Pardon me if I seem a bit on edge today, but I had a restless night's sleep, and I am particularly wired this morning in so many ways. I have been spiraling out of control, yet very much in control, about things that matter for some time, and perhaps it took another knock on the noggin to get me to realize my next step. So I am dauntlessly fighting for my freedom so I can take the time to truly heal from a lifetime of abuse and smacks upside my head, boards on top my skull, and blows to the back of my oh so sensitive hard hardheadedness. Although my body may be spiraling 'neath the changes, my anger and responses are very much focused on important matters at hand. The battle is not mine but God's, and it has been waged longer than five months!
This morning I picked up Decision Magazine put out by Franklin Graham, and I read about one of his Decision Tours being attended by protestors who mistook his intentions, calling them prejudiced and he and his followers bigots. These particular crusades were following the Orlando murders, and the tragic loss of human lives. I imagine the protestors in the crowd had lived with this kind of hatred all their lives, so they failed to realize that there were people in this crowd including Franklin and his crew who mourned this horrible loss and cruel deed as much if not more than anyone who had actually been present at the time. Why? Because they represent a God who loves all His children, and One who weeps when you weep, and who hates violence and senseless slaughter in whatever form and venue it takes. His only purpose for holding these rallies is to spread the love of Jesus Christ and call God's family to prayer for our nation, a nation that was created under God, a nation that has already spiraled out of control! Without Him where will we be? We all sin and fall short of the glory of God EVERY DAY! I am not negating what the Bible says is right or wrong. I am simply saying LOVE your brother!
For several months now I have been praying for a young man who is facing a divorce. He waited until he was 40 years of age to marry, because he never wanted to come to this point in his life. As a child he dreamed of being an attorney, and I remember him saying to me that he would never handle a divorce case. Yet, here he is, but not of his doing. He wanted to live happily every after as we all dream of doing, but few achieve because of selfishness. I will not divulge the circumstances of his problems except to say I hold no bad feeling towards his bride of less than two years, because she has been listening to and living a lie, and it will destroy her unless someone stands in the gap and prays for her, as God has taught us to pray for others in the Bible. So I began to pray for , and I use this wife the prayer Hosea prayed for his wayward wife until her return. I do not believe in divorce, and it was never truly my choice to divorce, rather I was coerced by others to take the steps I did. At the time I would rather have lived in cruelty than disobey the vows I had taken to God. Yet, here I am...alone. And if we want to truly examine the lie, how many vows are truly taken in the Name of God, and how many times do we truly seek His choices for our lives.
Recently God spoke very clearly to my heart telling me to pray Proverbs 31 for this lady, so I have been diligently praying this prayer for a noble and Godly wife, regardless of the news I receive to the contrary. I do not pray for what I see or hear with my natural senses, but I stand in faith believing what my Father says sight unseen. This is hope, and I will stand fast for this marriage, and I will love her even if she does cruel and thoughtless things. Remember, we all have sinned and do sin each day in ways large and small. Don't think you are one who does not sin. The scriptures are clear we all do...no exceptions.
Proverbs 31 teaches us much more than the deeds of a noble wife, as it begins with the words of a mother to her son. Please read it in from the Message translation and take the message to heart:
The words of King Lemuel, the strong advice his mother gave him:
"Oh, son of mine, what can you be thinking of! Child whom I bore! The son
I dedicated to God! 3 Don't dissipate your virility on fortune-hunting
women, promiscuous women who shipwreck leaders. 4 "Leaders can't
afford to make fools of themselves, gulping wine and swilling beer, 5
Lest, hung over, they don't know right from wrong, and the people who depend on
them are hurt. 6 Use wine and beer only as sedatives, to kill the pain
and dull the ache 7 Of the terminally ill, for whom life is a living
death. 8 "Speak up for the people who have no voice, for the rights
of all the down-and-outers. 9 Speak out for justice! Stand up for the
poor and destitute!" 10 A good woman is hard to find, and worth far
more than diamonds. 11 Her husband trusts her without reserve, and never
has reason to regret it. 12 Never spiteful, she treats him generously
all her life long. 13 She shops around for the best yarns and cottons,
and enjoys knitting and sewing. 14 She's like a trading ship that sails
to faraway places and brings back exotic surprises. 15 She's up before
dawn, preparing breakfast for her family and organizing her day. 16 She
looks over a field and buys it, then, with money she's put aside, plants a
garden. 17 First thing in the morning, she dresses for work, rolls up
her sleeves, eager to get started. 18 She senses the worth of her work,
is in no hurry to call it quits for the day. 19 She's skilled in the
crafts of home and hearth, diligent in homemaking. 20 She's quick to
assist anyone in need, reaches out to help the poor. 21 She doesn't
worry about her family when it snows; their winter clothes are all mended and
ready to wear. 22 She makes her own clothing, and dresses in colorful
linens and silks. 23 Her husband is greatly respected when he
deliberates with the city fathers. 24 She designs gowns and sells them,
brings the sweaters she knits to the dress shops. 25 Her clothes are
well-made and elegant, and she always faces tomorrow with a smile. 26
When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say, and she always says it
kindly. 27 She keeps an eye on everyone in her household, and keeps them
all busy and productive. 28 Her children respect and bless her; her
husband joins in with words of praise: 29 "Many women have done
wonderful things, but you've outclassed them all!" 30 Charm can
mislead and beauty soon fades. The woman to be admired and praised is the woman
who lives in the Fear-of-God. 31 Give her everything she deserves!
