1 John 4
"God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love. We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first. If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both." 4:17 - 21
Over the last few years I have found myself in the middle of some places, and some situations, that were, well....quite crazy. So many stories to tell of how the Lord protected me in the midst of the enemy trying to snatch me. When I think about some of these times, it truly is the hand of God over my life that shielded me.
To be authentic, and to give you a picture of the reality in which we live....
I was in the line of fire at the park in Midtown one day, from a fight that escalated to a drive by shooting. Jesus shielding everyone there and no one was hit with a bullet.
I have run hundreds of miles through downtown Jackson, on many streets that are often on the news. Jesus always runs with me and I have never had anything happen to me.
I have been in the middle of some violent fights on the streets. Jesus has never let one hand strike me.
I have been inside the darkest of houses full of drugs, guns, perversion. Jesus has shown me his light in every one of them.
I have had many people screaming in my face, spit on me, throw things at me. Jesus has always given me grace and compassion in those moments.
I have walked the ground of some countries that Christians are not welcome. Jesus has given favor and open doors in those places.
How can I have fear when I can give testimony to how Jesus has ALWAYS protected me! One day I was having a really hard day, just very discouraged about how to continue - because there are many days I just don't want to! The Lord spoke so sweetly to me and said, "you can move forward in faith, or you can move forward in fear - it's your choice."
How could I go in fear when His word tells us that there is NO fear in his love. I can't pick and choose what I believe in his word - I either believe it all, or I don't believe it at all. I choose to move forward in faith, even when the enemy tries to put fear in me. He can keep on trying, he is not going to win that battle.
This is the most common question I get from people, "are you not scared?" My honest response is this - "If I had a fear, it would only be that I do not do what the Father wants me to do."
I am not afraid of people. I am not afraid of situations. I am not afraid of dying for the sake of the gospel - gosh, then I get to see Jesus!
It is easy to say we love God when that doesn't cost us anything more than a weekly church service. The real test of our love for God is how we treat people right in front of us, and how we walk in faith to what He asks of us.
This is what the Lord sings over you.....
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Sunday, March 22, 2015
motive of love
1 John 3
"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us." 3:16 - 24
Real love is an action, not a feeling. It produces selfless, sacrificial giving. The greatest act of love is giving yourself for another - Jesus. We can give up our lives for others by.....serving another with no expectation of receiving anything in return. Sometimes it is easier to say we will die for someone, than to say we will live for them.
Loving like Jesus loved, is HARD! In my 4 years living in downtown, I have had many days where I wanted to just walk away, go back to my own little world and do my own selfish things. I have been screamed at, cussed out, lied to, taken advantage of, manipulated, interrupted constantly, woken up in the middle of the night, stolen from, spit in the face, had cans of vienna sausages and packs of crackers thrown at me, even had a big clay flower pot thrown at me! Hard is good, but it is still hard.
In the middle of every hard thing I have walked through, Jesus has taught me so much from it. Many nights I would lay in my little bed on Cohea Street and talk to the Lord, saying, "Jesus, how do I do this!" And Jesus would always sit on the side of my bed and say to me, "You just keep loving them, just like I keep loving you."
My motive to keep loving? Jesus keeps loving me when I treat him like others have treated me, and I can't live my life without that.
Your hard may look different than mine, but our motive to love should be the same.
My brother Mario. He is loved by so many, and he is so loved by Jesus. He is going to walk in the light of Lord, and even though it is so hard, it is so good to keep loving him into that. (and he might be one of those that has screamed at me and thrown a few flower pots at me....)
"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us." 3:16 - 24
Real love is an action, not a feeling. It produces selfless, sacrificial giving. The greatest act of love is giving yourself for another - Jesus. We can give up our lives for others by.....serving another with no expectation of receiving anything in return. Sometimes it is easier to say we will die for someone, than to say we will live for them.
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other." John 15:9-17
Loving like Jesus loved, is HARD! In my 4 years living in downtown, I have had many days where I wanted to just walk away, go back to my own little world and do my own selfish things. I have been screamed at, cussed out, lied to, taken advantage of, manipulated, interrupted constantly, woken up in the middle of the night, stolen from, spit in the face, had cans of vienna sausages and packs of crackers thrown at me, even had a big clay flower pot thrown at me! Hard is good, but it is still hard.
