The Blood Changes Everything!

My daughter-in-law is at my home recovering from open-heart surgery.  Even though she is still coping with occasional pain from the incision site, swelling in her legs, and some insomnia, she still says that she feels so much better than she did before the surgery.  Now that the blood is pumping through her body efficiently and correctly, it's making a difference in her energy level.  In fact, all that good blood flow to her brain is even changing how she thinks about things.  She has a new enthusiasm for life and an excitement for her future.

The circulation of blood in our bodies is necessary for life and health and I've seen first-hand how debilitating it is when something goes wrong with that system.  I'm also seeing just how revitalizing it is when the blood gets where it needs to go.  It's almost like she is a different person.  She still has many of the same characteristics she always had, but there's new life in her and it's exhilarating.

She's planning a vegetable garden and a lot of baking and a host of other projects for her little family.  I believe that if the doctor would give her clearance, she'd go dig up her backyard at the end of December to make sure the site was ready for spring planting!

The blood of Jesus is life-giving on so many levels.  Without it, we are lost and without hope. With it, we are saved, called, filled with life, anointed with power, healed, and blessed.  His blood changes everything.  It creates purpose within us and anticipation for the next steps God has for us.

If we had the same enthusiasm for our renewed life as Brittney does and we put it into action steps toward where God is leading us, we'd be amazed at what we could do for the kingdom of God.  Remember today where you were before and how far you have been brought by the blood of Jesus.  Remember the promises He has made to you. Think about the goals and dreams you once had for your life and ministry. Take a moment to let that life-giving blood resurrect all that He has purposed for you.

Never Alone

In the last two weeks, I've lost more sleep than usual.  I'm feeling fine.  I don't have insomnia.  I'm not staying up past my bedtime.  It's simply that my granddaughter, Bella, who's not quite three years old, has been my sole responsibility while her mother was in the hospital.

Bella fights sleep with all that is within her in the first place.  Once she does go to sleep she wakes up several times a night.  Sometimes she just cries out in her dreams and quickly gets quiet again and settles back down. Sometimes her crying continues and I can settle her by just sitting beside her and patting her back until she falls back to sleep.  On other, more frustrating nights, she yells for me or gets out of her little toddler bed and makes her way to my room and cries inconsolably unless I take her in my arms to rock her or tuck her in beside me.

Bella needs the presence of someone to soothe her into the peace of sleep.  Now that her parents are home from the hospital and staying with us for a few more weeks, there are more "someones" to help with her nighttime cries. Ultimately our goal is for her to sleep through the night in her own bed, allowing everyone else a good night's sleep as well.

Tonight I sang a lullaby to her that I remembered singing to her daddy.  It talked about the nearness of God in the night and I was reminded that both in the natural night and in the night seasons of our lives when it is dark and we feel alone, the truth is that we never are.

Joshua 1:9 says, "Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Romans 8:38-39 says, "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

There are many, many more scriptures that talk about this ever-present God who is with us in all circumstances.  All through both the Old and New Testament, He reassures us that we don't have to deal with all the issues of life on our own. 

Years ago, I heard a story about a little boy who had trouble going to sleep in his room alone.  His mother told him that God would be with him.  He said, "But I need somebody with skin on!"

In this Christmas season, I remember that God did have "skin on" in the person of Jesus.  Matthew 1:23 says, "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, "God with us". 

I hope Bella learns to calm herself in the night, both for her rest and for ours, but more than that, I pray that she knows a Jesus who will be with her through everything she experiences in this life - both joyful and painful and that she will know in the depths of her spirit that she is never alone.

Talking to Jesus

Last Sunday night, my son's family spent the night at our home.  Josh and his wife, Brittney, were leaving the next morning to drive to Duke University Hospital so  Brittney could be admitted for heart surgery on Tuesday. They were preparing for the trip and my husband, Paul, (aka Pawpaw) was resting because he was recovering from a bout of pneumonia, so I had primary responsibility for my granddaughter, Bella, that evening.

I put Bella to bed that night.  She has graduated to a toddler bed and this was her first night to sleep in it.  She asked me to stay in the room with her for a few minutes and as I sat on the floor beside the bed, she began to sort of sing her full name, "Bella Ellis, Bella Ellis" and then continued in a sing-song voice to say things like "Papaw feel better" and "Help me sleep in my bed by myself".

I realized what she was saying and I asked her, "Bella, are you praying?" She sat up in the bed and said, "I not praying, Mamaw! I talkin' to Jesus!"


How simple, yet how profound. There are thousands of books dealing with the subject of prayer.  Many sermons have been preached about it.  There are studies on prayer with workbooks and journals. Yet, at the heart of it, it's really just talking to and listening to Jesus.  Even a not quite three-year-old can do it and do it well.

Last night, she had a really hard time going to sleep.  She really misses her mommy and daddy.  I think she napped a little too long in the afternoon and just wasn't quite ready for bed, but it was getting very late.  Though I was firm with her about staying in her bed and in the room she uses at my house, I had some mercy for her tears and lack of cooperation.  Finally, I just scooped her up in my arms, sat down with her on the loveseat in the room and said, "Ok, Bella, we're going to talk to Jesus".  I wiped her tear-stained face, held her and rocked her and prayed with her until she finally fell asleep in my arms and I was able to put her in her own bed.  Early this morning, well before I was ready to face the day, she woke up crying for me and when I went to check on her she said, through her tears, "Mamaw, can we go on the couch and talk to Jesus?" 

When life is difficult and you can't rest, just find a quiet place to be and talk to Jesus.  Bella highly recommends it.

(By the way, Bella's mother is recovering in the hospital and will hopefully be home this week.  Your prayers for an uncomplicated recovery are appreciated.)

Because You Ask Not

My daughter-in-law, Brittney, is always winning something.  She's won concert tickets, CDs, hotel stays, door prizes at conferences, professional photoshoots - you name it - she's won it. The other day I received a group text she had sent to several family members with a picture of a local radio station logo and two gift cards to a fast-food restaurant with the message, "Bwhahaa, birthday winner!" She does love to rub it in....

I haven't had the same good fortune at winning all those prizes.  There is one very simple reason for that.  She enters the contests and I don't.  She makes the effort to place a phone call, or fill out a card, or "like and share" a Facebook post, or upload a video, while I just ignore most of those things.

