read these verses. They did not recognize the miracle of the resurrection until they saw Him in the routine of everyday life! He even shows them His hands and feet with the nail scars and still they don’t get it. Only when He joins them at the table and breaks bread with them do they recognize Him.  I think they were looking for a miracle to explode in front of their eyes and yet He was there all the time. They had lived and eaten with Him for three years and knew His daily habits.. It was not in the miracles that their hearts burned within them but in walking down the road and eating with Him. That’s what it’s all about, seeing Jesus in the daily events of my life, those daily miracles that only He and I see because they are between the two of us. Days when I am watering flowers and my neighbor comes over to talk, He is there.  When I am having lunch with a friend and Jesus reveals truth to us, or when having my hair done and Jesus steps into the conversation. No neon signs or flashing lights, just Jesus and me doing the routine.

Jesus, help me never to miss Your presence in the routine of my daily life because I am looking for big miracles, neon signs or flashing lights as evidence of your presence. May I see You as clearly on Monday morning as I do during Sunday worship. May I revel in Your presence on Tuesday as much as on Saturday morning in Bible study. Help me to recognize You in the natural, ordinary, routine, even the boring duties of life. Help me to see how You are working out Your Word in my life. Remind me of Your promises as they unfold in the routines of my life. Jesus, I want to walk hand in hand with You through each day. I love the way Your presence shines through the ordinary. Thank You for your continual presence in my life.

Who Touched Me?

In the crowd that day there was a woman who for twelve years had been afflicted with hemorrhages. She had spent every penny she had on doctors but not one had been able to help her. She slipped in from behind and touched the edge of Jesus’ robe. At that very moment her hemorrhaging stopped. Jesus said, “Who touched me?” Luke 8:43-45

Who touched me? Maybe He was really saying, “Who touched my heart?  Who drew from my well of compassion?” Jesus’ questions are always much deeper than the words spoken. He knew the crowd was jostling around Him. Many were bumping into Him by accident, but only one touched Him on purpose! This was no ordinary pat-on-the-back touch. This was a touch of desperate need! Jesus knew the difference.

How often do we come to Jesus almost by accident or with a passing jostle? Oh, there You are, Jesus. So glad I bumped into You today. I’m going Your way, please don’t mind if I get ahead of You, or lag a little behind. I really do want to see what You’ll do next, but my schedule is full today. Or do we push through the crowd of busy schedules, tough circumstances, physical or emotional pain, confusion or disappointment because we know if we can just touch Him, help and healing will come.  Just touching the hem of His garment with our faith will be enough.

Dear Father, please help us to slow down and realize that just one touch of your garment first thing each day will provide the strength, healing and wisdom we need to navigate the day successfully.

This Little Light of Mine

Your eye is a lamp, lighting up your whole body. If you live wide-eyed in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. Luke 11:34

Jesus is sharing how our light is to shine so others can see the wonder of joy and belief we have in Him. If we open our eyes wide to the love and wonder of Christ, then our whole body will be filled with a light that others can’t miss.

I read once that you could tell a lot about a person from their eyes. Look at any picture and cover up the face except the eyes and you could see into a person’s heart. I have tried this, and I believe it is true. Some were smiling with their mouths, but their eyes were sad. This was so true during the days when we were wearing masks, when often all we saw was the eyes. You could still tell if a person was angry, sad or happy.

The eyes truly are a window to the soul. If our eyes are wide open to God’s Word and we believe His truth, our eyes will show it. The more light we seek from God’s word, the more light we will have in our own lives to share with others. We must never let our light grow dim or go out or we will stumble through the darkness and leave others in the dark. What do our eyes say about our soul?  How much light from God’s word are we allowing in our lives? How much light is shining out of us to light the path for others to find Jesus, the Light of the World?

Father, may Your light shine bright in us to lead others to You. Help us to bring Your light into the darkness around us. Even a small candle can light a dark cave. Help us to realize we don’t need to carry around a spotlight to blind people but just let our little light shine constantly for You.  May the light of Your truth shine into our hearts and out to others. May we remember it is YOUR light that must shine through us! 

He sees Your Tears

As they approached the village gate, they met a funeral procession—a woman’s only son was being carried out for burial. And the mother was a widow. When Jesus saw her, his heart broke. Luke 7:12

Jesus and His disciples were going from village to village preaching, teaching and healing. A widow’s son had died, and she was on her way to bury him. When Jesus saw the funeral possession, He was broken-hearted and raised the son back to life.