In the middle of every hard thing I have walked through, Jesus has taught me so much from it. Many nights I would lay in my little bed on Cohea Street and talk to the Lord, saying, "Jesus, how do I do this!" And Jesus would always sit on the side of my bed and say to me, "You just keep loving them, just like I keep loving you."
My motive to keep loving? Jesus keeps loving me when I treat him like others have treated me, and I can't live my life without that.
Your hard may look different than mine, but our motive to love should be the same.
My brother Mario. He is loved by so many, and he is so loved by Jesus. He is going to walk in the light of Lord, and even though it is so hard, it is so good to keep loving him into that. (and he might be one of those that has screamed at me and thrown a few flower pots at me....)
Thursday, March 19, 2015
mind of Christ
1 John 2
"Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived." 2:6
How is that even possible? How do we even come close to living like Jesus did? My mind can't comprehend that.
But, with the mind of Christ, that's where we live like him. That doesn't mean we have to go out and choose 12 disciples, or be crucified - although some are persecuted for their faith - but the way we act (like Jesus), is our assurance that we belong to Christ.
All that Jesus did was a reflection of his identity as God's son, the fulfillment of his role to make atonement for our sins. Living like Jesus means we obey all that the Father asks of us - complete obedience and complete love of others.
When our identity in Christ matches the same identity Jesus had in his Father:
We begin to look like him.
"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10
We talk like him.
"Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ." Ephesians 4:15
We go where he goes.
"And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Romans 10:15
We see through his eyes.
"When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd." Matthew 9:36
We even smell like him!
"In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation - an aroma redolent with life." 2 Corinthians 2:15
So many times over the last few years I have prayed this for people - "That you will have the mind of Christ." That is all I could pray many times, knowing that nothing else was more valuable, more necessary, and the only thing that could save them. And for myself as well. Everyday I have to ask the Lord to give me his mind, so that all of these other things are an overflow of that.
This is a little picture of what having the mind of Christ looks like. For someone who was so far removed from any hope of life change, to being completely set free and transformed by the love of Jesus, to walking and talking and thinking like Jesus. I am constantly amazed by how this friend of mine is continuing to let the Lord renew his mind.
When I prayed for him to "have the mind of Christ" - the Lord did it! And he is so right, it is "COOL"!
"Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived." 2:6
How is that even possible? How do we even come close to living like Jesus did? My mind can't comprehend that.
But, with the mind of Christ, that's where we live like him. That doesn't mean we have to go out and choose 12 disciples, or be crucified - although some are persecuted for their faith - but the way we act (like Jesus), is our assurance that we belong to Christ.
All that Jesus did was a reflection of his identity as God's son, the fulfillment of his role to make atonement for our sins. Living like Jesus means we obey all that the Father asks of us - complete obedience and complete love of others.
When our identity in Christ matches the same identity Jesus had in his Father:
We begin to look like him.
"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10
We talk like him.
"Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ." Ephesians 4:15
We go where he goes.
"And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Romans 10:15
We see through his eyes.
"When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd." Matthew 9:36
We even smell like him!
"In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation - an aroma redolent with life." 2 Corinthians 2:15
So many times over the last few years I have prayed this for people - "That you will have the mind of Christ." That is all I could pray many times, knowing that nothing else was more valuable, more necessary, and the only thing that could save them. And for myself as well. Everyday I have to ask the Lord to give me his mind, so that all of these other things are an overflow of that.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,
declares the Lord.
As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts."
Isaiah 55:8-9
This is a little picture of what having the mind of Christ looks like. For someone who was so far removed from any hope of life change, to being completely set free and transformed by the love of Jesus, to walking and talking and thinking like Jesus. I am constantly amazed by how this friend of mine is continuing to let the Lord renew his mind.
When I prayed for him to "have the mind of Christ" - the Lord did it! And he is so right, it is "COOL"!
Friday, March 13, 2015
love Jesus. love people. even when we would rather not.
1 John 1
"From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in - we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we’re telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us.
We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!
This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there’s not a trace of darkness in him.
If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth - we’re not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin.
If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins - make a clean breast of them - he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we’ve never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God - make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God."
