The Real Reason...

Every year life seems to get crazier after Halloween. It just never fails! But this week in traffic I was trying to figure out something that just seemed like it was "missing".  My quiet times are there, prayer time is strong, kids are doing better ever even though my Tiara will get anxious and get home sick...overall everything seems in line.  Then as I changed my playlist and began to worship it hit me....Christ is the very core of all that I do all day. He's the first thought in the morning and my last thought at night and every minute of the day in between...but is really at the CENTER?  Meaning, is Jesus the focus of it all?  Rushing to meet deadlines at work. Driving to the youth Christmas party. Getting time for me on the treadmill....and it seems Christmas events stretch time even more!! But this Wednesday as I sat in the youth service the focus was quickly 1 thing as we became glued to the message.....I Wonder..Do You KNOW Him? Who is Jesus? Not just the obvious answers, but WHO is He to you?? Do you KNOW Him? Take the time to stop this year and really think...He knows YOU!!  Every deep down thought in your heart He knows and He sees and He loves to know you. Do YOU...know HIM?? 

As the Christmas season begins I really pray this video touches you like it did us. It's a favorite but I never get tired of it and by the end of it my heart is chasing after His begging to really KNOW Him and run AFTER His heart with mine. In worship, in my life, in my actions! I'm ready for the next day to come so I can pursue Jesus' heart with mine.  The applause spreads through the house like watching a flame fanned into a wildfire and who can refrain from breaking into worship after this??!! He is SO incredible. Jesus...name of above all names. Beautiful Savior...is so indescribable!  He is so much, the list is limitless and while the video rolled all I can think is the one thing that wasn't mentioned...HE is the LOVE of my life. HE IS the center of my world. The reason I do all that I do is for an audience of 1. He is the one and only reason for this season!  I pray it rocks your heart and changes your world this Christmas and becomes your favorite, too! Take time this holiday to sit and just reflect...He is worth it! 

Death In The Pot

This week I had the privilege to have lunch with a dear friend of mine who I lovingly refer to as "my Mordecai" (as in the book of Esther).  We talked about God & His nature, His goodness & priceless moments when He reveals Himself. Then there’s man and his nature! Oy!  I shared with “Mordecai” a passage during my quiet time just over a week ago that I had come across, but this was a scripture that jumped from the pages of my Bible and I chewed on it all week long….the longer I chewed the more I knew I HAD to share this…

 ³⁸And Elisha came again to Gilgal when there was a famine in the land. And as the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, he said to his servant, "Set on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets." ³⁹One of them went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine and gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds, and came and cut them up into the pot of stew, not knowing what they were. ⁴⁰And they poured out some for the men to eat. But while they were eating of the stew, they cried out, "O man of God, there is death in the pot!" And they could not eat it. ⁴¹He said, "Then bring flour." And he threw it into the pot and said, "Pour some out for the men, that they may eat." And there was no harm in the pot.    1 Kings 4:38-41 ESV

 I read this marveling at God.  A famine in the land and the Lord was doing a work.  Not only that but for the sons of the prophets as they could witness God’s hand at work providing a meal.   Elisha instructed the servant what to do….simple instructions, boil stew.  Easy enough right?  Apparently not.  One of the servants went to the field to gather herbs and I’m sure he thought he was doing something good as he gathered the gourds.  He gathered a lap full, he probably sang a little song as he picked them.  Maybe visited w/ people on the way back all proud of what he found to add to the stew!  (“don’t judge…this is how I read my bible  full of action! J  You read yours your way!!”) He cut them up, had no clue what they were, clearly he thought that it would be good to add it.  He was going to help out the stew!   Innocently trying to improve it, help it along and make it better.  Probably thought everyone would commend him on the “extra touch” that he added in.  I really laughed when I was reading this…Then it hit me…how many times have we mucked things up by sticking our hands in the pot that God is doing a miracle in??  By touching something that God had perfect control of and didn’t need our help?? We try to control it with little faith at all that God knows what He’s doing.  Something that may have only required our obedience and not “another hand in the pot”.   Where GOD deserves ALL the glory and praise and honor and not to be shared with man!!  Where He will perform a miracle on His timing when the hearts involved are mature enough and He will receive the glory…not to be shared with man.   

I volunteer at the Gwinnett  Pregnancy Center and while I love to see the mom’s and would like to believe I’m making a difference in a life there’s 1 BIG reason I go…I’ve learned how to walk in faith EVERY Thursday night and I KNOW that I am going to step back, let go and see God perform a miracle without ANYONE helping Him out!  Good intentioned or otherwise.  We are taught to be quiet and do nothing and let God work at key times most people would have to “take over”.  It is taken over…but by Him who specializes in miracles!  God LOVES to show us WHO HE IS!!! There’s nobody trying to control, nobody thinking they can improve what God is doing or do something better or add to it or manipulate with words…it’s ALL GOD!!!   God’s time to shine!!    Add to that the wonderment that He invited someone like me to come watch HIM!  ME???   Yes, He invited ME!!  What I’ve learned is the more that I took my hands off, stepped out in faith that I NEEDED Him and I was powerless and spent less time speaking and more time listening, the greater He worked in a more dynamic way!  Not just saving a baby’s life, but saving a MOM’s life, too!  It has caused my faith to increase in Him exponentially.   And catch this…hear me…He KNOWS that I am going to fall in love DEEPER with my King in Heaven as He displays His power and might at work!!!!   Do you think God wants to share that kind of crashing love moment that makes Him my first love with “man” and man’s selfish nature?? 

The awesome thing is this isn’t a privilege for just me…God wants to show every one of us His nature if we will just take our hands off of things, let go and let God show us who HE IS!  This kind of trust multiplies faith in Him, removes the spiritual immaturity of doubt.   The beauty of this scripture is that control is pretty big in all of our lives and it’s a daily struggle.  It’s a daily chance to watch God work and I love to wake up the next day just to see how Jesus will show up and reveal Himself.   The control that we try to use will prevent a blessing that Jesus wants to give us.   Elisha put flour in the pot to destroy death, and Jesus does the same thing in our lives as He is the bread of life.  Jesus symbolizes the flour that prevented death.  Jesus wants to be the flour in the “pot” of our lives and let Him have that control.  To save us from a mistake of meddling with a miracle pot He WANTS to show you!  I watch and talk to people who struggle with letting God work, having faith to let go, not control and it can be scary…but He promises to never leave us or forsake us.  His will, His plans, His thoughts are so much better than ours!!    The WORST thing that can happen is that He becomes our first love again as we lean on Him.  When we are at the end of our rope the hem of His garment begins!!!