Challenging...

     Sometimes when our more comfortable beliefs are challenged, we react in fear.  From where does the fear arise? I’ve come to realize that I quickly refute what might well be a new, fruitful insight because to accept it as truth would mean a radical change in what I believe and, as a result, in how I live my life. It might also affect how people see me and whether they trust me ever again. It might end in severe disappointment
     My mind wants to return to its grooves of explanation for why I don’t see the fruit I should be seeing.  “Ah well,” I say. “Sometimes God works in mysterious ways.” Or, “God sometimes chooses to heal and sometimes He doesn’t.” Or, “I’m sure God doesn’t expect me to muscle into this situation and proclaim something so outrageous.  What if it doesn’t happen?”
     The problem, however, is that Jesus said, “You shall do even greater things than these [what you have seen Me do], because I go the Father.” [John 14:12]. Or, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed and do not doubt....you could tell this mountain to be cast into the sea and it would be done...” [Matthew 21:21]. Or to the centurion, “I have not seen so great a faith in all of Israel...Go and let it be done as you believed it would...” [Matthew 8:13].  What do I do with these pronouncements? Sweep them under the rug as poor translations or relegate them to ‘gloss,’ because I can’t begin to fathom how to put them into practice?
     Yes, that’s exactly what I’ve done. I’ve tried to either ignore them or attribute them to the first century disciples, or frankly tell God, “You’ve got to be kidding!”  However, there are those on this earth who are seeing come to pass exactly what Jesus spoke. In fact, they’re seeing this kind of fruit born on a regular basis, including multiple resurrections from the dead.
     So now I have a choice. I can re-bury my head, or this ‘old dog’ can be humble enough and expectant enough to learn how all this is possible...to put myself in a position to minister and expect
to see healing of body, soul, and spirit in those around me.  Not just by platitudes or by what I know
of human comfort or my current level of spiritual insight, but by the impossible reality of God’s life-changing power available right now to anyone who asks and is open to receive in faith, including me.
     And if I don’t ‘get it right’ the first time, I’m going to persevere until I do...or until it’s time for me to go Home. I know it will please Him that I am trying to learn better how to see “His Kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”
     No matter how many times we fall on our faces trying, He’ll always be our Coach and Cheerleader. Let’s be brave and throw ourselves into the fray, believing that no matter how impossible it seems, what He said is true for right now, for today. Let’s seek to know more about this promise of physically manifested healing for ‘whomsoever will.’ No matter what people may think of us or what we think we already know, let’s trust that He will be pleased by our humble heart and our readiness to listen, and that, completely abandoned to Him, we will be able to rejoice at His ‘We’ll done, good and faithful servant!’ [Matthew 25:21]
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For those in Florida interested in learning from someone who has seen thousands of healings, including resurrection from the dead, missing organs come into existence, cancer banished, and blind eyes restored to sight....Andrew Wommack will be in Orlando February 7-9. I will be there with bells on. If you’d like to join me, go to www.awmi.net and select Events. If you’re a friend from another state, go to the website and watch his God Wants You Well series beginning the end of July 2018, as well as the Healing Journeys  testimonies from people from all over the world. If you have Roku, add his channel, Andrew Wommack Ministries, and go to the Healing Journeys icon or any of his teachings. They’re all free, including the conference itself.

Tumbling down the sides....

     Unless you are a brand new Christian, you probably know Matthew 5 and 6, often referred to as the Sermon on the Mount, pretty much by heart.  So it is often challenging to read it with a fresh eye. (No pun intended on Matthew 6:22.)  This morning, I was attempting to do so with the following verses:
     “Do not gather and heap up and store for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust and worm consume and destroy...but gather and heap up and store for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust nor worm consume and destroy, and where thieves do not break through and steal, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” —Matthew 6:19-21
     And we all begin singing Kumbaya, I mean Seek Ye first....
     However, instead, God gave me a funny picture of myself running back and forth in and out of Heaven, adding treasures to my stash, with Him smiling at me and giving me a thumbs up.  Once again, He made me laugh out loud. I always have to check with Him on these humorous thoughts, to make sure it’s not just Julie’s bizarre imagination. But He just smiled at me with confirmation and the reminder that, after all, we had indeed been searching the Scriptures for what gives Him pleasure.
     Gifts of charity, thoughtfulness, and self-sacrifice, without the left hand knowing what the right hand is doing—not to mention other humans—provide the stash. They make Him happy, and He, who by nature can’t seem to receive without giving back in geometric proportions, stores up every single gesture of kindness on our part in a heap of His own gifts for us, which reach so high they start tumbling down the sides like a cup running over.
     We choose kindness, mercy, and charity, giving away both the tangible and the intangible, to make Him happy. But since He’s the originator of Paul’s phrase outdo one another in showing honor, He takes joy in secretly magnifying the treasure trove waiting for us.  Go ahead, give Him pleasure; take delight in helping others behind their backs. It will never be behind His.