The Saturday of the beginning of the week for Spring Break - I was seeing all these pictures being posted of people at the beach, Disney World, Colorado, on cruises, in the mountains, and so on....confession, I was extremely jealous. I want to be at the beach, or on a cruise, or some other exotic beautiful place.
But instead, I looked up and I was sitting at the Chopstix on Terry Rd and Ellis Ave with three teenage boys. One was making up rap songs about how he loves burgers and fries. One was buried in a bowl of sesame chicken and shrimp fried rice. One was checking out all the girls that walked in the door. Then I found myself driving down West Capitol Street and in the parking lot of a laundry mat, because the boys saw their cousin there. They were yelling out the window at him, so we did a u-turn in the street to go see him. Then I looked up and there were cops all over the street, probably some kind of drug bust going on.
Sometimes I feel like my life is a TV show. A cross between Saturday Night Live and Cops.
The two most difficult things to get straight in life are love, and God. The basic and Biblical Christian conviction is that the two of these are intricately related. If we want to deal with God the right way, we have to learn to love the right way. If we want to love the right way, we have to deal with God the right way. God and love can't be separated.
John writes beautiful letters with directions on how to do this - love God, love people. Jesus is the way to do that. Jesus - the focus, gives us the full understanding of who God is, and how to love.
While my flesh wanted to be on vacation (like, I really wanted to be on the beach), my joy was doubled on that day, just like John said it would be - and there is no place else my heart would have rather been than with those boys, in the hood, eating Chinese food. Jesus gave me the sweetest, most tangible and real life experience of what loving God and loving people looks like.
My life IS like a movie, or a TV show. But it is the best script that could have ever been written because Jesus is the director, producer, editor, camera man, etc....
"From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in - we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we’re telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us.
We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!
This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there’s not a trace of darkness in him.
If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth - we’re not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin.
If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins - make a clean breast of them - he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we’ve never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God - make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God."
The Saturday of the beginning of the week for Spring Break - I was seeing all these pictures being posted of people at the beach, Disney World, Colorado, on cruises, in the mountains, and so on....confession, I was extremely jealous. I want to be at the beach, or on a cruise, or some other exotic beautiful place.
But instead, I looked up and I was sitting at the Chopstix on Terry Rd and Ellis Ave with three teenage boys. One was making up rap songs about how he loves burgers and fries. One was buried in a bowl of sesame chicken and shrimp fried rice. One was checking out all the girls that walked in the door. Then I found myself driving down West Capitol Street and in the parking lot of a laundry mat, because the boys saw their cousin there. They were yelling out the window at him, so we did a u-turn in the street to go see him. Then I looked up and there were cops all over the street, probably some kind of drug bust going on.
Sometimes I feel like my life is a TV show. A cross between Saturday Night Live and Cops.
The two most difficult things to get straight in life are love, and God. The basic and Biblical Christian conviction is that the two of these are intricately related. If we want to deal with God the right way, we have to learn to love the right way. If we want to love the right way, we have to deal with God the right way. God and love can't be separated.
John writes beautiful letters with directions on how to do this - love God, love people. Jesus is the way to do that. Jesus - the focus, gives us the full understanding of who God is, and how to love.
While my flesh wanted to be on vacation (like, I really wanted to be on the beach), my joy was doubled on that day, just like John said it would be - and there is no place else my heart would have rather been than with those boys, in the hood, eating Chinese food. Jesus gave me the sweetest, most tangible and real life experience of what loving God and loving people looks like.
My life IS like a movie, or a TV show. But it is the best script that could have ever been written because Jesus is the director, producer, editor, camera man, etc....
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
The Light House
lighthouse: a structure (as a tower) with a powerful light that gives a continuous or intermittent signal to navigators.
and
A lighthouse is a shore-based structure designed to assist sailors with navigation. The classic form is a tall tower with a lamp assembly at the very top. The lamp creates a focused beam of light, which is rotated across the water in a unique pattern. Navigational charts include a list of these patterns, allowing mariners to use lighthouses to orient themselves. In addition to serving as a navigational marker, it also warns of hazards or it may point the way to the harbor mouth.