Sometimes, depending on how we were taught, we think of God as sitting on a huge throne waiting for us to sin again and shaking His head at our failures. Or we may think that He is so busy caring out His plan in the world that He doesn’t have time to be concerned about our issues great or small. When I read those words, “His heart broke,” I was reminded of my daughter’s death. As I lay prostrate pounding the floor crying out to Him my “whys” and ‘what did I do wrong,” I remember hearing Him very clearly speak to my heart. He said that He was crying with me and reminded me that he understood as His Son died too. That was the first time I realized God suffered grief and pain. I just assumed it was all in His will, so He would just pat us on the head telling us it would all be made right someday. But that day I realized when God made us, he gave us all the emotions He had, so we could truly represent Him to a lost and dying world. At that moment I realized I could grieve and express my emotions, even screaming at Him, and not pretend because I was a Christian, I was to joyfully accept her death as His will. His heart breaks with ours, He grieves with us! This was not part of His original plan for us. I felt His tears mingle with mine that day.

Father, thank You for revealing this truth to me, Your heart breaks with mine! And that tells me that You also rejoice with me and understand all my emotions! You share my pain, my grief and my joy. And, yes, You tell me I will see my precious Amy again someday. You are such a compassionate and caring Father!

No Longer a Slave

5Then he said, “The Son of Man is no slave to the Sabbath; he’s in charge.      Luke 6:5

Observation:

Way too much in this chapter to settle on one verse, but this one sets up the rest by saying the Son of Man is not a slave but the Master of all commands and rules! He then goes on to list all the areas that would infuriate the religious leaders who had made it impossible for anyone to obey all of them. Jesus’ standards broke all their rules.

  • Healing on the Sabbath.
  • Blessings when you speak truth and are cut down for it.
  • Never be satisfied with where you are spiritually.
  • Expect suffering in life.
  • Don’t live for approval of others.
  • Look for the best in others; do not criticize.
  • Love your enemies and do not mistreat those who take advantage of you.
  • Be generous in your attitude and treatment of others when they are down and out.
  • Get rid of your” I-know-better-than-you” mentality.
  • Stop saying “yes” and never doing anything to obey that “yes”.

I can see why the Pharisees wanted to kill Jesus. The more rules they added, the more Jesus reversed them! It makes me think of the of the rules we have today. Each church seems to have its own set of dos and don’ts. You cannot even find many of them in scripture literally or in principle. The list above is much harder to live out because they concern the heart, not the ability to keep rules. You cannot fake these for long as truth always comes out when we least expect it. I need to realize as hard as they are, Jesus set me free to live out His Word. He set me free to live completely contrary to the world and to prepare me for my eternal home where these commands will be natural. If I am not comfortable with them here, will I even have an opportunity to live with them in heaven? Hum??

Father, this entire chapter is stuffed with what you expect of us, as well as, promises of Your rewards if we obey!  Being treated well, if I treat others well. Being given grace because I give others grace. Being able to stand against the storms of life if I build my life on Your Word. And following Your example of freedom to do good. I realize today when I say, “What would Jesus do,” I am saying,” What would love do?” Jesus, help me to live in the freedom You died to give me!! Forgive me when I allow myself to be bound by chains of worldly thinking and behaviors. I need You, oh, I need You!!

Don’t Tempt God

“For the third test the Devil took him to Jerusalem and put him on top of the Temple. He said, “If you are God’s Son, jump. It’s written, isn’t it, that ‘he has placed you in the care of angels to protect you; they will catch you; you won’t so much as stub your toe on a stone’?” Yes,” said Jesus, “and it’s also written, ‘Don’t you dare tempt the Lord your God.’“ Luke 4:9-12

Jesus had just spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness before the beginning of His public ministry. At the end of that time the devil came to tempt Him, to try to take advantage of His weakened physical state. His third test was to tempt Him to prove He was God’s Son by showing off God’s power for selfish purposes. How easy that would have been and put Satan in His place immediately! End of story! But He knew that would have been an abuse of God’s power and was not God’s will for His life. He states very clearly, we are not to test God.

Everything Jesus did was in obedience to God and to glorify Him, not put Him on display for His own benefit and to prove a point about Himself. Jesus spoke to me several months ago about this very thing and this is a strong reminder. He showed me I am not to ask Him to do for me that which I can do for myself. I am not to ask Him to heal my body and continue to abuse it. I am not to ask Him to heal my finances and continue to spend needlessly. I am not to pray for God’s protection when He has provided the way to protect me. Now, that does not mean I don’t pray for my health, finances or protection, while obeying His commands and using what He provides and watch him work in me as I walk in obedience. I know story after story of missionaries and saints who have walked into danger for the sake of Christ and salvation of others, not knowing if they will survive or perish, but only that they must obey. They don’t have the “watch what God will do for me to prove a point” attitude, but with a humble, obedient heart.

Lord, help me not to point my finger at others for their lack of faith, but to check my own attitude as I pray and obey. Anything good that comes from my prayers is because of You and not about me! When I am tempted to display my faith and Your power to prove what a great Christian I am, I violate Your command to not test the Lord, God, examine my heart and help me to trust and obey and leave the results and glory to You. Help me not to parade my faith, but Your faithfulness!