Standing Firm in Times of Drought

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is in the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8

The Pastor of my church, Pastor Mike, reminds us that behaviorists say most humans have two typical responses to threat or crisis - flight or fight; but we who know and follow Christ have a third option - stand. 

Like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream, we don't have to fear when the heat of personal crisis comes if we have come to know the Lord enough to trust in Him. If we have sunk our roots -- our hearts, minds, dreams, and priorities -- deep into His living water -- His truth, providence, and grace -- then in times of economic drought we need not give in to anxiety but can continue to produce the fruit of faith, grace, and hope. 

Scripture tells us, 

... do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippines 4:6-7).

The time to start sinking our roots into The Living Water is now, not when drought or crisis comes. Today, give all of your requests -- every thought, desire, hope, and plan to Him in prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to direct your first anxious thoughts and moments to Him. And in every moment let your soul rejoice in the knowledge that you are NOT alone in your times of trouble or joy, want or plenty, need or fulfillment. There is One who is waiting to nurture and feed the very root of your being, and the peace that results will surpass any logic or expectation as Christ becomes the strength and comfort of your heart and mind. 

That is blessed indeed!

Check out Lessons from the Trail at Robyn's Thoughts

Spiritual Complacency

Jeremiah 6:16   

Thus says the LORD,
"Stand by the roads, and look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
and find rest for your souls."

Lately I've been struggling with what I call spiritual complacency. My journal entries, what few there have been, are mostly filled with "I need to start...", "I really should...", "Why can't I seem to...",  well, you get the idea, complacency. Every Monday I resolve to make this the week I exercise, diet, pray more, have more quiet times with the Lord... yet, by Tuesday I'm already frustrated. So once again this morning (Friday!) I found myself "re-committing." 

This time, I tried something "new." I prayed first! Pretty basic, I know. I opened my Bible to where I had left off some weeks ago, Jeremiah 6:16. Thus says the Lord... 

It felt as if the Father Himself, was asking me, are you serious about getting back on track? Are you serious about getting your passion and motivation back? If you are, here's what you need to do:

"stand by the road" -- go to where you know I AM and stand there. He is not in my intentions or my frustrations, He is in His Word, His Kingdom, His Ways.

"look and ask for the ancient paths where the good way is" -- search, seek, request, require, do what it takes to discover where the good way -- His way --  is.

"and walk in it" -- don't debate it, don't refute it, don't waste time defending or excusing why my ways are necessary; just begin to walk in HIS pathway. 

"and find rest for your souls."  -- then I will  truly be at rest in my soul. Not my body -- I still have work to do, people to love and care for. Not even my mind -- I still have things to figure out, learn, and deal with. But my soul, my true self, will find rest. Not complacency, rest. THAT will restore, refresh, and renew my passion.

Resolutions You Can Keep (Part 8)

Reap

This year, try something new for the New Year. Instead of trying to change some habit or situation, consider allowing the Spirit of God to change YOU. Let God’s Spirit bring new life, new perspective, and new power into who you are. Reflect on how serious you are about what you believe. Resolve to make yourself available to however God wants to transform you. Renew your spiritual excitement and energy. Reconnect with the One who made you and loves you, and commit to the work of reconciliation with those He gave His life for. Recognize the cost of transforming growth in your life, and then... reap the new life!

• Restore what has been faded or lost
  
• Experience His “with-you” Presence and Power
  
• Accept His abundance in your life
  
• Produce the fruit of a transformed life!
  

Meditation

Lord, help me to make each day of this year a transforming opportunity. Show me what needs to be restored, experienced, accepted or produced in my life that will glorify You and show the world how Good and Wonderful life with You can be. Amen

Happy New Year!

Resolutions You Can Keep (part 7)

Recognize

One more step is absolutely necessary if we are really going to embrace the transformed life. We must be ready and willing to recognize the cost of being transformed!