I know that asking and receiving from God is far different than winning a prize by chance, but the principle is the same.  The book of James tells us, "Ye have not, because ye ask not." (James 4:2) 

I win not, because I enter not.  She wins because she takes the steps necessary to position herself to receive. How many times in my walk with God have I worried about something instead of asking God for the solution?  How many times have I wished for a situation to change but never really prayed about it in earnest?

God is not a genie in a bottle, there to grant our selfish wishes, but when we pray in line with His word, He will watch over his word to perform it.  (Jeremiah 1:12)  If we never speak His word in prayer, we do not place ourselves in a position to receive from Him.

This Tuesday, Brittney is scheduled to undergo open-heart surgery.  I know the outcome I want to see from this procedure.  Many people are praying for her and she is praying for herself.  We are believing that we will receive that outcome because we are asking.

Some people have asked me to tell Brittney that they are thinking about her.  In some cases, I know that thinking is all they are doing. There are others who will actually pray for her.  We often say that "our thoughts and prayers" are with someone.  In truth, neither my thought or yours will ever help a single person.  However, James 5:16 says " Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed.  The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

If you are someone who prays, I ask you to ask God to guide the hands of the surgical team, to allow no complications, to hasten her healing, and to bring her back home to her little girl with a new strength and energy - ready to enjoy life in a way she has not been able to do for quite some time.  Please help me in the asking, and I believe we will have the desire of our heart.

Focus on the Listening

This morning during praise and worship, I noticed something very small and insignificant to the overall flow of the service, but it spoke volumes to me.  Our church worship team has phenomenal talent and they are Holy Spirit-led, not performance motivated.  Worship time can sometimes be loud, because these folks, and the congregation, are not shy about declaring praise.  If the volume bothers you, earplugs are available at the Welcome Desk!

As the instruments played this morning and the congregation was singing, a young man who serves in the church in a number of ways came to stand in the front of the church as he worshipped, as many people do.  After a moment or two, the pastor stepped over to him and began to talk to him.  In order to hear the directions he was being given, he had to lean his head closer to the pastor's ear, block out any concentration on the lyrics and music that surrounded him, and focus only on one thing.

This is not a rare occurrence.  Many times during the course of a service, a pastor or leader will need a message taken to someone or an item brought to him.  I've probably seen this type of exchange a hundred times, but today it spoke to me.

We live in a world where we are bombarded with sound.  Almost everywhere we go there is something being played through a loudspeaker. If it's not being played for us, we turn on music in the car, the television in the living room, music and videos on our cellphones.  The messages come at us constantly and quickly.  We are always processing what we hear, accepting some thoughts and rejecting others.  In the middle of all that audible and mental racket, it is sometimes difficult to focus on the one voice we desperately need to hear - the voice of the Holy Spirit.

The young man listening to the pastor this morning did a couple things in the natural that we can do in the spiritual to better hear our directions in this life.  He tilted his head toward the speaker. He got as close as he could in order to make sure he didn't miss a word.  Proximity to God is the way to know what He is trying to say to us.

I also noticed that he wasn't trying to talk or continue singing with the praise team as he listened.  He quieted his own mind and his own mouth so he could focus on what was being asked of him.  How often do we come to God for direction and end up telling Him what we think should happen?  We need to be still to give His voice priority.

Our family is entering a very challenging month.  There will be tests of our physical bodies, our emotional states, and our spiritual strength.  I will remind myself this month when circumstances are not ideal, that I need to lean into the very heart of God for direction and support and to quiet the thoughts of my own heart so I can focus on where He is leading.

Proverbs 4:20
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings....

Faith, Expectation, and Experience

Like many Christians, I sometimes struggle to activate my faith in a particular situation.  Some things just seem so big.  How silly of me to ever think that they could be too hard for an infinitely powerful God!  Because we are so easily overwhelmed with the things life hands us, we can limit God to what we imagine could be done in a situation to make it right.  We don't remember that He told us that He could "do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us".  (Ephesians 3:20) 

Faith is strengthened by use.  2 Corinthians 10:15 speaks of faith being increased.  2 Thessalonians 1:3 speaks of faith growing exceedingly.  I've heard it said that faith is a verb - not a noun. It's something we do, not something we have.  If you read Hebrews chapter 11, the "hall of fame" listing people of faith, it shows that their faith was demonstrated by what they said or did, not just what they felt in their hearts or thought in their minds.  They trusted God, stepped out in obedience, and their faith was rewarded. 

People make faith such a mystery, but we operate in faith every day.  When you were still just a toddler, your mother probably carried you in her arms and let you flip the light switch off when you were leaving a room or flip it on when you were entering.  You had the experience of having that power at your tiny fingertips.  You probably thought it was amazing at first, but in daily life now, you touch those controls with barely a thought. Experience has taught you what happens and you have a very natural faith that the light fixture will respond when you operate the switch.

We trust people that we barely know in our everyday lives.  We'll accept a job offer and work for two weeks in a new position with nothing but the promise of a payday.  We put money in vending machines and expect a product to emerge.  We sit down in chairs that we expect to support our weight.  We turn the key in the ignition and expect the engine to start.  We do hundreds of things like this on a regular basis and we're surprised when they don't happen - not when they do.

We act first and expect something to happen. You see, faith isn't that hard.  You keep doing things because you have the experience of acting and seeing results.  If you just stand beside the switch on the wall and hope that light will illuminate the room, you'll be waiting for a very long time for that promise to manifest.  It takes the corresponding action to get the result you desire.

Now God's not a light switch and we can't reduce our interaction with Him to a formula.  He's not at our beck and call to manipulate to suit our whims.  We can, however, in the context of a relationship with Him and a knowledge of His Word and His will, act in faith upon the promises He has given us and expect those promises to be kept.

Sometimes the stepping out is a declaration of faith in prayer.  Other times there's a physical action.  Right now, my son and his wife are trying to sell their home.  When the buyer comes along, they will be moving in with us for a while until they find the next place God has for them.  I've prayed for the sale of their house, but I realized that if that is what I really expect to happen, I need to take some actions that match my expectations.  So I've been cleaning out closets, reorganizing rooms, making lists of things that might have to go to make room for them - putting some walk with the talk. I need to prepare for what I expect to see.