PS: Remember, try not to get caught!
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Psalm 23:5
Romans 12:10

The Rope

     In the Midwest, snowstorms can be so pervasive that people tie a rope between the house and the barn, so they can follow it back and forth without getting lost in a blizzard. Those new to the area might think this precaution unnecessary. However, those wiser and more experienced know that self-reliance can kill you in a whiteout.

     Sometimes that kind of arrogance can lead us into dangerous places in the rest of our lives, also.  We assume we have an inherent sense of direction and don’t really require assistance. However, in a spiritual whiteout, it is easy to make a quarter turn without realizing it and walk directly into frostbite of the heart.

     No matter how many years...how many decades we’ve walked with the Lord, or how many Bible studies we’ve done, how many spiritual fads, methodologies, and ideologies we’ve seen come and go, we still need to follow Jesus’ admonition that “blessed are the poor in spirit.”  Humility of heart acknowledges that the longer we live, the more we are aware of what we still have to learn. Wisdom and humility are paired hands in a fruitful servant who desires to honor God and make Him known.

     Let’s not forget to humbly hang onto the Rope as we navigate the challenges of our current culture’s chaotic winter, striving to serve as a beacon in the disorienting and chaotic blizzard around us.

Falling off the wagon

   Well, I’ve fallen off the wagon again. I guess I’ve been riding hanging onto the side, with one foot dragging on the ground for awhile. You can’t ride half astride when it comes to gossip and fault-finding. There’s no middle space where just a little judgment and verbalized negativity is ok. Snide remarks, rolling of the eyes, and passive aggression are just as potent as outright explosions of anger. They’re all destructive and remove us from the safe, God-driven wagon He has provided for us. He’s not the one who unceremoniously dumped us on the roadside in anger. We have chosen to get off and walk on our own as Judge, Manipulator, and Vindicator, following our own sense of justice to make sure our persecutor is not left unpunished.

   What a dangerous and destructive road we walk there on our own, while God’s Grace-filled wagon rolls on by our side, offering sanctuary and true justice.  “Repent and climb back aboard,” He offers. “It’s not too late. You’ve fallen off, but you can dust yourself off and rejoin us. Here is My hand reaching down to help you up. I am not condemning you or refusing to let you back aboard. My Son already paid for your Golden Ticket. You are the one choosing to walk, stumbling over potholes and chasing after illusions of satisfaction that end up making you miserable.  Come up by Me and lean against Me as I drive. Listen to the clip-clop of the horses and find My peace once again.  All shall be well.”

The Right Audience

   I just love how God works...how He sends comfirmation and encouragement when He knows we need it most. I was wondering recently, as the number of readers of my blog has reduced dramatically in the past few posts, if the blog God called me to start had served its purpose and its time was at an end. Or perhaps I was off-base and not listening very well...or not expressing things in a helpful way. Maybe I should stop trying to write these posts and move on.

   So this morning I was listening, as usual, to Andrew Wommack’s program, Gospel Truth*.  Guess on what topic he ended up spending half the program?  Yep, “pleasing God” and what that really means. I just burst out laughing. Another reminder to look to God for your affirmation and guidance. He always finds creative ways to encourage you when you’re floundering. The hand He extends to you not only lifts you out of the mire of confusion or circumstance, it strengthens you to persist in what He’s called you to do:  To run the race to its end with Him as both your track coach and cheerleader.

   If you’re doing what you’re doing for a readership or audience of one, makes sure it’s the right One, and you’ll find all the encouragement and confirmation you need.
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*www.awmi.net or via Roku channel or cable

Preparing the right gift

In this Advent season, as we prepare to celebrate both the first and second coming of our Lord, the continual search to please Him should be resounding in our hearts. What gift would He most enjoy for His Birthday present from us? When you love others deeply, you search for ways to delight them, to make them happy, to outdo them with kindness. The more Yeshua’s love pours out to Me, the more I want to love Him bigger. Don’t you?