Each house at We Will Go has a name. The name represents what God calls that house to be, a reflection of who He is. Here are the names of His houses there: Love House, Faith House, Peace House, Hope House, Restoration House, Power House, Fire House, Truth House, Life House, Promise House, Victory House, Freedom House, Glory House, Joy House, Redemption House.
I had the privilege to live in 4 of these houses - Peace, Faith, Fire and Life - so when the Lord directed me to McTyere Street, I began praying for the name He had for this house. Since the beginning, all I have heard Him say was "a safe place, a place of refuge", but I didn't ever feel like that was the name He had in his heart. I Googled a hundred times different names in Greek, Hebrew, even Spanish (seriously) that meant "refuge" but nothing ever clicked.
I went to a Christmas program in December and the opening song has been stuck in my head since then. It starts out with these simple words - "There is a light, that shines in the darkness." I could never remember any of the other words, just those. Here is a beautiful representation of this song.
On a day of demo in the house, I took a picture of the back room, but when I looked at it, it depicted the light breaking through so much destruction.
There is a group from a local church that prayer walks in Midtown every month. I missed them on their last walk and my friend that goes sent me this message - "Thanks so much for letting us be a part of praying on McTyere Street. It's like that spot has become a starting place for us, like a little lighthouse."
I could not sleep the other night. I was wide awake at 3:30 am, and had to be up at 4:45 to teach a class at the gym. I prayed, I read, I made up songs in my head. Then in an instant, the Lord spoke to me so quickly and said, "When you sleep, I don't. I never slumber. I am always working. I am the light in the darkness."
And just like that, He gave me the name for His house on McTyere Street.
When ships are in distress, can't find their way to the shore in the midst of a storm, and have lost their direction - the light that illuminates from above, guides them to safety - to refuge from the raging sea.
This house is a place of safety and refuge, just like He told me. But it is the light that shines in the darkness, that draws the the lost to it. The light of Jesus.
and
A lighthouse is a shore-based structure designed to assist sailors with navigation. The classic form is a tall tower with a lamp assembly at the very top. The lamp creates a focused beam of light, which is rotated across the water in a unique pattern. Navigational charts include a list of these patterns, allowing mariners to use lighthouses to orient themselves. In addition to serving as a navigational marker, it also warns of hazards or it may point the way to the harbor mouth.
Each house at We Will Go has a name. The name represents what God calls that house to be, a reflection of who He is. Here are the names of His houses there: Love House, Faith House, Peace House, Hope House, Restoration House, Power House, Fire House, Truth House, Life House, Promise House, Victory House, Freedom House, Glory House, Joy House, Redemption House.
I had the privilege to live in 4 of these houses - Peace, Faith, Fire and Life - so when the Lord directed me to McTyere Street, I began praying for the name He had for this house. Since the beginning, all I have heard Him say was "a safe place, a place of refuge", but I didn't ever feel like that was the name He had in his heart. I Googled a hundred times different names in Greek, Hebrew, even Spanish (seriously) that meant "refuge" but nothing ever clicked.
I went to a Christmas program in December and the opening song has been stuck in my head since then. It starts out with these simple words - "There is a light, that shines in the darkness." I could never remember any of the other words, just those. Here is a beautiful representation of this song.
On a day of demo in the house, I took a picture of the back room, but when I looked at it, it depicted the light breaking through so much destruction.
There is a group from a local church that prayer walks in Midtown every month. I missed them on their last walk and my friend that goes sent me this message - "Thanks so much for letting us be a part of praying on McTyere Street. It's like that spot has become a starting place for us, like a little lighthouse."
I could not sleep the other night. I was wide awake at 3:30 am, and had to be up at 4:45 to teach a class at the gym. I prayed, I read, I made up songs in my head. Then in an instant, the Lord spoke to me so quickly and said, "When you sleep, I don't. I never slumber. I am always working. I am the light in the darkness."
And just like that, He gave me the name for His house on McTyere Street.
When ships are in distress, can't find their way to the shore in the midst of a storm, and have lost their direction - the light that illuminates from above, guides them to safety - to refuge from the raging sea.
This house is a place of safety and refuge, just like He told me. But it is the light that shines in the darkness, that draws the the lost to it. The light of Jesus.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."