What's the next action you need to take to make room for what you are believing God to do in your life? Do you need to update your resume, pack up some things, start researching schools, join a ministry in your church, write a book?  There are actions tied to your prayers that you can explore, all the while declaring what the Word of God says about your situation.  With every answered prayer, you have that experience of faith operating in your life and that experience builds your faith for the next challenge.  Get some experience!

Save the Date!

I may be part of the older generation, but because of my job in education, much of what I do every day is computer related.  I don't even use a datebook or paper planner of any kind now.  All the events of my life are on a digital calendar that is available to me on any device I can access.  On the other hand, there's my husband, Paul.  This is what he says about himself.

"I'm Fred Flintstone in a George Jetson world."

Though he will take a brief look at his hometown newspaper's online version (just to make sure he isn't mentioned in the obituaries), he's really not very connected online.  He says he uses "Face-look", not "Facebook".  We have a shared data plan on our family's cell phones and he uses exactly 0 bytes of data each month.

So for Paul's benefit, there is a paper calendar on our bedroom wall so I can make sure he is informed of all the different things that are happening in our lives and the lives of our family members that might affect him or for which he needs to be praying.  The other day, I looked up at the November calendar and realized that I hadn't updated it since we turned to that page.  The month was completely blank.  At first, I thought I'd just add the things that were yet to come this month, but I like to be thorough and so I added even the events that had already happened. 

But what's the point of writing down what's already in the past?  Sometimes it's good to have a point of reference, such as knowing how long it has been since you last saw your doctor. Other times it's nice to look back and remember a pleasant event that you might have otherwise forgotten.  Someone might write a date on a calendar to mark the beginning of a goal or a decision such as the beginning of a diet plan or the last time they smoked a cigarette. 

Today was one of the kinds of Sunday morning services that should be written down and remembered. Though God is always present when we meet together, the Holy Spirit did some very special things when we were together today.  I keep a journal where I write about significant moments and days in my walk with God.  Sometimes He works in our lives in ways that are amazing, but time and failing memories can erase the importance of a moment.  When I am struggling with circumstances in my life, it helps me tremendously to go back and read about the ways God has intervened in my life in the past.  I "save the date" by creating my own small memorials in words to mark the day when I saw an answer to a prayer, when I was encouraged by a word from someone who was listening to the Holy Spirit on my behalf, or when I let God use me to bless someone else.

God likes us to remember those days as well.  All through the Bible, people remembered and reminded each other of the mighty deeds which God had done. The children of Israel built memorials of stone to remind them of what God had done for them.  Hearing and meditating on those things once more builds our faith and helps us trust Him for the future.  I encourage you today to begin to either keep a journal or at least a few sheets of paper in the back of your Bible to create a written memorial to go back to so you can encourage yourself in the Lord in a time when hope is difficult to find. 

Close Enough to Really Know Him

Even though my nest is now quite empty, I once had a typical American family set-up in my home.  I had a husband (and I still do, thankfully!).  I had the storybook set of children - a girl and a boy. They're still around too - they just have their own addresses now.

My daughter Nikki is 41 years old now and she and I kind of grew up together because I was a young single mother. She now lives 200 miles from me. I only see her once or twice a year and usually for only a very brief time when we do manage to get together.  I make a point of calling her every Tuesday evening on her day off and we get a little conversation - sometimes 5 minutes, sometimes 30, but a very short time in the course of our lives.

My son Josh is 30 and he lives only about 13 miles from me. Often he and his wife and daughter come and spend the night or even the entire weekend with us.  We've taken vacations together often over the past several years since we moved to Virginia.  When we're not in the same place, we often chat on Facebook about one thing or another.

I was thinking about how these relationships this week and it occurred to me that even though Nikki has known me longest, she knows me the least.  There's no criticism in that statement. Her life choices and mine have put us in different places geographically, but because of that, she has limited information about who I really am these days.   Unless I tell her over the phone, she has no idea what I am doing with my time, what I am planning or dreaming, or even what I'm thinking about her.

My son could do a bit better.  He's often with me on my little adventures or just my boring grocery trips.  He knows some secret plans I'm working on.  He's around enough for me to "tell him about himself" when I think he still needs some motherly correction.  I can tell him about a little household project that I need his help to complete and he'll do it without too much grumbling. 

Our relationship with God can be in both those places at different times in our lives.  Of course, we're never geographically far from Him.  He's as close as our breath.  However, we can put distance in the spirit between ourselves and where He is. 

When we are distant from Him, we don't know much about Him.  We don't know what His plans are for our lives or His kingdom.  We don't know the thoughts He has toward us and who He says we are.

When we're a little closer, we might get a glimpse of the Kingdom and what will unfold in the future.  We might get some direction on something that God wants us to do in service and we'll be obedient in following through.  We're close enough that the Holy Spirit can do some correction and speak into our lives.

Of course, there's an even deeper measure of intimacy we can have with our heavenly Father and if we pursue it, we can be even more in tune with where He wants to take us and what He wants us to do.  That's another level of being close - more like the closeness of a marriage, where two are living so close together that they can finish each other's sentences, anticipate each other's needs, and work together to achieve their dreams and goals.  When we walk that closely, the Holy Spirit can supernaturally partner with us to bring heaven to earth.  I'm not there yet.  I've had moments like that, but not nearly enough of them.  

If my daughter chose to move to Virginia to live closer to me, I'm sure we'd spend much more time together and our relationship would deepen.  Our son is trying to sell his house and his family will temporarily move into our home while they are looking for a larger house and we'll all have to adjust to living very close together.  I'm sure we'll know much more than we really want to about each other by the end of that experience!.  The difference in our knowledge of each other will be our proximity to each other.  I know that my proximity to God is not something that is His responsibility to cultivate - it's mine.  I can be as close to Him as I decide to be - and so can you.  

A Consistent Message

As some of you know, I am currently working on completing my first book. Though there is a lot of new material, much of the content comes from the blog posts I've been writing for almost two years.  You would think it would be easy to copy and paste articles from the blog to the working manuscript, but it hasn't proven to be quite that simple.  It's a constant battle of organizing and reorganizing, of making sure I haven't put the same essay in two different places, of correcting spelling errors or typos that I missed when I first published the blog, and of adjusting the language so that I'm not speaking in present tense about events that happened three years ago.  Whew!