Jesus said that there are three things that will prevent us from truly following Him: relationships, comfort, and possessions! “If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, more than your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And you cannot be my disciple if you do not carry your own cross and follow me. But don’t begin until you count the cost... no one can become my disciple without giving up everything for me.” Luke 14:26-28, 33

Note that Jesus does not say you should not, or, you ought not be my disciple. Three times, He says that you CANNOT be His disciple if you will not count and agree to the cost of discipleship! Jesus’ words are very clear; we cannot be true disciples if relationships, comfort, or things are a greater influence on our life than He is! To take up your own cross you must be willing to let go of everything else.

• When we put our relationships with other people above or outside of our obedience to Christ, we prevent ourselves and those relationships from being all they can be and from reflecting His priorities and love!

• When we are not willing to be uncomfortable – or unconventional – we limit the changes that God wants to bring into our lives! Change can be scary and sometimes painful – it can mean giving up things and ways that we have become accustomed to; but if we want to live the greater life, the life of significance, we must be willing to step out of our comfort zone and let God use everything we have, including our relationships, pleasures and possessions.

• When we are not willing to honestly count and accept the cost, we are not ready to be truly transformed. If you want to go the distance, you need to know the cost of the trip, and be ready to pay it!
  

But there is one more cost to recognize, the cost of not choosing discipleship. Dallas Willard writes,

“Nondiscipleship costs abiding peace, a life penetrated throughout by love, faith that sees everything in the light of God’s over-riding governance for good, hopefulness that stands firm in the most discouraging of circumstances, power to do what is right and withstand the forces of evil…Nondiscipleship costs you exactly that abundance of life Jesus said he came to bring (John 10:10). The cross-shaped yoke of Christ is after all an instrument of liberation and power to those who live in it with him…”

Meditation:

Lord, I accept the cost. Lord Christ, You are more precious to me than any thing. You are dearer to me than any other relationship. Your Kingdom come is more important to me than any dream or goal I may have of my own. The cost is worth it. You are worth everything. Amen

Book Recommendation: 

The Great Omission by Dallas Willard

Resolutions You Can Keep (Part 6)

Reconciliation:

Once we determine to continually reconnect with God throughout our day, then we must decide to take the necessary steps to reconcile not only ourselves with others, but to work at reconciliation between all human beings. 2 Corinthians 5:18 tells us that through Jesus, we have been given personal peace with God, as well the responsibility of bringing that peace to others. Transformation that truly reflects and glorifies Christ in our world requires dedication to this ministry of reconciliation.

We must begin to build bridges of peace by:

1. Building and repairing personal relationships. The Apostle Paul wrote that as far as it depends on us, we are to do whatever is possible to live at peace with everyone. (See Romans 12:18). Not just those who agree with you, not just those who look or sound like you. Not just those who think the same way, vote the same way, dress the same way – or even pray the same way. No, everyone. And we are to do everything we can to make this possible. For many of us, this means that it is time to take any and all steps necessary to forgive, heal, and release past hurts; as well as to confess, ask forgiveness, and provide restitution for those we have hurt.

2. Identifying and eliminating division and barriers between people groups. "Blessed are the peacemakers,” Jesus said, “for they shall be called the children of God.” (Matthew 5:9) “We” vs. “them” – “tribal” thinking. It goes to the root of our human identity. We cluster into groups and subgroups. “We” are always right, and “ours” is always the right way. But the Bible says that in Christ we have a NEW identity, and with it, a new association. One people, one family! We have been given the ministry of bringing all mankind -- and their "uniqueness" -- into that family! (See 2 Corinthians 5).

3. Committing to pray for the unity of all mankind. I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:1-4

What do you truly believe about the power of prayer? The proof is in the practice! I recently read a devotional by Brother Andrew, an amazing man of peace who has dedicated his life to working with and for the cause of the persecuted. He writes, 

Have you ever prayed for terrorists in Al-Qaeda or Hamas or Taliban or Islamic Jihad or Hezbollah? Let's be more specific. Have you ever prayed for Osama bin Laden? If you say you did not pray, then "Is that the reason Osama is what he is-because we didn't pray?" Can we pray him into the kingdom? Or can we neutralize his hatred and effectiveness by prayer? Let's go on a prayer offensive! Let's contest with the devil for the soul of the man, not with military might but with the Gospel. After all, God is in the business of transforming lives.

