Christianity
Destiny Shaping Question #2 – Have I formed an alliance with fear?
An ally is defined as one that is associated with another as a helper.
I don’t think of fear as a helper. I have thought of fear in the negative – as a lack of faith, as not trusting God, but not as a helper. My brain totally rejects that idea as being illogical and counterproductive.
But there have been times when situations were beyond my control, with many unknowns and various possible dangers to those I loved. Knowing that these people did not know Christ and were living in a self destructive and hazardous lifestyle, there was the inevitable fear that something terrible would happen. Afraid of being caught off guard by tragedy, I would allow myself to be tormented by thoughts of the worst possible outcomes, images of scenario after gruesome scenario being projected upon the screen of my imagination. Then the unknown becomes the expected. And fear has helped me expect it.
Fear as a helper.
Trusting God when life is out of control is hard for me. I am the person who takes charge and makes things happen. I devise plans and ensure they are executed. I like to stay informed of what is planned for the future, so I can anticipate how it will affect me. The unknown is frightening for me. I cannot make a plan for the unknown. I can only wait for it to unfold, helpless to direct it. Fear rushes in to help me cope, but leaves me emotionally drained and spiritually empty.
Tragic things happen everyday to people all over the world. In our sin laden world it is impossible that our lives would not be touched with moments of grief. But where I always return is Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” All things.
Jesus never promised that He would reveal every detail of His plan to me. He never promised to tell me what tomorrow holds or to explain all the whys. But He has told me that He is good, that He is faithful, that He loves me and that He will never leave me.
This is the kind of helper I need.
CONCLUSION: Time to change helpers.
Destiny Shaping Question #1 – Do I believe that God is wasting my time?
I am a busy woman. I have many responsibilities. All day long at work I am dashing from one task to the next, desperately trying to complete all my tasks in what seems to be an unreasonably short amount of time. I finish one thing to move on to the next. Checking off to do list items, meeting deadlines, accomplishing goals. Everyday, all day long. There are always many things to do and no time to waste.
All too often this mentality spills over into my spiritual life as well. I read the Bible as though I am racing some unknown opponent. And should I happen to slow down long enough for God to speak to me through a portion of Scripture, rather than waiting and pondering on the verses until I have extracted every bit of meaning the Spirit of God is giving, I feel the pressure to get more reading done and hurry forward, leaving precious truths unrevealed. There is some little nagging thought that it is a waste of time to wait. God can tell me what He needs to tell me quickly, right? What if I stop and camp on this verse, when there’s some new discovery waiting in the next chapter?
Always hurrying from one thing to the next, I enjoy little. Thinking that I am being a good steward of my time by accomplishing great quantities of things, the frenzy of my soul shuts out the voice of God.
And the honest answer to my question is that although I would never say it, if I stopped to get quiet and wait on God every time I felt that He was trying to teach me something, I would feel as though I was wasting time that could be spent in “more productive” endeavors.
Always anxious for the next thing, I am missing out on the now thing.
CONCLUSION: God is not wasting my time. I am wasting my time.
Destiny Shaping Questions – the beginning
Several weeks ago there was a women’s conference at our church. Alicia Chole spoke the first night of the conference and the title of her message was “7 Destiny Shaping Questions”. As she spoke on these 7 things, the weight of each one was impressed upon my heart and I felt as though the Lord would have me take these questions into prayer to hear what He would say to me regarding each one of them. This is what I have done for the last few weeks and I will be posting my answer to each question. I would encourage you to take these questions into prayer for yourself and if you would like, leave a comment sharing how the Lord has used these questions to speak to your heart as well.
Leaving Jesus Alone
“For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.” John 4:8
Certainly Jesus had no need of continual companionship for He dwelt in communion with the Father. But I have wondered after reading this verse, of the twelve disciples, was there not even one of them who thought his time better spent sitting with Jesus on the well in Samaria than running off with the other 11 to search for lunch? Could none of them see an opportunity for precious, private fellowship with Jesus? What questions might that one have gotten answered, what insights received, what mysteries revealed? What of the heart of Jesus might have been imparted in those moments?
It would seem that spending time with Christ would be the most naturally desirable thing for a believer. But alas, we are still firmly attached to this world and the distractions and amusements it offers. We can find 1,000 things to do rather than pray and seek the Lord, and in the process we deprive ourselves of our greatest delight – fellowship with the Savior. Though the 11 go seeking after the bread that perishes, I want to be the one who stays behind to feast on the Bread of Life.
My God, help me to push past the chaotic noise and frenzied busyness of this world. I have been guilty of buying in to the world’s ideas of pleasure and have at times entertained myself into spiritual apathy. Remind me again of the fullness of joy that is found in Your Presence.
Savor the Cross
A friend of mine has this phrase written on a card that she keeps on her refrigerator. It is one of those things that it is wise to be reminded of frequently. In our day comfort and convenience, self preservation and self gratification tend to be our focus. But Jesus has told us to deny self, take up our cross and follow Him. It is perfectly reasonable for Him to expect us to do this, for this is what He did for us. He not only took up His cross, He experienced it fully.