What's really important to me is that people will really understand the theme of the book and that it will make a real difference in deepening and enriching their relationship with God.  I want to be clear and understandable, but above all biblical.

When I think that God used flawed people to get His Word to us in a book that stays on the best-seller list, I am assured He can help me put all the thoughts and lessons He has given me in a manageable form.  What a remarkably consistent message His book has!  He's loved us and wanted us from the beginning of time and He's provided a way for us to have a relationship with Him.  He's written us a love letter that has everything we need that pertains to life and godliness.

I hope you'll excuse this very brief post tonight, but I've been away for my fall break weekend, enjoying some time with my husband and spending long evenings in the hotel room putting the finishing touches on the message God has given me.  I'm proofreading all my words just as He proofreads me and makes course corrections as I walk through the pages of the book of my life.

I hope that tonight, you are allowing Him to do that in your life as well.  Please pray for the successful completion of this manuscript and that God will use it for his purposes. God bless!

When You and God Don't See Eye to Eye

Have you ever found one of those temporary cartoon tattoos for children in a cereal box?  Bella and I found one over the weekend and the picture was of characters from a movie she really enjoys.  I sat her up on the kitchen counter so I could be close to the sink to get water to wet the sponge I needed to use to apply it to her arm.

First, I squinted at the tiny directions written on the back of the package.  Why do they have to print things so small these days?  I peeled the protective film from the front of the tattoo and placed it face down on her arm and started pressing the wet sponge against the backing to get the picture to release and attach to her arm.  Her little eyes filled up with tears as she looked down at what I was doing.  She saw a white rectangle of paper with the directions printed all over it instead of the picture she had imagined was going to be there. "No! No!", she cried and she tried to pull her arm back. This was not what she wanted at all!

"It's OK, Bella.  This is how I need to do it.  You need to be still and trust me so you won't mess this up.  The picture will be there in a minute", I reassured her.  

To her credit, she stopped crying and watched me intently as I continued the process.  After a few seconds, I barely pulled back one edge just so she could see that the colors were beginning to be transferred to her skin.  I kept applying pressure and dabbing the sponge on the paper until the entire backing was wet and the picture on the other side was totally complete and visible. Then I removed the paper and let her see the finished product. She beamed up at me and started talking about one character that was her favorite.

How often do we do this very thing with God?  We have a dream - a picture of something we want to see in our lives.  We know exactly how it should look.  It will unfold in a certain way, on a particular timetable, marking specific milestones along the way.  Then, when life starts veering off in another direction we panic.  "God, this isn't how it's supposed to be!"

God hears us saying, "I'm supposed to be marrying this person, but now they've left me", or "We were supposed to have children by now, but we're having fertility issues", or "By now, I should have had a promotion at work", or "I should be further along in ministry at this point in my life", or any one of a hundred other things that we thought should be coming to pass.  

We don't see as God sees.  He says, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways."  (Isaiah 55:8) We look upon what is happening in our lives - at what God seems to be applying to our situation - and we're disappointed, scared, hurt, and so sure that God has really missed it.  This wasn't what we prayed for, believed for, stood for, declared and decreed.  Or was it?

Isaiah 46:9-10 says,

"Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’

If we will do as I told Bella and be still and trust Him through the process, we may find that the picture He is applying to us is far more beautiful than the one we had imagined.  

We will find Ephesians 3:20-21 to be true if we wait on Him. 

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

A Joyful Grave

         

I witnessed a powerful baptism service this morning.  Many people were baptized for the first time as they professed their new relationship with Jesus. Others took that plunge in a demonstration of a new commitment after a time of spiritual brokenness.  Some people were drawing a symbolic line in the sand to mark a day when things would change in their lives and their ministries. The service went long after the usual time that we dismissed, and I needed a bathroom break! But as we watched the Holy Spirit working so powerfully, my husband leaned over and said to me, "You can't leave the room during a funeral service!"

It took me just a second to adjust to what he was saying, but Colossians 2:12 says it pretty much that way. " ...having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead."

We were watching a series of burials. Old lives, old attitudes, old struggles, old obstacles were being put away - not just covered up and ignored - but being healed and transformed.

At the end of the service, we watched the ushers prepare the portable baptistry before moving it. Paul said, "Look, they're putting the lid on the coffin..."  - another wise observation from my always witty husband. Baptism is a grave where Jesus buries our past. Romans 6:6 says, "Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin."

The joy in the house this morning was evident.  Jesus is still moving, still changing lives, still intervening in circumstances.  I hope you are in a place where you witness this freedom taking place in those around you, but more than that, I pray freedom and joy are abundant in your own life. If not, maybe it's time to bury some things of your own.

 

The Timing of God

My son, Josh, made the following observation on Facebook yesterday and I told him I was going to borrow it for today's blog post.

"You can be the best hunter in the world, but if there are no deer where you are then it doesn't matter.  You can be the best hunter in the world, but if you arrive in the field at the wrong time then it doesn't matter.  You may feel your God-given talents are pointless and wasted. Remember that you may be waiting to be in the right place and season." (Joshua Ellis)

When I read this, I thought of Joseph, being given dreams of ruling over his brothers, only to find himself in a prison cell in Egypt.  All the promises of God seemed to be made null and void. He was not in a position to even imagine all God still had in store for him.  He had to wait for the right season.

I thought of David, being anointed to be king over Israel, running for his life as he fled from King Saul.  Did he question the truth of Samuel the prophet's words over him as a young boy as he faced all the adversity? In God's timing, he took his rightful place.

There are some seasons in our lives that are extremely frustrating.  Sometimes we wonder where God is in the middle of our troubles.  There was a period of about four years in my life when we were under extreme financial stress.  We had just moved to Virginia and my husband was only able to find temporary work.  Within a few months, he developed some health issues that kept him from working at all.   We were paying a mortgage payment on the house in West Virginia that we were trying to sell as well as a rent payment in our new home.  There were times when our grocery budget was less than $25 a week.  From a spiritual standpoint, we were doing all we knew how to do, but month after month, things grew more difficult.  During that time, through all the ups and downs, my faith in God grew in a way that it never had before.  It's easy to trust God when life is going well - a real challenge when circumstances are burdensome.  I wouldn't want to go through that series of events ever again in my life, but I wouldn't go back and change a single thing about that time because God became even sweeter to me in the middle of all of it.  I learned to trust and I watched as He provided my needs in ways that even today, I don't fully understand.

