My favorite flower is a Tulip. I’ve always wanted to plant tulips, always. In our previous home, the backyard had no landscaping sense to speak of, so I never had the motivation to plant them. But where we live now, it’s so beautiful here that I finally took the time to do it back in the fall. I planted the bulbs all around the yard, different places, and then it hit me, I would not see the results for months! And it began to eat at me. Drove me nuts that I had to patiently wait until spring to see my favorite flower bloom. I’m a tad compulsive. I like to see instant results. I worked to plant those bulbs and nothing. Just wait. And wait. And wait. I would look out the kitchen window and dream of the day that I could see my tulips! It was becoming a bit creepy, what with my staring at the ground and all. I had to smack myself very dramatic like and yell "get it together man," and carry on.
So finally, I decided to let it go. Slowly, slowly and more slowly, I began to forget about the tulips. Winter came, sort of. No rain, but it was freezing! So my mind was on that, and on the mounds of leaves in the yard, and all the other stuff you think of that winter brings. My focus was elsewhere all winter (I guess it's still winter right, February and all) but I really forgot about the beautiful tulips that I planted! Until finally, the other day, I remembered the tulips! With such excitement I hollered (I love that word. My grandpa used to say it. I try to use it on many an occasion, minus the actual hollering that grandpa would do) at the girls and we ran outside and began to look at all the spots I had planted them. And there they were, little bitty stems…my tulips are on the way. Now it’s driving me nuts because they aren’t growing fast enough but hey, at least they made it. Most of them anyhow. I planted some that have not come through yet. Either I didn’t dig them deep enough, they didn’t get enough water, or they could not stand the cold temperatures we had but for whatever reason, some of them just didn’t make it. They did not make the journey.
It got me thinking, I don’t want to be like the tulip that didn’t make it! I don’t want to be the one that wasn’t dug down deep enough, not rooted in the Word - the one that wasn’t able to endure the temperatures that life brought me. I want to make it!
Romans 10:17 says “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Reading the Word of God will create an irresistible faith in us, a faith that is never daunted, and a faith that never gives up. No matter what life throws our way, our faith will carry us through it. We often fail to realize how large God’s supply is. He has a supply that cannot be exhausted. He tells us to ask and we shall receive. We may not receive the way we think we should, but you can be sure that we will receive.
Matthew 7:11 says “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in Heaven give good things to those who ask Him?”
HOW MUCH MORE. We limit God. We limit Him by our lack of faith. The Bible says, HOW MUCH MORE…how much more will God do when we step out in faith. When we step out and do the crazy thing God has asked us to do. When we step out and believe God for the impossible! When we step out and decide that we are not going to live in our past any longer. How much more can God do with a life that is sold out for Him, not looking back, not looking at our particular temperature of life, but looking at the "Author and the Finisher of our faith." HOW MUCH MORE?
How much more.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Like Precious Faith
2 Peter 1:1-2
To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Like precious faith. That is a phrase full of such power! This faith is indeed precious. It’s precious to me. It’s precious to anyone whose ever been delivered from anything. It’s precious.
To those who have obtained “like precious faith.” We all have the potential to obtain that precious faith, it’s given to us the moment we believe on the Lord Jesus. And once we obtain that faith, the scripture says that grace and peace will be multiplied to us in the knowledge of God.
Knowledge is learning, knowledge is growing, knowledge is changing. So the grace and peace is there for us, as we grow and as we change.
This like precious faith that Peter writes about is a gift for all of us. It’s a gift of faith that will cause us to do that thing that we are afraid to do. It’s a gift that will shut the mouths of lions. It’s a gift that will open doors that no man could open. It’s a gift that will lead us in triumph over our foes. It’s a gift that will cause us to believe God for the impossible! Like precious faith!
We should be able to triumph over all circumstances, not because we have confidence in ourselves, but because we’ve grabbed hold of this precious faith.
It’s always the people that are full of faith who have a good report, who don’t murmur and complain, who are in the place of victory, who are not in the place of human order but of divine order, because God has been asked to dwell in them through this precious faith!
We all have been given this precious faith. Let’s grab hold of it today, activating it in every area of our lives. With that faith, comes grace and peace. And that grace and peace will flow over every situation we face in the natural today; that grace and peace will supernaturally do what can’t be done naturally. Like precious faith.
To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Like precious faith. That is a phrase full of such power! This faith is indeed precious. It’s precious to me. It’s precious to anyone whose ever been delivered from anything. It’s precious.
To those who have obtained “like precious faith.” We all have the potential to obtain that precious faith, it’s given to us the moment we believe on the Lord Jesus. And once we obtain that faith, the scripture says that grace and peace will be multiplied to us in the knowledge of God.
Knowledge is learning, knowledge is growing, knowledge is changing. So the grace and peace is there for us, as we grow and as we change.
This like precious faith that Peter writes about is a gift for all of us. It’s a gift of faith that will cause us to do that thing that we are afraid to do. It’s a gift that will shut the mouths of lions. It’s a gift that will open doors that no man could open. It’s a gift that will lead us in triumph over our foes. It’s a gift that will cause us to believe God for the impossible! Like precious faith!
We should be able to triumph over all circumstances, not because we have confidence in ourselves, but because we’ve grabbed hold of this precious faith.
It’s always the people that are full of faith who have a good report, who don’t murmur and complain, who are in the place of victory, who are not in the place of human order but of divine order, because God has been asked to dwell in them through this precious faith!