When it’s the birthday of someone we love deeply, we don’t just quickly wrap a gift we’ve grabbed from the shelf at the last minute. We ponder and plan what would delight and surprise that person. We want to see his or her face light up in joy. Now, surprise is not an option for our Yeshua’s gift, since He already knows the future.  However, pleasure is.

Sometimes, when our children were young, we would write our birthday gifts to Jesus on slips of paper and put them in a wrapped box under the tree. We never opened this gift Christmas morning, but we knew He would do so, treasuring each one in His heart. Somehow that tradition faded away as we all got older. I wish we’d carried it on every year. This year I want to bring it back, even though our children have their own families now.

Let’s take time this Advent season to ask Yeshua what He would most like for His Birthday celebration this year. Is there someone you need to forgive? Someone lonely who would love your attention? Might Adonai be missing that time you used to devote to conversation with Him or just basking in His Presence? Is there someone He loves who would be blessed by a special gift? Would Yeshua love to hear you serenade Him with love songs?

Let’s draw in our children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, as well as family members in the Spirit. Write love notes, wrap them in boxes with loving care and determine to fulfill any outward or inward acts of devotion they might contain. May He be showered with so many gifts this year that we hear the echo of His laughter from Heaven.

Note to Flock

”Fear not, little flock, it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” —Luke 12:32

I have loved this verse since I was a child. Delighted to follow Jesus’ exhortation thrice recorded in the Gospels, *  I love being His little lamb, no matter how arthritic my limbs and wrinkled my face. And now, as I follow the trail of what gives Him pleasure in Scripture, I’ve run smack into this image once again. He not only cares tenderly for us daily, but He rejoices in giving us entrance into all the delights of His Kingdom (which are more than we can possibly imagine*). Not just eventually, one day in Heaven, but right now, as we choose daily  to look to Him as Shepherd and King.

We’re living in a different kingdom than many of those around us, as we walk this earth as His grateful, affectionate subjects. Every choice we make to please Him, to see the crinkles fan out from His spirit eyes, is a source of joy to Him. Foregoing the world's way of seeking pleasure, we seek His,  and thereby find our own.

“...Steep yourselves in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You’ll find all your everyday, human concerns will be met. Don’t be afraid of missing out. You’re my dearest friends! Your Father wants to give you the very Kingdom itself!”  —Luke 12:32 The Message
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*“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God [with faith and humility like a child] will not enter it at all. “ Luke 18:17  (See also Matthew 18:3; Mark 10:15)
**”But, as it is written, ‘Things which the eye has not seen and the ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, who obey Him and who gratefully recognize the benefits He has bestowed.’].“ 1 Corinthians 2:9. (Isaiah 64:4)

The Pleasure of a Parent

   In my continued search for what pleases God (what makes Him happy, what brings a smile to His face), I was struck this morning by the parallel with our own parenting. (So many of these blog posts have come out of such insights.) Doesn’t it please your tender parent’s heart when your child trusts in and relies on you...when he or she looks to you for advice or comfort, knowing how greatly you care for them?

   Always we must ultimately direct them to their perfect Father in Heaven. However, He has allowed us the privilege of being His representative ‘with skin on.’ here on earth. Whether you remember these times from the distant past or are currently raising little ones, you can feel the consuming love and tenderness in your heart as those small arms reach out to you with trust and dependence. They know your heart toward them, never questioning your desire to be all they need at that moment. This heart of ours toward our children never changes, no matter their age.

   I believe God feels the same way about us. It pleases Him when we turn to and rely on Him for even the smallest of circumstances. No matter how youthful or grey our hair, our outstretched arms bring Him joy. His parent’s heart overflows toward us.

   Sometimes I think we’re reluctant to reach out to Him because we feel somehow we’re ‘bothering Him’ with insignificant concerns. But when we truly understand that it pleases Him when we trust in and rely on Him, praying without ceasing’ throughout our days, we can come to Him happily without restraint or reluctance.

   My mother rarely had the opportunity to go out to eat. In the days of my childhood, going out to eat was a rarity for most people. One time she was able to attend a special dinner with my father, who was a history teacher. Every summer he had to work at a second job to make ends meet. So this was a special evening for both of them as they attended a prepaid event.  The menu options were abundant, and it was rather like a cruise, in that you could have as many different items as you wished.  My mother, however, was reluctant to order more food because she didn’t want to keep bothering the waiter. She found out later, however, that the waiter was paid extra every time he had to go back to the kitchen for a customer!