I wrote on my church's Facebook page one day in the worst of the financial mess that I was in:

"I have learned so much in the last year about faith and patience, about waiting on God, about trusting His timing.  There are situations that I wanted Him to handle differently, but now I can see the "why" of the way things have played out - the other people He wanted to bless in a situation that I thought was mine alone.  Everything we need God to do in our lives also touches the lives of others.  Only He sees the big picture.  Thank God that He IS God."

The seven years of waiting to sell that West Virginia house ended up being a blessing to the family who purchased it while it taught me to wait and trust.  A car that we wanted to sell when it became too difficult to maintain two vehicles finally sold to someone in our church who needed it at just the right time for him - weeks after I thought it should have already been sold.  God's timing is perfect though we may not always agree with how it unfolds.  It's not all about us - it's about Him.

Psalm 27:14 says, "Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!"

Whether you are waiting for a financial breakthrough, a ministry opportunity, a restored relationship, a healed body or for an outlet for all your gifts and talents to be used or noticed, waiting on the timing of the Lord is the sure way to know that all is being done His way and for His glory.


Photo by Jim Fawns from Pexels

Practice What You Preach

This summer our family rented a house on the Chesapeake Bay for our vacation.  On the street leading to the house was a set of speed bumps.  Our granddaughter loved going over them and started raising her hands every time we approached one.  Before long, everyone in the car was raising their hands and a tradition was created.  It wasn't long before she had us raising our hands as we crossed railroad tracks, went through tunnels, and even turned into our street, where there is a rough section of pavement.  It's become such a family ritual that my husband and I do it when she's not even in the van.  (I know - we're weird....) 

If we ever forget to do it, Bella reminds all of us as we approach the landmark.  "Put your hands up, Mommy.  Put your hands up, Daddy. Mawmaw, Papaw - put your hands up!"

Today in the van, we went through an area behind a store where there were ten speed bumps and later in the trip three railroad tracks and the street to our house. Bella was so busy telling all of us to put our hands up that most of the time she forgot to raise her own.

I think we can be like that sometimes in our spiritual lives.  We give advice or encouragement to others, but sometimes we don't do the very thing we've just told them to do. It's easy to just say what we think is the right thing based on our own experience or biblical knowledge.  We can reduce navigating our journey to a formula of a verse or two of scripture and a pre-packaged prayer when what needs to happen is that we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit both in our own lives and as we minister to others.

Even in the life of a Spirit-filled believer, ritual and tradition can overtake the fresh, living, direction of the Spirit of God if we are not careful to maintain that connection.

I'm glad Bella finds such joy in very simple things, but I hope that she'll remember to focus on her own behavior and not on that of others as she grows and matures. The old adage "practice what you preach" is still good advice. Examine yourself with me and make sure that's exactly what you are doing.

Does Your Heart Have a Boo-Boo?

Our family has been experiencing a time of testing for many months.  My amazing daughter-in-law, Brittney, after having many medical tests and going to many specialists, has been diagnosed with a heart issue at the age of 30.  There are several other conditions that are contributing to and complicating the treatment of the issue, so it's been a time of financial hardship and frustration with the medical system for her and my son, as well as a physically exhausting and painful time for her.  She's bearing it with grace and faith that God has a plan and that her testimony will be for His glory.  I'm believing for her full restoration to health and energy, both for her and for her daughter, Bella who is a busy almost-three-year-old who really needs her mama.

Brittney's been in the hospital all weekend and Bella has spent a lot of time with me.  When we were praying for her mother last night I asked Bella, "What's wrong with your mommy?" to see what level of understanding she had at this young age.  She told me, "Mommy's heart has a boo-boo and she is at the doctor".

There are a lot of hearts with "boo-boos" in this world.  Some are physical heart conditions, but there are many, many more spiritual heart issues than physical.  The physical issues can be treated.  There are medicines, therapies, and surgeries that can improve a person's quality of life and restore their health, but a spiritual heart condition can only be cured by one specialist - the Great Physician - Jesus.

Just as we seek out medical attention from the doctor who has the right expertise to know what to do in our situation, we must seek the Lord for the healing of our spiritual wounds.  If we don't consult the medical experts, our condition may worsen and it certainly won't improve.  In the same way, ignoring God and just expecting our spiritual heartsickness to disappear can cause it to worsen.

Psalm 34:18 says, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

In this difficult time for all of us, I'm leaning on God to deal with all the things I am powerless to change.  Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Is there a spiritual heart issue which is exhausting you and causing you pain?  Have you tried everything else to soothe that discomfort and found that nothing is helping?  Consult the right specialist for the job.  He created your heart in the first place.  He knows what you need and He has the power to heal every issue in your life.  

I Wish I Was OR I Wish I Were?

There are so many customs humans have when they want to wish for something - blowing dandelion fluff, blowing out birthday candles, pulling the turkey wishbone, crossing their fingers, or finding four-leaf clovers.  You could probably add something else to this list.

The other day I indulged myself in watching the musical version of Cinderella that was often on television when I was a child.  In the story, all the girls in the kingdom are hoping to become the chosen bride of the prince and they are wishing they were older, or younger, or sweeter, or bolder, or any of the other traits they don't have that cause them to be disqualified from having their dream fulfilled.

That's been the story of my life for quite some time now.  It's not that I want to marry a prince.  I married mine over 32 years ago and I thank God for him.  My wishes are of the self-improvement kind.  I wish I was a person who kept better track of my checking account or flossed every day or could lose weight AND keep it off.  As a Christian, I wish I were a person who studied the Word more or prayed more or reached out to people more naturally.

I started thinking about the was vs were and just could not remember my high school English teachers addressing that subject when it comes to these types of phrases.   So, like any modern person, I did an internet search.  I found a variety of opinions on which is correct, but one of the most interesting things I found is this:  One should say, "I wish I were" when the thing they are hoping for is impossible or highly improbable.  This would be like me saying, "I wish I were 21 years old and five feet and eight inches tall." Those of you who know me are aware that I'll never see 21 again and I have never even glimpsed five feet and one inch. It's just not going to happen.

The phrase "I wish I was" is reserved for those things that are approachable.  In my case, most of the things I truly wish for are possible, but most of them require some action on my part.  How do I get to become a person who does all those things?  Well, the people that do those things are the people who make a decision to do them and then follow through. On a daily basis, I do the things I have to do, like go to work, but in my free time I end up doing what I want to do instead of the things I should.

