Blue Lights

I'm grabbing my keys, my purse, and running out the door.  I throw my things into the passenger seat, and throw the car in reverse.  I tear out of the driveway and gun it to the stop sign at the end of my road.  Once on the main road I push the accelerator, knowing I'm late....and thinking that maybe I can make up some time.  I'm watching the clock and my speedometer creep up as my stomach drops because a blue light shines out of my mirror.  NO!!  I don't have the time...or money...for this!!

As I'm driving away from the police cruiser, I feel totally deflated.  My ticket, with it's heavy fine, is laying beside me and I dread bringing it through the door and admitting it happened.  Why?  Do a gut check with me.  If this has happened to you, do you hate it happened because you loathe the fact that you were speeding, which you clearly know is illegal....or do you hate it happened because you got caught and the repercussions of getting caught?  

If you're like me, it's most likely because I got caught...because it's going to make me uncomfortable.  It's not going to feel good having to pay that money and tell my spouse that I got a ticket.  It's not going to feel good if this ticket causes my insurance to go up, causing me to pay more money to the insurance company each month.  

So if you're like me, and the reason you hate it happened was because of the repercussions, then we're completely missing the point.

This is what happened to the Israelites.  If you read my last post you remember talking about the Israelites and how they were wondering around in the desert.  Now, in Numbers 14, they had actually made it to the promised land that God had told them about, they had sent spies into the land to scope it out, and then they had decided that it was to scary to do as God told them to do.  They decided they would NOT go into the Promised land.  At this point God is fed up with them and tells Moses he is done with these people and how they continually do their own thing and reject Him.  He tells them that there will now be consequences for their disobedience.  Once Moses relays this message, the people freak out and change their tune.  They now decide that they will go into the promised land and take it as God had told them to do earlier.  The only problem is that God is not with them in this expedition, and therefore they are defeated on a grand scale.

Summary:  
God said go take the promised land - People say, "No, too scary...we'll do things our way."              
God says don't go into the promised land - People say, "We will go conquer the promised land on our own!" 

(Does this sound familiar to any parents out there???)

What in the world made these people act this way?  (Maybe a few fries short of a Happy Meal??)  I want to grab these people out of the Old Testament, shake them and tell them to get a clue.  Then I get a clue.  They disobey because they are stubborn and think they know better than God.  So God says, "Ok...you wanna do things your way?  Then here are your consequences."  The people see the consequences and they change their tune.  Which brings us back to the question we asked earlier about our ticket - are the people sad enough to change their mind because they loathe their sin of being disobedient or because they don't want to deal with the consequences?  It would seem they only change because of the consequences that they hear are coming.  

This is what we do too often.  We do things our way, over and over and over...until we get ourselves into a crap ton of mess...and then we cry out to God.  We wonder why in the world He would let our life turn into this.  Sometimes we even get MAD at God.  Like it's his fault.  After all the anger, we usually eventually feel sorry.  We are sorry for the mess we've created.  Maybe we work to fix the mess or maybe God, in his infinite mercy, fixes it for us.  And then we're happy campers...because life is good again.  

But...where was the mourning over our sin?  Where in the process did we name our sin...the sin that caused the whole mess.  The sin that causes God so much sadness.  The sin that claimed the life of his son.  Where in the process did we apologize to God and ask him to help us change?  

If we skipped that step, then we missed it.  

But!  Take heart, because there is hope.  There is always hope with God, which is an amazing thing about being a Christ-follower.  If you're reading this, then it's not too late to go back and do that ever important step.  It may even be that you just don't feel remorse over your sin.  Ask God to help you understand what your sin is.  Name it.  Call it out.  Confess it to someone you trust, and take away its power over you.  Spend some time realizing the weight of sin's effect on you and those around you. (Because you know our sin never effects just us, right?)  

Then comes the best part...

Once you've truly understood the weight of that sin that God is going to help you overcome...you've truly mourned it having any place in your life...then comes joy.  And it's so sweet.  So refreshing.  

So do it right now.  Ask God to show you your sin.  Confess that you messed up and it hurt you, God, and those around you.  Realize the weight of it, but then throw it off.  Cast it onto the cross where it's dealt with once and for all and then be done with it.  Lay down the sin and pick up the joy.

Word.

It's been a while since I posted....and I decided that was ok :o)  I want this blog to be an outlet, not an item on a to-do list, and I seriously want it to be something God uses.  SO, I'm trying to be ok with my super sporadic posting, and hope you will too!

I've been thinking about this for a while, but it seems like today is the day God prompted me to write about it.  (That and the fact that I can actually think because my kids are in Mother's Morning Out for a few hours ;o)  The question that's been plaguing me is a question for those of us who call ourselves Christ-followers.  If you're not a Christ-follower, I'd love for you to keep reading...but this question doesn't apply to you.

Christ-followers are supposed to be just that, right?  People who follow Christ.  Who is Christ?  We'd probably all give a slightly different answer to that question, but think on this:

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth John1:14

So...one answer to the question is that Christ was the Word.  Well, what is the Word??  The word is God's word...in other words the Bibles that most of us in this country have several copies of in our homes.  We may even have an app on our phone that holds multiple versions of the Bible.

We say we're Christ-followers, but Christ, or Jesus, is the Word...and from what I can tell we don't read the Word.  That means we don't know Jesus.  If we don't know Jesus...obviously we can't follow him very far, right?  What the heck??!