John 1:1-5
Monday, March 9, 2015
remember what the Lord has done
Joshua 24
I have come to the end of my journey with Joshua. It is hard to believe that 6 months have passed since I started this. So much has happened during this time, I don't even know if I can capture it all! I could sit down and read this whole book in a few short hours, but the Lord has had me spend 6 months with Him in this. WOW. I have never spent that much time just in 1 book of the Bible, but in turn, I have never learned and grown so much from 1 book either.
The whole theme of this last chapter is about remembering what the Lord has done. You can see that Joshua gave no glory to himself, took no credit for any of the successes, didn't fame himself for any of the victory - everything, EVERYTHING, was in honor of what God did. That is how I want to live my life - everything unto him.
That takes me back to one of the very first things the Lord showed me (you can read my post from October 17)
As you read through this, see how and where God speaks and says, "I" to everything that He did.
"Joshua called together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He called in the elders, chiefs, judges, and officers. They presented themselves before God. Then Joshua addressed all the people:
This is what God, the God of Israel, says: A long time ago your ancestors, Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor, lived to the east of the River Euphrates. They worshiped other gods. I took your ancestor Abraham from the far side of The River.
I led him all over the land of Canaan and multiplied his descendants. I gave him Isaac. Then I gave Isaac Jacob and Esau. I let Esau have the mountains of Seir as home, but Jacob and his sons ended up in Egypt. I sent Moses and Aaron. I hit Egypt hard with plagues and then led you out of there. I brought your ancestors out of Egypt. You came to the sea, the Egyptians in hot pursuit with chariots and cavalry, to the very edge of the Red Sea!
Then they cried out for help to God. He put a cloud between you and the Egyptians and then let the sea loose on them. It drowned them.
You watched the whole thing with your own eyes, what I did to Egypt. And then you lived in the wilderness for a long time. I brought you to the country of the Amorites, who lived east of the Jordan, and they fought you. But I fought for you and you took their land. I destroyed them for you. Then Balak son of Zippor made his appearance. He was the king of Moab. He got ready to fight Israel by sending for Balaam son of Beor to come and curse you. But I wouldn’t listen to Balaam—he ended up blessing you over and over! I saved you from him.
You then crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The Jericho leaders ganged up on you as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, but I turned them over to you.
I sent the Hornet ahead of you. It drove out the two Amorite kings—did your work for you. You didn’t have to do a thing, not so much as raise a finger.
I handed you a land for which you did not work, towns you did not build. And here you are now living in them and eating from vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.
So now: Fear God. Worship him in total commitment. Get rid of the gods your ancestors worshiped on the far side of The River (the Euphrates) and in Egypt. You, worship God."
As I sit with the Lord, He reminds me of all He has done, not just in the past 6 months, but in the last 4 years serving him in this new way - the last 13 years as His forever child - the last 37 years of my whole life - I give him ALL glory for every single detail.
And His only request of me? Worship Him. Yes, Father, with all I have everyday!
This is Mr. Robert. He was one of my sweet neighbors that we had the honor to love on for a long time. He loved to work in the garden and had the best little shuffle when he walked. He always smelled really bad and it was hard to understand what he was saying most of the time. But I often look at this picture of him and it reminds me of all that God did through him to take me into a deeper place of how to love. Mr. Robert passed away a while back, but his face and the time I got to share life with him is with me everyday. And that makes me want to get on my face and worship Jesus.
I have come to the end of my journey with Joshua. It is hard to believe that 6 months have passed since I started this. So much has happened during this time, I don't even know if I can capture it all! I could sit down and read this whole book in a few short hours, but the Lord has had me spend 6 months with Him in this. WOW. I have never spent that much time just in 1 book of the Bible, but in turn, I have never learned and grown so much from 1 book either.
The whole theme of this last chapter is about remembering what the Lord has done. You can see that Joshua gave no glory to himself, took no credit for any of the successes, didn't fame himself for any of the victory - everything, EVERYTHING, was in honor of what God did. That is how I want to live my life - everything unto him.
That takes me back to one of the very first things the Lord showed me (you can read my post from October 17)
Not for our sake, God, no, not for our sake,
but for your name’s sake, show your glory.
Do it on account of your merciful love,
do it on account of your faithful ways.
Psalm 115:1
As you read through this, see how and where God speaks and says, "I" to everything that He did.