   By no means am I comparing our Creator to a waiter, but the parallel still speaks truth to us:  Sometimes the bother in our eyes is, instead, a blessing to the Giver.

The Search for Pleasure, Part III

   In the last post we discovered that it gives God pleasure  when people come to know, believe in, and trust in Him. They then become His children. He loves the whole world, but the whole world is not comprised of His children. (John 1:12) It is we, His children, who give Him pleasure by our very existence.

  Today we stop on our journey and ponder Ephesians 5:9-10 (Amp)
“...for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth, trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord [and letting your lifestyles be examples of what is most acceptable to Him—your behavior expressing gratitude to God for your salvation.]”*

   So it seems that our journey, itself, is scriptural. That makes me happy. We must be moving in the right direction! Here’s another verse, from Romans 12:1: Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship.”

   Giving ourselves completely over to Him pleases Him, including those areas we’ve been holding back.  At first, many of us are afraid of what He’ll ask of us.  However, we’re not entrusting our whole selves ( body, soul, and spirit) to another human. [Jesus knew better than to do that (John 2:24-25).] We’re entrusting ourselves to the One Who created us and loves us best, the one who knows every thought we have, every word we think, every fear we try to hide, and every desire of our heart. As I stated in “Used,” we are never expendable in His eyes. Our fears of what He’ll call us to are ungrounded. He understands them, but it makes Him happy when we overcome them with His help. “Perfect love casts out fear.” (1 John 4:18)

   Let’s agree together to cast off those fears of offering ourselves completely to Him, through a greater trust in Him. Based on the Scriptures we’ve addressed so far, we’ll make Him doubly happy. Shall we go for triple in the days ahead?

   
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*In case you’re not familiar with the Amplified Bible, additions in parentheses are an expansion of the meaning of the original word in the Greek, like using synnyms to better understand the meaning. Sections in brackets are the tranlator’s ‘justified, clarifying’ additions as best understood by both the vocabulary and the larger context.

The Search Continues

If you didn’t read the previous blog post from Nov. 8 on Pleasing God, go back and read that first.  We are on a journey through the Scriptures searching for what makes God happy, since we love Him so very much.
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Psalm 149:4-5 Amp.
For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation and adorn the wretched with victory. Let the saints be joyful in the glory and beauty [which God confers upon them]; let them sing for joy upon their beds.

I love this first Scripture in our search.  To please God, we just have to humbly be who we are! He takes pleasure in those who have responded to His love and good news, His evangel. I don’t believe the discovery of this as our first verse is a coincidence. We should be grounded first in the assurance that He takes delight in our very existence.  We should ‘sing for joy upon our beds’ as we ponder this wonderful truth.

Giving God Pleasure

    When We talk about pleasing God, we often picture ourselves making a right choice. We might even picture Him saying, “Right. (Smile) Good job. Check. You’re hitting 85% here. Keep up the good work.  Next?”    Through the years, however, I have come to see God not at a distance with His clipboard, but ‘close up and personal,’ as the saying goes.

   As often happens, I was recently struck in a new way by a Scripture from Psalm 147. . It begins with “The Lord takes pleasure in...”.  I have long considered my desire not just to dutifully obey God, but to make Him happy...to cause Him to smile tenderly and with intimate joy, maybe even to cause Him to throw His Head back amd laugh.  It seems rather like watching someone open and excitedly rejoice in a gift you’ve given him. The recipient’s face lights and the crinkles around his eyes show far beyond a simple thank you that you have hit the mark in blessing him.

   Sometimes, though, I realize that I have pushed Him back into His clipboard stance, where I’m again just trying to do things right and not upset Him. I find myself there without quite realizing how I got there.  He certainly wasn’t the one who moved away. I know that. Our goal should certainly be to not offend or grieve His Spirit. Absolutely. But going beyond obedience to overtly pursuing creative ways to bless Him, to cause His his eyes to light up in pure delight...priceless.
 
   This has prompted me this morning to pursue every Scripture which refers to pleasing God. Certainly I have read and noted them here and there. However, I’ve never searched for them all at once.  Andrew Wommack has been teaching on Lessoms from David, which include much about his pleasing God, but also about his greatly displeasing Him. We tend to think of our actions pleasing and displeasing God, but always God brings us back to the heart behind our actions, as well.