Festoon her life with praises!
I dearly love the Kings James Bible, the version I memorized as a child, but the Message puts it in today's vernacular,
and the message is just as clearly spoken. Each morning I read these
words aloud in prayer, and I will continue to do
so until God tells me to stop. I believe in their marriage, and I am
sick and tired of satan trying to rob families of any happiness! If I
focused only on what I see in the natural, I would become so discouraged
that I would end my own life! Satan threatened me a long time ago, and
he thinks he's winning, but he never will. Even in my human weakness and
foreboding, my Abba Father is strong, and He never fails me! This I
know is truth. Satan's puny lies and cunning will not outsmart the King
of Kings and Lord of Lords!
In
my Walk thru the Bible I am still reading Isaiah, my favorite Old
Testament book of the Bible, because it shows clearly the path our world
has always chosen to go, but it brings us back to the hope of a Noble
King much like the man King Lemuel's mother prayed her son would be in
Proverbs 31. Our hope is in the Savior's return as is Israel's hope, and
He is very much present with us today as He has always been and as He
will remain if we who say we love Him stand up for Godliness and a holy
nation.
The
commentator of the Daily Walk Bible states that "Obedience to God's
commands has always been the path to individual and corporate blessing."
He goes on in the next thought to say, "Some people are so indecisive
that their favorite color is plaid. When a lady was asked, "'Do you
always have trouble making up your mind?'" she replied, "'Well, yes and
no."' There comes a time when changing your mind is not only desirable,
it is imperative - and that is when God tells you to." He elaborates his
statement with his view on Chapter 58 of Isaiah saying it "describes a
nation of people who needed to change their minds about God, themselves,
and the wickedness that characterized their lives. In a word, they
needed to repent." And listen to his next words closely, "Their worship was full of shallow formalism;
their outward piety was not matched by inner purity; and they fasted
for public recognition while ignoring the needs of others all around
them." This is a picture of our nation today! Be honest, don't you see
it?! We have churches on every corner, and one just sprouted next door
to another practically on the same plot of earth! Why? Because we want
to do it OUR
way, not God's although surely that is what the person making the
change feels he is following - God's voice, and perhaps in some
instances it is true. But I challenge you to follow and see what kind of
fruit is produced from the effort, because Jesus is concerned with the
fruit. It is the sign of the true worth of an endeavor, and it is a sign of a true disciple of Christ.
I
have become so incensed and outraged at the way the elderly, poor, and
disadvantaged are being treated by our government and world systems in
the State of New Mexico and elsewhere. I have always been an advocate for the rights
of others, but since my work-related accident I have witnessed firsthand
the cruelty and prejudice people are suffering at the hands of the
establishment. They do not represent our God, a God of justice and truth
who loves those who cannot speak up for themselves, the widows, the
orphans...! And as my friend, a Pastor's wife so clearly put it, if the
churches would do the work God set them here to do, then we wouldn't need to rely on government to help the needy, disadvantaged, disabled, or elderly! Just read God's response to the the people in Isaiah 58 and apply it to the little piece of the earth where you live and perhaps to your own life:
1
"Shout! A full-throated shout!
Hold nothing back - a trumpet-blast shout! Tell my people what's wrong
with their lives, face my family Jacob with their sins!
2
They're busy, busy, busy at
worship, and love studying all about me. To all appearances they're a
nation of right-living people - law-abiding, God-honoring. They ask me,
'What's the right thing to do?' and love having me on their side.
3
But they also complain, 'Why do
we fast and you don't look our way? Why do we humble ourselves and you
don't even notice?' "Well, here's why: "The bottom line on your 'fast
days' is profit. You drive your employees much too hard.
4
You fast, but at the same time
you bicker and fight. You fast, but you swing a mean fist. The kind of
fasting you do won't get your prayers off the ground.