"Joshua called together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He called in the elders, chiefs, judges, and officers. They presented themselves before God. Then Joshua addressed all the people:
This is what God, the God of Israel, says: A long time ago your ancestors, Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor, lived to the east of the River Euphrates. They worshiped other gods. I took your ancestor Abraham from the far side of The River.
I led him all over the land of Canaan and multiplied his descendants. I gave him Isaac. Then I gave Isaac Jacob and Esau. I let Esau have the mountains of Seir as home, but Jacob and his sons ended up in Egypt. I sent Moses and Aaron. I hit Egypt hard with plagues and then led you out of there. I brought your ancestors out of Egypt. You came to the sea, the Egyptians in hot pursuit with chariots and cavalry, to the very edge of the Red Sea!
Then they cried out for help to God. He put a cloud between you and the Egyptians and then let the sea loose on them. It drowned them.
You watched the whole thing with your own eyes, what I did to Egypt. And then you lived in the wilderness for a long time. I brought you to the country of the Amorites, who lived east of the Jordan, and they fought you. But I fought for you and you took their land. I destroyed them for you. Then Balak son of Zippor made his appearance. He was the king of Moab. He got ready to fight Israel by sending for Balaam son of Beor to come and curse you. But I wouldn’t listen to Balaam—he ended up blessing you over and over! I saved you from him.
You then crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The Jericho leaders ganged up on you as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, but I turned them over to you.
I sent the Hornet ahead of you. It drove out the two Amorite kings—did your work for you. You didn’t have to do a thing, not so much as raise a finger.
I handed you a land for which you did not work, towns you did not build. And here you are now living in them and eating from vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.
So now: Fear God. Worship him in total commitment. Get rid of the gods your ancestors worshiped on the far side of The River (the Euphrates) and in Egypt. You, worship God."
As I sit with the Lord, He reminds me of all He has done, not just in the past 6 months, but in the last 4 years serving him in this new way - the last 13 years as His forever child - the last 37 years of my whole life - I give him ALL glory for every single detail.
And His only request of me? Worship Him. Yes, Father, with all I have everyday!
This is Mr. Robert. He was one of my sweet neighbors that we had the honor to love on for a long time. He loved to work in the garden and had the best little shuffle when he walked. He always smelled really bad and it was hard to understand what he was saying most of the time. But I often look at this picture of him and it reminds me of all that God did through him to take me into a deeper place of how to love. Mr. Robert passed away a while back, but his face and the time I got to share life with him is with me everyday. And that makes me want to get on my face and worship Jesus.
Sunday, March 1, 2015
tearing down walls
Joshua 23
"God has driven out superpower nations before you. And up to now, no one has been able to stand up to you. Think of it - one of you, single-handedly, putting a thousand on the run! Because God is a God, your God, that fights for you, just as he promised." 23:9 - 10
It has been a long journey, years have passed, and Joshua is making is very last speech to the Israelites. He is reminding them of all that the Lord has done through this time - how God fought for them in every battle they entered; how God gave them the land they inherited; how God defeated their enemies; and how God was faithful to everything he promised along the way.
This is the last time Joshua gets to tell them "hold on as tight as you can to the Lord in everything you do." He says, "As you can see, I am about to go the way we all end up going. Know this with all your heart, with everything in you, that not one detail has failed of all the good things God promised you. It has all happened. Nothing is left undone - not even one single word." 23:14
The flip side of this sweet reminder of the riches of his glory, is the ultimate consequences of disobedience.
"But just as sure as everything good that God has promised has come true, so also God will bring to pass every bad thing until there is nothing left of you in this good land that God has given you. If you leave the path of the Covenant of God, that he commanded you, go off and serve and worship other gods, God's anger will blaze out against you. In no time at all there will be nothing left of you, no sign that you have ever been in this good land he gave you." 23:15 - 16
If only I could have been standing there in the front row when Joshua was speaking.
Yesterday I had some of my boys helping me with the house, along with about 70 college students that filtered through. I was trying my best to salvage the plaster that was on the walls of the front two rooms. The front room had some damaged and rotten places that I knew would have to be replaced, so we were going to go ahead and take all of that down. As we got to the next room, I realized that it was in just as bad of shape. So, what started out as a 1 room demo, quickly became a 2 room demo.