   At any rate, I am putting on my Sherlock hat and going in search of all the ways to make God smile. I hope you’ll join me. You can add your comments to the post and help us mine the depths of the treasure that is God’s inspired Word to us...God-breathed and life-giving.  And let’s see how many full-bore smiles we get to see along the way.
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[By the way, if you use a computer, versus a phone, to open this blog at www.TennyandI.blogspot.com, you can see the archives of the other 3 years of posts, the navigation tools, and places to follow the blog, if you’re interested. Some have asked me how, since my posts don’t always show up on their Facebook feed.]. Julie

Used

   An acquaintance once said, “ We should never speak of God using people. God doesn’t use people.” I understood what she was saying, at least for one connotation of the word. In common parlance, to be ‘used’ by someone carries a negative connotation:  used and discarded, thrown away, a selfish consumption without thought or care for the one ‘used.’  Left behind in a sorrowful heap, expendable. Perhaps even ‘used’ for a higher purpose...the sad but necessary expending of the one to save many.

   However, God’s ‘use’ of us never takes away value; it always adds it.  When we are willing to be ‘used’ by God, we find ourselves the recipient of great blessing.  When God blesses others through us, especially when sacrifice is involved, He brings increase to us in a myriad of ways.

   As with so many of God’s truths, His  economy is upside down from the world’s. When we’re used by God to bless others and expand His Kingdom, we come out with more, not less. He never ‘spends’ one person for another...or the one for the good of the many as if the one were expendable. He only spends us for great gain for both parties. The only exception is when He did so to Himself...the complete and utter sacrifice of Himself for our gain out of pure, unadulterated love.

   Perhaps being used by God would be better expressed: “Make me a blessing to others, Lord.”  Now this prayer might sometimes be answered in an uncomfortable way. Or it might take place in a way we barely know it’s happening. (Since I'm not big on suffering, those are definitely my preference.)

   Sometimes our gain is overtly seen in multiplied provision and favor.  Other times we see it in the growth and maturation of our character, in our strength and ability to choose what is right and kind and good the next time around. Sometimes we reap the harvest in previously strained relationships or in an inexplicable peace for which we've been searching.

   We often reap a greater trust in the orchestrator of our lives.  As conductor, He raises His arms and calls us to lay down our lives for our brother or sister. When that brother or sister has been a source of pain to us, the call to be a blessing gets dicey.  We have to slog through thick mud to do what He's asking. It reminds me of those nightmares where we're trying to save someone but can't make any progress towards him.  If we break free of that bog of self-justification, however, He blesses us for remembering that the roles of Vindicator and Judge are His and His alone. 

   Recently I had occasion to live this out when I was tempted to 'take my dolls and go home,' as the saying goes.  I wanted to withdraw my usual efforts at helping in a particular situation, letting the person who had 'misused' me flounder and feel the effects of my absence.  However, God would have none of it.  The withdrawal of helpfulness was not on His agenda for me at all. I felt quite justified in leaving this person to her own devices.  However, God reminded me that I was neither justifier nor vindicator.  I had given myself to Him as His Servant and Child, both of which involved obedience.  Being a blessing is so much easier when you like the people you're blessing, isn't it? But since I love Him and want to make Him happy, I slogged through the swamp.

   Regardless of whether or not we see our side of God's creative blessing in this life, we are promised that in Heaven we will indeed experience His reward.  If we're more focused on being a blessing than receiving one, the thought of 'being used' will delight us. We'll be continually excited about opportunities to bless. Especially so when we can partner with Him to lead people to the lighted window of His Home.

   To be used by God is to sometimes be carried along in the river of the of His Holy Spirit and sometimes be stuck in a few eddies, yet always knowing He is Trustworthy, Faithful and True and that we are precious in His sight. Never expendable. Never less valued than another. Never wasted or forsaken. Never broken without His keeping sight of every single shard of our soul, which His Potter hands will make into a work of art more wondrously beautiful than before.
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Matthew 5, 1John 3:16, Luke 14:14, James 1:12

Post-script:  Although we are not to 'strive,' in one sense, in another the term fits, as we set our hearts to swim upstream against the tide of our natural inclinations.  This morning I read the following in my Tozer devotional:
"The true believer is in a state of progression.  He seeks and strives, he wrestles and fights.  He is ever aiming at the prize....His obedience, though not perfect, is habitual."  --AW Tozer