I am one decision away from everything I want to change in my life.  I can't do any of it on my own, but with God's help, I can be successful. However, God won't force me or do it for me.  His Word says that God's divine power has"given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness".  (1 Peter 1:3)  There's nothing for which I have to wait to begin making those changes in my life.  It's one of those "one foot in front of the other" kinds of beginnings.  What are you wishing of yourself?  Let's take some first steps and the sooner, the better!

And God Loves Loopy!

It's been a while since I told a "Bella" story, but this one had to be told.  Our granddaughter is 2 years and 9 months old this month.  She talks a blue streak, as they say, and teaches me things every time I see her.  Sometimes, the lessons are sobering, but this one was a real laugh - at least for a while.

She was spending time in the master bedroom with her Papaw yesterday.  She knows if she goes back there she can usually get him to play one of the shows she likes on his television, even if her daddy is monopolizing the one in the living room.

Most of the programs she likes we can tolerate, but there are a few that are so silly or repetitive or boring that we groan as soon as she asks for them. One of those she used to call "Loopy" because she got confused about the character's real name.  I'll leave it at that so I don't publicly criticize the show.  I'm sure he's a perfectly lovely person, but the goofiness of the show grates on the nerves of all the adults in the house.

Anyway, yesterday she was sitting on the floor, watching one of her shows, when she suddenly said to her Papaw, "I like God.  God loves me.  God loves Loopy."  How can you argue with that logic? So with a groan, he turned to that crazy show and she got to watch.

She did a lot of that this weekend.  In fact, on the way to church this morning she asked if our pastor, Michael, would be at church.  I told her he would and she said, "I like Michael.  Michael loves me."  I think she is beginning to connect that love goes both ways and that God's love encompasses all of us.

I laughed over the "God loves Loopy" comment until this afternoon it hit me that I was sometimes forgetting just how much God loves all of us and how we are commanded to love one another.  I was venting on the telephone to an old friend of mine about a situation in my extended family and how a particular person has caused a great deal of resentment and alienation in a situation and I realized that I've spent more time talking about the pain she has caused than I have spent in praying for her and asking God to intervene in the situation.  After all, if God loves Loopy, He surely loves her too.  Who am I to vent instead of pray?  Yes, she is in the wrong.  Yes, sins have been committed, relationships harmed, lies have been told, but God loved me when I had the same list of strikes on my record.

I'm teaching this little girl many things as she grows, but thank God that He is using her to teach me too.

Can You Hear Me Now?

I just saw the Christian movie, Overcomer, with a group of friends from my church.  We met in a room at the theater after the movie was over to discuss the thoughts we had about what we had seen. Without giving away the plot, one of the main characters was a girl who was a cross-country runner.  In a crucial race, she is able to listen to some pre-recorded coaching using an earbud in one ear. As she runs, she receives encouragement, direction, affirmation, and strategies to help her run the best race she possibly can.

I remarked to the group that I wished that I could hear the Holy Spirit that directly and clearly as I try to run this race of life.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if in each and every situation of your life you could hear the audible voice of God guiding you?  Of course, that kind of constant, tangible guidance wouldn't take much faith and it's not the way that God chooses to direct most people.  Yet, we desperately need His influence along the way.

Yet at any point in the movie race, the runner could have chosen to switch off the device and run the race her own way.  I think sometimes that's what I do.  God uses all kinds of things to speak to us.  His main avenue to get the message across is His Word, but how often do we let other things distract us and neglect reading the remarkable love story He has given us in the Bible?  He uses the words of our brothers and sisters in Christ, but do we discredit their loving correction because it's just coming from another human being?  If you've read much of my writing, you'll know that He uses simple, everyday occurrences to teach lessons, if I'm listening.  He'll do that for you as well.

I guess I'm saying that if we don't already make use of the ways God has already used to communicate to us, why should He give us more?  Sometimes, I haven't obeyed the last direction I heard from Him, so He can't trust me with another yet.  We must walk in the direction of what we have already received in order to have the next steps outlined for us.

Luke 11:28 says in part, "...... blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"

Fingers on the Right Keys - Starting from a Position of Truth

I was typing some sermon notes earlier tonight and I glanced away from the screen for a few seconds.  When I looked again at what I had written, it seemed as if I'd stopped typing in English and begun recording notes in some very foreign language! Evidently, my hands had moved one place to the left and had carried on typing in the correct pattern, but with absolutely the wrong letters, causing an incomprehensible jumble of unpronounceable syllables on the screen.

When you start from the wrong position in life, it has a profound effect on the things that you think, the opinions you hold, the principles on which you base your life choices.  You may have very strong convictions about things and you think you can justify them. You just keep on churning out ideas in the way you speak and the way you live, but unless those things are rooted in the only real truth that exists, all your rhetoric is just as foolish and nonsensical as my typed gibberish.

Our world today is full of many opinions. It seems that everyone is constantly arguing about politics and religion, morals and values, judgment and mercy.  Even in the church world, there is great compromise and a rejection of the very Word of God by people who think they are being more loving and compassionate by changing the gospel to fit the culture instead of letting the Jesus of the gospel transform the culture. There is one constant in all the changing landscape of our civilization and it's not pop culture, the media, or anyone's personal opinion.  It's the authority of an Almighty God who doesn't need to "get with the times" or update His Word to fit modern sensibilities.  When we start thinking that we know better than our Creator, we've got our fingers on the wrong keys and everything that we say or do beginning in that position is flawed.

The thing that everyone seems to be missing is this - it's not that God set down some arbitrary rules just so He could be in charge and make everyone toe the line or else.  It's the fact that He designed us and He knows what will bring us the greatest fulfillment in our lives and what will cause our lives to be a blessing to others and not a heartache.  He's a loving Father who could control every aspect of our lives but allows us the choice to accept or reject His plan. 

No matter how intelligent someone is by the world's way of measuring intelligence, he or she is no match for God. The best-laid arguments that begin by setting man in a position as more "with it" than the God who created him are just so much babble and nonsense.

1 Timothy 2:4, in talking about the people of God praying for all men, expresses God's heart on the subject of truth and how He views it.  It says, .... who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."  Please notice that the scripture says the truth, not "one of the many truths" or "your truth" as the world says these days.  He loves us and He knows that only His truth will really set us free.