As I was down on the floor taking nails out of the rotten wood, the Lord sat down right next to me, just as if he had a hammer in his hands and was taking nails out too - right in the middle of so many people being in the house with me. Like Joshua reminded the Israelites of all that the Lord had done for them, of all they had to go through to get to their promise, the Lord used those rotten walls and wood to remind me of the very same. If I didn't let him tear down the walls that were of no good, the hope of staying in his land of promise - gone.
I thought the walls could be salvaged, but what was hidden underneath was so much rot and damage, and if they weren't torn out and redone, my walls would continue to rot and eventually collapse. Wow - Jesus. When it may appear as if things are "ok" on the outside, gosh, there is so much that Jesus wants to tear out from within us and make new.
Now that I have a whole side of the house down to the frame, that means there is more work to get it fixed, and that means it will cost more to complete. BUT, for me to sit on that floor with Jesus and for him to tear down rotten and damaged things inside of me in the midst of that, I will gladly count that cost as worth it. He is constantly healing me and taking over new territory within me. Just look at all the junk that came down with those walls....
And my boys. They worked so hard. They made me so proud!
We ended the night with some skating, and waffle house. The best thing said to me all day was from Tez...."ms jamie, when I have kids, i want you to be they God mama." Well, of course I will.
"God has driven out superpower nations before you. And up to now, no one has been able to stand up to you. Think of it - one of you, single-handedly, putting a thousand on the run! Because God is a God, your God, that fights for you, just as he promised." 23:9 - 10
It has been a long journey, years have passed, and Joshua is making is very last speech to the Israelites. He is reminding them of all that the Lord has done through this time - how God fought for them in every battle they entered; how God gave them the land they inherited; how God defeated their enemies; and how God was faithful to everything he promised along the way.
This is the last time Joshua gets to tell them "hold on as tight as you can to the Lord in everything you do." He says, "As you can see, I am about to go the way we all end up going. Know this with all your heart, with everything in you, that not one detail has failed of all the good things God promised you. It has all happened. Nothing is left undone - not even one single word." 23:14
The flip side of this sweet reminder of the riches of his glory, is the ultimate consequences of disobedience.
"But just as sure as everything good that God has promised has come true, so also God will bring to pass every bad thing until there is nothing left of you in this good land that God has given you. If you leave the path of the Covenant of God, that he commanded you, go off and serve and worship other gods, God's anger will blaze out against you. In no time at all there will be nothing left of you, no sign that you have ever been in this good land he gave you." 23:15 - 16
If only I could have been standing there in the front row when Joshua was speaking.
Yesterday I had some of my boys helping me with the house, along with about 70 college students that filtered through. I was trying my best to salvage the plaster that was on the walls of the front two rooms. The front room had some damaged and rotten places that I knew would have to be replaced, so we were going to go ahead and take all of that down. As we got to the next room, I realized that it was in just as bad of shape. So, what started out as a 1 room demo, quickly became a 2 room demo.
As I was down on the floor taking nails out of the rotten wood, the Lord sat down right next to me, just as if he had a hammer in his hands and was taking nails out too - right in the middle of so many people being in the house with me. Like Joshua reminded the Israelites of all that the Lord had done for them, of all they had to go through to get to their promise, the Lord used those rotten walls and wood to remind me of the very same. If I didn't let him tear down the walls that were of no good, the hope of staying in his land of promise - gone.
I thought the walls could be salvaged, but what was hidden underneath was so much rot and damage, and if they weren't torn out and redone, my walls would continue to rot and eventually collapse. Wow - Jesus. When it may appear as if things are "ok" on the outside, gosh, there is so much that Jesus wants to tear out from within us and make new.
Now that I have a whole side of the house down to the frame, that means there is more work to get it fixed, and that means it will cost more to complete. BUT, for me to sit on that floor with Jesus and for him to tear down rotten and damaged things inside of me in the midst of that, I will gladly count that cost as worth it. He is constantly healing me and taking over new territory within me. Just look at all the junk that came down with those walls....
And my boys. They worked so hard. They made me so proud!
We ended the night with some skating, and waffle house. The best thing said to me all day was from Tez...."ms jamie, when I have kids, i want you to be they God mama." Well, of course I will.
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