These are strong words, challenging words, transforming words. How important is praying for the unity and salvation of all mankind to you? How important was it for Christ? He gave His life for it.

Meditation:

Lord, show me who I need to be reconciled with. Help me to take the steps necessary to do this in a healthy and godly way. Show me what barriers I need to begin to remove in my family, community, church, and world. Unite and empower the prayers of all believers for the peace of all mankind. Amen

For more information on Brother Andrew check out God's Smuggler, Open Doors Video, or Light Force by Brother Andrew

Resolutions You Can Keep (part 5)

Reconnect:

A transforming Holy Spirit make-over requires 1) reflection on what we really believe about our faith, 2) resolution to make ourselves available to whatever the Holy Spirit wants to do in us, 3) spiritual renewal to energize our thoughts and actions, and 4) reconnection with God and man.

2 Corinthians 5:18 tells us that, “God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself … gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” We must be dedicated to the cause of reconciliation if we are going to reflect and glorify Christ in our lives. We cannot be transformed apart from God, and we cannot complete our task of reconciling others with God if we are not first reconciled with them ourselves.

Reconnect with God. The closer we are to God, the more dynamic our transformation will be. We need to train ourselves to turn our attention to God in all times and in all situations. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to “Never stop praying.” How is this possible – or even practical? Henri Nouwen wrote,

Our minds are always active. We analyze, reflect, daydream, or dream. There is not a moment during the day or night when we are not thinking. You might say our thinking is "unceasing." …we can convert our unceasing thinking into unceasing prayer by making our inner monologue into a continuing dialogue with our God, who is the source of all love.

Prayer is communication with God, and communication is a two way street; listening as well as petitioning! Scripture tells us that Jesus came as our Immanuel – “God-with-us.” When we take this literally and strive to make each moment an experience of divine communication and participation with God’s Kingdom, we will find not only ourselves, but also our experiences, radically and dynamically transformed.

To experience dynamic transformation, we must strive to become acutely aware of the transforming powerful potential of the moment by consciously and continually reconnecting with God throughout the day.

Meditation:

Lord, help me to become more dependent upon You in every moment and every situation. Remind me throughout the day to reach out for You, and reconnect with You minute by minute. Amen

Book suggestions for further study on this subject:

Practicing the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence and Frank Laubach

The Sacrament of the Present Moment by Jean-Pierre de Caussade

Resolutions You Can Keep (part 4)

Renewal

Transformation requires reflection, resolve, and spiritual renewal. Ephesians 4:23 says, “...there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes.” We cannot reflect God’s glory or effectively represent Christ in our world when we are spiritually dull or tired, but the Holy Spirit can transform our dullness into spiritual excitement!

•  We give the Holy Spirit space to renew our spiritual enthusiasm when we simplify our life by letting go of those things that are complicating or cluttering our time or space. From the overfilling of our homes, closets and garages, to the over-commitment of our calendars, we need to routinely look around and consider: What can I let go of or give away?

• The Holy Spirit renews our sense of spiritual expectation when we actively recognize, intentionally remember, and specifically praise what God has done and is doing in our lives. Journal, start a “praises” bulletin board, or do as the ancient believers did and set up stones in your garden to remember the activity of God in your life! It’s amazing how the more we remember to look for and appreciate God’s involvement in our life, the more we will begin to confidently expect, experience, and recognize His unfailing providence for our daily lives.

• The Holy Spirit renews our spiritual energy when we intentionally step out of our comfort zone and reach out to do something entirely new in God's power. When we become totally competent to accomplish whatever we are doing, we no longer need to rely on God's power. Living in the "power zone" is never easy, and is rarely comfortable. But, if we can do it on our own, we are not growing in God's power. What is that little voice in the back of your mind urging you to do? Take a step in leadership? Reach out to a neighbor or family member in need of Christ? Stand up for a godly cause? Ask the Holy Spirit what new, exciting, and completely impossible thing God wants to do through you this New Year. Remember, "What is impossible with men is possible with God!" Luke 18:2
  

Meditation:
Holy Spirit, renew my enthusiasm, expectation, and energy this New Year. Help me to be a fervent servant for Christ! Amen