5
Do you think this is the kind of
fast day I'm after: a day to show off humility? To put on a pious long
face and parade around solemnly in black? Do you call that fasting, a
fast day that I, God, would like?
6
"This is the kind of fast day
I'm after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in
the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts.
7
What I'm interested in seeing
you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor
into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being
available to your own families.
8
Do this and the lights will turn
on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will
pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage.
9
Then when you pray, God will
answer. You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.' A Full Life
in the Emptiest of Places "If you get rid of unfair practices, quit
blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people's sins,
10
If you are generous with the
hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, Your lives will
begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in
sunlight.
11
I will always show you where to
go. I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places - firm muscles,
strong bones. You'll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring
that never runs dry.
12
You'll use the old rubble of
past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You'll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins,
rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again.
13
"If you watch your step on the
Sabbath and don't use my holy day for personal advantage, If you treat
the Sabbath as a day of joy, God's holy day as a celebration, If you
honor it by refusing 'business as usual,' making money, running here and
there -
14
Then you'll be free to enjoy
God! Oh, I'll make you ride high and soar above it all. I'll make you
feast on the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob." Yes! God says so!
Who knows?! Maybe I'm just a crazy ole lady who's had too many blows to the head, but even so, even if I am a bit of a nutcase, as I refer to myself on occasion, I want to care about the needs of others. I want to put their needs before my needs or "wants" (within reason), because it is the right thing to do, it is a Godly response, and I want to be like Jesus. I noted the words "within reason," because even Jesus had to separate Himself for a time to listen to God. Otherwise, He may, if it were possible, have done things on His own. But Jesus always obeyed the voice of His Father, and so should we. I have been obedient to the wrong voices all my life. I am not saying that my parents' advice or that of another was wrong or ungodly, I am saying it was not always the path God wanted me to follow, so I detoured. If you want to talk about the back-burner of life's experiences I am the master, but I see the restoration that God has promised me over the years, and I am trying with all my frailty to let His strength pull me up from the mire and muck and carry me along the right path. I still encounter delays, like the recent one confronting a lifetime of abuse from a person who blames me for all the woes of her life, yet she, like all of us, make choices in our adult lives, and we need to take responsibility for those self-made choices and stop blaming others. I have fallen victim to some of the most hateful, disrespectful words from this person far too long, and although I love her and would gladly give my life for her, I seriously doubt she would want to trade places with me. Many people suffer in life, and we all want to blame someone else, especially God. But God gave us what we wanted from the beginning...we wanted to do it "our way," not His. So why put false blame on Him?! Yes, there are things we do not understand, especially the needless suffering of children with debilitating or life-threatening illnesses. Yet, in most instances, we can see through the lives of these children and their families a faith so alive and full of hope so real that to doubt God's not caring would be blasphemy to them.
We all question God at times, no one is exempt from that response either, although we may tell our pious self we never doubt Him. I choose to believe Him, in spite of what my angry children may say to me when they were raised to accept God's word as truth, and much more, as they have actually witnessed miracles where there can be no doubt He saved them! I am not certain whether I have shared these miracles in my blog, but I have described these instances of divine intervention with many of my friends who themselves have witnessed the hand of God in their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Miracles are present each day if we just look around and marvel at His greatness, His mercy, and His unending love and compassion for all of us. I choose to see the light of His love. I choose not to turn my back on someone who needs my help, and I am able to give it. I choose to live my life for Christ and Christ alone, and when I fail, He lovingly picks me up, dusts me off, and sets me on the Solid Rock once more.
We all have a work to do, and only we can do the job each of us has to do. I was reminded of this very fact on February 24th when I read these words:
"Remember that you are needed.
There is at least one important work
to be done that will not be done
unless you do it."
Charles Allen
These words have carried me through some difficult challenges this year, and I cling to the truthfulness of the words, "Remember that you are needed." As
I have transparently shared with my readers countless times, I struggle
each day, but I get up regardless of how I feel physically, mentally,
emotionally, or even spiritually, and I get my bruised and broken butt
out of the bed proclaiming, "This is the day the Lord has made I WILL rejoice and BE GLAD in it!" This
is who I am, and it is all I know, and it is NOT a crutch. It is God's
truth, and I will trust Him before any lie that the enemy would have me
believe.
So for today I will continue on, and I will meet my friends for lunch where we will giggle and laugh and behave like children, happy to be alive and supportive of each others struggles and dreams. How will you live your day?
"It is clear to us, friends, that God not only loves you very much
but also has put His hand on you for something special."
1Thessalonians 1:4 MSG
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