And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink. Matthew 27:33-34
Jesus could have taken advantage of the drink that was offered. It was a concoction designed to dull the sense of pain. It was the only bit of mercy He was shown during the whole ordeal. And He refused it. He had a different cup to drink – the cup of the Father’s will. This cup was a cup of pain, a cup of shame, a cup of wrath. And He didn’t shrink from the full experience of drinking this cup.
Often we are found to be seeking ways to rationalize our avoidance of the pain of a cross-ward life. And it goes something like this – If something is difficult or causes us to suffer, it can’t be from God, right? I mean, God is good and He loves us and wants us to be blessed.
Part of the problem is that we have an incomplete idea of what good is. For us, good means happy, healthy, and having everything we need (or want). For God, good means being conformed to the image of Christ. This is ultimate good and it is rarely a pain free process.
You may choose to leave the cross-ward path, however should you forsake the fellowship of His suffering and being conformed to His death, you also forfeit living in the power of a resurrected life.
The cup of comfort.
The cup of Christlikeness
You cannot have both. Choose your cup.
Full of Life
“The One who existed from the beginning is the One we have heard and seen. We saw Him with our own eyes and touched Him with our own hands. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of life. This One who is life from God was shown to us, and we have seen Him. And now we testify and announce to you that He is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then He was shown to us.” 1 John 1:1-2
Personal, intimate experience with the Lord Jesus is a vital necessity. We need to “see Him with our own eyes and touch Him with our own hands”. Otherwise we will be like the seven sons of Sceva – living in defeat because we use the name of a Jesus we don’t even know. Personal relationship with Christ must be cultivated, maintained and protected. The cares of life – both the good cares and the bad cares – will always attempt to crowd Him out, but we must guard this relationship jealously. And out of the intimacy of our relationship with Him, our heart will overflow with testimonies of the Jesus we have come to know personally. How much more compelling is our witness when others perceive that we are not speaking of a dead Savior, but a living Lord and Friend. One who is able to save to the uttermost. One that we know and that knows us and that we spend abundantly satisfying time with.
“This One who is life from God” is the One we testify of. The world’s experience of dead religion keeps them from our gatherings and from our Jesus. But when we expose them to the One who is life from God, this One we have seen and touched, they will begin to see Christianity as it has forever been meant to be – full of life.
The Silence, the Denial, the Delay
Matthew 15:23 – But He answered her not a word……..
She was a woman of Canaan with a desperate need. How out of the ordinary it must have been for a gentile to come to Jesus; Him being a Jew surrounded by crowds of Jews. Was it awkward for her? Did she draw strange looks and disconcerting stares? An outsider; a gentile. She had no part in the covenant, no reason to think that she deserved anything from Christ. But she is desperate and she had heard about Him (Mark 7:5). Perhaps she had heard about His healing of a centurion’s servant and was clinging to the hope that there was indeed some portion of mercy for the gentiles.
Whatever her state of mind, she comes to the place Jesus is staying and apparently from a distance, she cries out to Him. As she begs Him to cast a demon out of her daughter, He responds with…..silence. Even the disciples take up her cause, asking Jesus to send her away, almost certainly intending that he would do so by granting her request. At this Jesus replies:
“I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Matthew 15:24
Was she emboldened by this unexpected mediation by the disciples? For she now comes close enough to fall at His feet and worship Him. Undeterred by His previous disregard of her plea, she continues to present her request, only to be met with this response:
But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” Mark 7:27
This would have been enough to crush most of us, but with a bold faith she answers Him:
“Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Matthew 15:27
And the result…..
Then He said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed. Mark 7:29-30
Did this woman have such confidence in the mercy of Christ that she was compelled to continue presenting her petition, or was she so desperate that she had no other choice?
Although she was ignored – “ and He answered her not a word”
And denied – “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of Israel”
And delayed – “let the children be filled first”
She persisted with a tenacity that would shame the most valiant prayer warriors, and yet with a humility exhibited by few. What a precious combination.
And she trusted that a crumb from the hand of Jesus was sufficient to meet every bit of her need. But because of her faith she was granted the children’s bread.
Hypocrisy
Let all my life be motivated
By the love You demonstrated
And oh Lord let it never be
Desire for my works to be seen
That provokes me to perform
What should be the Christian norm
Of acts of love and charity
That really are hypocrisy
That spring not from a love of God
But rather seeking men’s applause
For You Lord know the heart of man
Before You no dead work will stand
Observing rites of piety
But careless towards humanity
The outside of my cup is clean
But You know what remains within
Let Your truth destroy deception
That has escaped my perception
For to myself I seem upright
But You see what eludes my sight
So make me true outside and in
Remove from me my hidden sin
And Lord please let it never be
That I live in hypocrisy
He is my Delight 