When Does Church Start?

At the church where I am a member, we use screens to display announcements, song lyrics and just before the beginning of the service, there is a countdown clock to let people know when the service will begin.  Last week, I was thinking about that countdown in terms of the question, "When does church start?"

Church doesn't start when the praise and worship leader plays the opening notes of the first song.  It doesn't begin when the pastor walks into the room or when the ushers close the doors between the lobby and the sanctuary.  

Church starts in each one of us from the day we are born again because we are the church - people are the church - the building is only a place where we gather - the service is only an appointed time we join together.

So when does church start?  It starts at home when you open your eyes each day and walk out into a world who needs to see Jesus in you.  It starts when you are in prayer for your pastor during the week so he might have a timely word for you and your brothers and sisters when the church next gathers.  It begins when those who serve on a Sunday morning in various ministries of the church are preparing for the needs of the people.  It begins in thousands of ways through millions of believers all over the world.  

So if you gather with other believers on Sunday, make sure you are being the church - not just attending a meeting.  There's so much more to this Christian life than putting in an appearance for a couple of hours in a building with a church name on the front.

A Way of Escape

This morning on the drive to church, a bug on the inside of the driver's side window was annoying my husband.  As we slowed to a stop at a traffic light, he rolled down his window and tried to shoo the bug out into the fresh morning air, but the stubborn creature clung to the edge of the window.  He batted at it several times, but it was no use. Finally, in exasperation, he squashed it against the window that it seemed so determined to occupy. 

My first reaction was, "Ewww!" as I heard the crunch of the bug under his finger.  I remarked that he surely had given the bug plenty of opportunities to escape, but that in rejecting the offer, the bug had chosen his own disaster.

In this case, the insect's choice had literal life or death consequences but for us as spiritual beings, the choices put before us are eternal - a never-ending, joyous home in heaven with God or eternal separation from Him in hell. It's based on a single choice.

Acts 4:12 says, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved".  

However, it's not only the eternal escape that we need but also a way to be rescued from the challenge of our sin nature still rearing its ugly head in our lives.  Fortunately, God has provided a solution for that issue as well.

"No temptation has overtaken you except such is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."  1 Corinthians 10:13

I'm so glad that God has mercy towards us and is long-suffering - even waiting many years for some of us to take advantage of that open window into the fresh air of life in Him, but as my pastor taught this morning, God has also said that His Spirit would not always strive with man. (Genesis 6:3) That window of escape - of a chance to live and prosper and find your purpose in this life - won't always be there.  Take advantage of the unfathomable opportunity God has given you - first to accept His salvation and then to walk with His Spirit to rescue you from all the traps and snares the enemy lays for you in this life. It's your choice.

Juggling Chainsaws

I am in information overload tonight.  There are situations going on in my family that, though I am trusting God to handle, are still on my mind.  The school year has begun and I have lesson plans and schedules and special education paperwork and meetings spinning around in my head. I have dozens of alarms and reminders on my cellphone because I can't possibly keep up with everything that is going on.  There are also the hundreds of big and little things that we all have to keep track of to run our homes, manage our finances, care for our loved ones, and even just get ourselves dressed and out the door in the morning. 

It's like juggling chainsaws, herding cats, or flying an airplane WHILE building it. It's overwhelming and it's tiring and it makes me feel like a failure at all of it.

There's so much swirling around in my brain that I couldn't even remember hearing God once this week.  I usually see or do or hear something between blog posts that drops a little lesson into my heart, but the mental noise has canceled out anything He might have been trying to say.  As soon as I realized that fact, there was the post.

"Stop the noise, stop the input, and just listen."  The Bible puts it this way in Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God".  So this post is short and to the point.  Put everything else out of your mind.  Sit at His feet.  Hide the to-do list.  Just be.  Be still. Know - remember, recognize, acknowledge, meditate on, consider, discover, understand -that He is God and He's got this.  A year from now, all of the things that are cluttering your heart right now will a distant memory - and He will still be God and He will still be there. 

Mind Your Roots!

Early last Thursday evening, my husband and I were watching television in our bedroom when we heard an odd sound.  I thought something was being dragged through the gravel in the driveway at the side of the house, but my daughter-in-law yelled to us that a tree had come down in the yard.

The tree that had fallen is not actually within our property boundaries, but it fell into an area adjacent to our lot that we keep mowed and treat as part of our yard.  The first picture shows how it fell.  In the second picture, you can see that this tree had no root system at all. The final picture shows the branches and leaves of a few younger trees that it took down with it on its destructive path toward the ground.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky that evening.  The wind wasn't blowing.  All was calm and peaceful, but still, with no provocation, that tree fell.  It reminded me of all the times that we hear about people who are caught in a massive moral failure or people who do horrific criminal acts.  Many times everyone around them is shocked because those folks were thought of as nice people, good neighbors, even people of faith.  Yet suddenly, they fall and fall mightily.  Could it be that they had no roots?  Were they disconnected even though they gave the appearance of being planted solidly in the community or church?

The tragedy of the fall of people who were once respected and admired is that they don't fall alone.  Just like this old, dead tree took down at least two young saplings, so there is collateral damage when a person's sin comes to light.  There is pain for those who are directly affected, disillusionment for those who looked up to them, and cynicism from those who are looking for a reason to discredit Christianity. Someone who was innocent in the entire situation can sometimes be brought down in a way that crushes their faith and moves them from a place of growth to a path of destruction.

Once this tree was a tall, flourishing part of the woods around it.  I don't know what happened to it to cause the roots to die and leave it without an anchor in the soil around it.  What I do know is that spiritually, that can happen to any of us.  If we are not diligent to keep ourselves in prayer and the Word, we can begin crumbling from the roots even though everyone around us may see us as a "pillar of the church".  We can look the part, sound the part, and act the part, but be full of absolutely nothing. Then one day, seemingly out of the blue, we can be swayed by a momentary temptation born of our own discontent and fall in a very public and hurtful way that causes a wound to the body of Christ, our family, our friends, our co-workers.  None of us are so strong on our own that we can't be lead astray.

Colossians 2:6-7 says, "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

More than ever, we need to watch that we are securely rooted, not for our sakes only, but for the precious brothers and sisters around us that need us to be strong in the Lord.  Mind your roots!