We will listen to our preacher, listen to Andy Stanley, Mark Driscoll, Perry Noble, Steven Furtick, Billy Graham...we'll even listen to some random person writing a blog, talking on tv, or posting on Facebook...before we'll open our Bibles.  I'm not saying these people are bad, in fact a lot of the preachers I mentioned above have some great revelations to share.  But - the fact is, they are NOT a substitute for the Word.  How many of them can put on their resume that they've been here since the beginning of time, that they are God, have always been with God, made the universe, and embody love itself?  Ummm...I'm guessing none of them have that rep.  (Not even that person on Facebook that seems to know everything and have THE perfect life.)

So the question is - WHY???  We have so many situations in our lives that we want advice for...we want to know what the right thing to do is...we want to know why everything is falling apart around us.  Yet, we don't go Jesus, we don't go to the Word, we don't crack open that Bible.  Let's save ourselves some time and heart ache and just realize the truth:  if you haven't opened the Bible then you're not following Christ...you cannot possibly know where Christ is going or where He wants you to go if you don't know where He's been, his character, and how he feels about you.  We learn all of this through the Bible, through Jesus...ever wondered why Hebrews 4:12 calls the Word of God "living and active?" Because it IS...it's Jesus.  It's a person...living and breathing...and who wants to be active in your life.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 He was in the beginning with God.3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.4 In him was life,t and the life was the light of men.5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John1:1-5

There's a promise in these verses above.  Did you catch it?  Here's the sequence:
Jesus (the Word) has always been
Jesus has always been with and a part of the God (this is that confusing, yet true fact that God is 3 in1)
Everything was made through God..through the Word
There is life in the Word
That life is a light that can be in us
If we allow that light in us, it will NOT be overcome...not even by the world.

There's not much you can count on in this world...in fact, there's nothing that we can be sure of.  Not government, not retirement, not even our friends and family because they could be gone tomorrow...BUT God and his Word will never be gone, and the light and life he promises will NEVER be overcome.  Pretty amazing.

Hold that up to advice from Facebook, that tv talk show host, that sermon you can listen to ...and see how it compares :o)  Fact is, it doesn't.  Do it today - open up the Bible, release yourself from any expectations you have about how it should be done (more on this in another post), and trust that God will do the work of showing you who He is because you are seeking him!  As you get to know Jesus, your life will change radically - and it'll be amazing.

the RIGHT way

I'm pretty good at coming up with the RIGHT way to do things...I mean, isn't it obvious to everyone that there is a right way and a wrong way?  For instance...

In the shower, do you have a routine?  I definitely do...because there is only one right way to take a shower.  (Didn't know if you knew that or not...but I'm giving you that tidbit for free)
Steps to CORRECTLY take a shower:

1. You should always shampoo your hair first, rinse, then put conditioner on your hair. 
2. Conditioner needs to sit for a little while, so you let it sit while you wash the rest of your body (except your back)
3. After washing, you can rinse out your conditioner...but that greasy conditioner is going to run down your back.
4. So...of course, you wash your back last to get the conditioner off of it.

And that, my friends, is how you correctly take a shower.  Man, don't you feel enlightened?

SADLY, I feel like this a lot...like I know exactly how things should be done and how they shouldn't.  Our culture says this is a great thing, especially if you're a woman...you know, Beyonce's "independent women" and all that jazz.  Turns out it's NOT a great thing - thinking you have all the answers.

I was reading in 1 Chronicles 13, and was shocked to see that in the early parts of David's reign as king, he got a man killed.  (Wasn't he supposed to be an awesome king?!?)  See, David got the idea to move the Ark of the Lord, and set about the task enthusiastically.  Unfortunately, in the process of carrying it, the ark looked a little shaky and a man named Uzzah tried to help out.  Uzzah thought he was doing the right thing - steadying the ark so it wouldn't fall or be hurt in any way.  Sadly that one move cost him his life.  So, you're probably asking how that's David's fault?  Well...David was the one in charge...he was the leader.  God put him in charge of the people, and when you're in charge (like it or not) people will usually do what you tell them to do and will act just like you act.  Before moving the ark, David talked to his officials and lots of other people, but he forgot to talk to God about it.  Since he didn't talk to God about it, he didn't give God the chance to tell him that there was a very specific way to move the Ark... that if these ways were neglected, lives could be at risk.

David learned though.  The next time he was going to do something big, he asked God about it first.  He was thinking of going into battle....but...he remembered his mistake last time, and did better this time.  He asked God whether this was something he should do or not.  God said he should do it, and gave him victory in the process.  In fact, most of the time after that, David remembered to consult God first.  (That's probably one of the greatest contributing factors to him being a great king.)

We get so puffed up on ourselves...and even get ticked when someone tells us the way we're doing something is wrong.  Truthfully, I know sometimes I don't want to ask God how to do it.  (...and in those times I'm being a stupid girl!)  God always wants us to talk to him about what we're doing.  He wants us to remember that we're human...that he's almighty, all-powerful God...that we can screw this thing up BIG time...but that he will graciously and lovingly guide us through the landmines of life.  I'm not talking of a prosperity gospel philosophy here - there will still be difficult times in life.  However, when you're doing things God's way, to say things go so much better is a pretty huge understatement.  The best thing about talking to him constantly is the relationship that develops between you and him.  You begin to know him, and realize how intimately he knows and loves you.

So, I'm challenging myself and you for the next 2 weeks to ask God....

....what to do with your day
....whether you should buy that new____ or not
....how you can bless someone today
....how to confront that person you're upset with
....what to do about the ever increasing problems in your marriage
...how you should vote (gasp!)
...what you should wear (really)
...what to do with your kids that are driving you nuts (God understands frustrating kids :)
and the list could go on and on....

Try it.  Take your decisions to God for the next 2 weeks.  Big or little issue...it doesn't matter.  Try it out and see how things change.  (Of course I'd love to hear your stories of what God does as a result!!)

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."  Phillipians 4:6