We all have been given this precious faith. Let’s grab hold of it today, activating it in every area of our lives. With that faith, comes grace and peace. And that grace and peace will flow over every situation we face in the natural today; that grace and peace will supernaturally do what can’t be done naturally. Like precious faith.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Lent
Today is Ash Wednesday - I have personally never observed Lent or Ash Wednesday. I always saw it as a Catholic tradition (My tiny little Italian Grandma always had ashes on her head every year) and out of my limited knowledge on the topic, would often pass by the subject. But, I love what it leads up to, Easter! Resurrection Sunday! The day that Jesus said "take that Satan" and conquered death, hell & the grave. The day that Jesus finalized my freedom. I love Easter.
A friend posted a wonderfully written blog post that got me to thinking about Lent and all it means. So I've been doing some reading for myself. While indeed it remains a tradition that Catholics do observe, many other faiths observe it as well. I love this from Wikipedia:
"There are traditionally forty days in Lent which are marked by fasting, both from foods and festivities, and by other acts of penance. The three traditional practices to be taken up with renewed vigour during Lent are prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and almsgiving (justice towards neighbour). Today, some people give up a vice of theirs, add something that will bring them closer to God, and often give the time or money spent doing that to charitable purposes or organizations."
Although I don't feel we need to pay penance for our sin, as Jesus did that in totality on the cross, I do think it's necessary to continually check our hearts, to be sure there is no sin in us. It's so easy for that junk to creep in. Oh thank you Jesus for continual forgiveness the moment we ask...
Our church has participated in a few corporate fasts and let me tell you, I saw God move not only on our churches behalf, but in my own personal life as well. God did some amazing stuff while we fasted; we saw tremendous breakthrough in many areas. So there is most definitely something to be said for fasting, it's powerful stuff. You combine that with prayer and look out Jack! God will move on your behalf.
But more than what God will do on our behalf, I think about Jesus, my sweet, sweet Lord - the Savior of my life. The man that has given me so much, without me deserving it in the slightest. The man that has picked me up out of the muck and mire more times than I can count. Jesus. When I think about Him fasting in the wilderness for 40 days, being tempted by Satan - Satan trying with all he could to abort the mission of the Cross, there's Jesus, quoting scripture right at the devil and conquering His own personal flesh - because remember, He was TOTALLY flesh.
Then he goes on and heals people, He gives people hope, He reaches down to the lowest of the low, He befriends the unfriendly, He went where nobody else wanted to go and sought out the people nobody else wanted to seek out...
And as if doing all those wonderful things and more that we don't even know about, as if that were not enough, He goes to the Cross. Oh the Cross. He was nailed there. But they didn't even need to bother with the nails; because He would have stayed there anyway. He would have stayed there anyway. HE WOULD HAVE STAYED THERE ANYWAY. For me. And for you.
Then comes Easter Sunday! My favorite. Sweet freedom.
So I share all that to say this, I don't know yet what the Lord would have me do to observe this season, but when I think about my best friend Jesus, My Father, when I think about Him enduring a 40 day fast, ministering to anyone and everyone, going to the cross and then triumphing over it all - I have to do something. My heart longs to do something. I love Jesus. And he loves me. Enough to stay on that cross, without the nails.
A friend posted a wonderfully written blog post that got me to thinking about Lent and all it means. So I've been doing some reading for myself. While indeed it remains a tradition that Catholics do observe, many other faiths observe it as well. I love this from Wikipedia:
"There are traditionally forty days in Lent which are marked by fasting, both from foods and festivities, and by other acts of penance. The three traditional practices to be taken up with renewed vigour during Lent are prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and almsgiving (justice towards neighbour). Today, some people give up a vice of theirs, add something that will bring them closer to God, and often give the time or money spent doing that to charitable purposes or organizations."
Although I don't feel we need to pay penance for our sin, as Jesus did that in totality on the cross, I do think it's necessary to continually check our hearts, to be sure there is no sin in us. It's so easy for that junk to creep in. Oh thank you Jesus for continual forgiveness the moment we ask...
Our church has participated in a few corporate fasts and let me tell you, I saw God move not only on our churches behalf, but in my own personal life as well. God did some amazing stuff while we fasted; we saw tremendous breakthrough in many areas. So there is most definitely something to be said for fasting, it's powerful stuff. You combine that with prayer and look out Jack! God will move on your behalf.
But more than what God will do on our behalf, I think about Jesus, my sweet, sweet Lord - the Savior of my life. The man that has given me so much, without me deserving it in the slightest. The man that has picked me up out of the muck and mire more times than I can count. Jesus. When I think about Him fasting in the wilderness for 40 days, being tempted by Satan - Satan trying with all he could to abort the mission of the Cross, there's Jesus, quoting scripture right at the devil and conquering His own personal flesh - because remember, He was TOTALLY flesh.
Then he goes on and heals people, He gives people hope, He reaches down to the lowest of the low, He befriends the unfriendly, He went where nobody else wanted to go and sought out the people nobody else wanted to seek out...
And as if doing all those wonderful things and more that we don't even know about, as if that were not enough, He goes to the Cross. Oh the Cross. He was nailed there. But they didn't even need to bother with the nails; because He would have stayed there anyway. He would have stayed there anyway. HE WOULD HAVE STAYED THERE ANYWAY. For me. And for you.
Then comes Easter Sunday! My favorite. Sweet freedom.
So I share all that to say this, I don't know yet what the Lord would have me do to observe this season, but when I think about my best friend Jesus, My Father, when I think about Him enduring a 40 day fast, ministering to anyone and everyone, going to the cross and then triumphing over it all - I have to do something. My heart longs to do something. I love Jesus. And he loves me. Enough to stay on that cross, without the nails.
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