Outgrowing Your Container

For this post, the picture is more than just a stock photo that goes with the theme of my writing. It's a true-life example of a spiritual truth.  Do you see the tallest plant in the picture that is in the green pot in the center?  It's a sedum plant - a perennial plant that is easy to grow and hard to kill.  I should know because I normally have a black thumb instead of a green one!

My Aunt Glenda gave me that plant at least ten years ago.  When she first brought it to me I planted it in that little white enamel container just in front of the watering can in the picture.  For years, I carried that old cookpot with the sedum from house to house as we moved 5 times during those ten years.  I never transplanted it into the ground because I never knew exactly how long we would stay at each new house. For those ten years, it dutifully turned green in the spring, sent out little flowers in the summer, died back to sticks in the fall and winter and continued the cycle every year.  It didn't grow any bigger but it stayed healthy and functioned as it should.

When I created this little garden patch around an old tree stump this summer, I finally moved it to the brown pot just to the left of where it is now.  To my surprise, it quickly grew and filled that pot.  I had been looking for a tall plant to be the centerpiece of the entire arrangement and it became apparent that I didn't need to look at the nursery for a focal point for the space.  The sedum had grown into that role and I moved it once again.  Again, it grew several inches and is exactly what I needed to anchor this spot in the yard.

This plant always had the potential to grow and flourish, but I'd kept it almost root-bound in its original container.  Once it was given the opportunity to expand and grow, it exceeded all my expectations - not once, but twice.

I think some Christians get root-bound.  They come to know Christ and for a while, they learn and grow and mature.  They find a role in service within the church where God has placed them. However, as the years go by, they may find themselves stagnant.  They are still productive but they have limited themselves to one role - one container - when there are so many more possibilities for their lives that they have never allowed themselves to explore.  Often when they step into a larger role, they will find that their growth accelerates and they find themselves doing things they never imagine. Being transplanted may sometimes even mean a move to a new church home, but at the least, it means a move of faith as they expand their sphere of influence.

You can be useful and valuable in your current area of service, but when you are faithful in the things God entrusts to you, there is always an opportunity for promotion and change as He gives you more responsibility and the possibility of unimaginable things in your future.  Are you root-bound?  As my pastor asked our church family this morning to go after God with a desperate desire, I urge you to seek God for where He is leading you.  It's time to grow!

Psalm 92:12-14

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God.  They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.

It Worked!

A couple of months ago, it was time for a big change in our granddaughter's life.  She had finally reached the required weight to allow us to turn her car seat around so she could look out the windshield instead of the back of a seat.  What a milestone!  It totally changed her view of everything around her as we travel.

On one of the first days that she was allowed this new perspective, she was in her seat as my husband was driving to pick me up from the beauty shop.  As they drove along, there was a car driving rather slowly in front of them.  Anxious to get on down the road, Bella shouted, "Move, car - we have to drive!"  Just then, the car moved into the left turning lane, leaving the road free for Paul to continue.  He heard a tiny gasp from the backseat, glanced back in the rearview mirror and caught a glimpse of the shock on her face when she exclaimed, "It worked!" Bella was astounded by the apparent power of her words.

I think I'm that way with prayer sometimes.  I know the words to say.  I know what change I want to see, but do I always expect it to work? Have there been times when answers came almost immediately and I was surprised?

Luke 10 tells the story of the seventy that Jesus sent out to minister in the cities where He was about to go.  When they returned, they were joyful and said to Jesus in verse 17, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!" I can hear a note of surprise in their report.  Even they were surprised by their authority. As Christians, our words carry power.

When Jesus cursed the fig tree and He passed by it the next day, Peter exclaimed, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away."  (Mark 11:23)  Can you hear the surprise in that exclamation?

Jesus often used the phrase, "Oh, ye of little faith!"  Faith expects something to happen. After all, Jesus spoke of a faith that would move mountains.

When my prayers seem to be unfruitful, I need to examine my expectations.  Am I praying polite, little, rote prayers just to be nice or dutiful or am I boldly coming to the throne of grace? (Hebrews 4:16)

I want to be like Bella.  I want to see things from a new perspective, declare what I want to happen, and see results, but when things change, I want to celebrate what God has done and not be surprised that prayer has worked in just the way Jesus told us it would.

Driving with My Eyes Closed

I don't often take an afternoon nap because it makes it difficult for me to go to sleep when I need to at bedtime, but today the couch was beckoning and I took a daytime snooze.  Just before I woke up, I had a dream where I found myself suddenly in the driver's seat of a car on a busy highway.  I could hear the voice of that annoying GPS lady telling me to move to the left turning lane.  The problem was that I could see absolutely nothing.  My eyes were closed in the dream just as they were in real life as I slept. In the dream, I knew that I was asleep and I was desperately trying to wake up and open my eyes so I could see where I was going, but I was so sleepy that there was no way my eyes would open, despite my panic.  I wanted nothing more than for someone else to take control of the car because I had no information to guide me to keep me from causing an accident.

This dream shook me a little.  On a natural level, it would be a terrifying experience, but when I thought about the spiritual applications, it was equally as scary.  I know there is an area of my life where I have been asleep.  I've chosen to hit the figurative snooze button and ignore the information that I need to make a course correction.  I've closed my eyes spiritually instead of taking control of the journey with the Holy Spirit giving me step-by-step directions.  The difference is that in the dream, no matter how hard I tried, my eyes would not open.  In real life, I've chosen to close them.

All blindness is not physical. In the gospels, we read about Jesus giving sight to the blind. The Bible also talks about bribes blinding the wise and blind teachers leading others into error.  Jesus called the Pharisees blind guides.  The epistles talk about minds being blinded.  In Revelation 3:15 -20 Jesus says to the lukewarm church:

"I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot.  I could wish you were cold or hot.  So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing' - and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked - I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.  Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me."

That "knocking at the door" scripture is not directed at the unsaved.  Jesus is talking to His church. To us - to you -to me. If there is an area of blindness in your life, now is the time to confront it, to deal with it, to be healed from it.  Jesus never healed anyone who didn't desire to be changed. I've heard people say that the Holy Spirit is a gentleman and He won't force anything in our lives. We have to be willing.  Today, I am willing to open my eyes and quit driving blind.  How about you?