Few There are the Find It

Things I learned on my way to Lewisville – Day 2

Few There Are that Find It

Matthew 7:13&14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

What a day Tuesday started out to be.  My laptop was not working like it should be and I needed to have reports ready for an 8:30 call.  This was end of quarter and I needed to be on the road, headed to Lewisville.  I decided it was best to stay at the house and get my numbers together so I could give an up to date report for the morning logistics call.  I called the IT support team to see if they could help me with my laptop and they told me to go ahead and bring it by the Plano office.  By the time everything was taken care of and I headed on my hour long drive to the warehouse, it was about 9 AM.  I pulled on to the freeway and drove for a few moments and remembered how bad the traffic had been the day before.  I was west bound and while there was quite a bit of traffic, it was moving at the posted speeds.  I looked over at the east bound side and noticed there were very few cars.  In fact, the 4 lanes looked almost bare compared to the west bound side.   Once again, as with the day before, I heard that small still voice getting my attention.

“Debbie, this morning’s drive is a great illustration of the “narrow road” mentioned in the Bible and the few there are that find it”.  I thought about that and looked straight ahead, then to the side and in my rear view mirror; all of us, filling up 4 lanes of highway, going in the same direction.  It was like we were playing follow the leader but the line of traffic was so far ahead I was not sure who the leader was.  My heart became saddened by the image that was now painted in my mind.  The image of thousands and thousands of people all headed down life’s highway but headed in a direction that is a destination of destruction.  I was reminded of Proverbs 16:25 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

The Lord began to bring people to my mind that were lost and headed in a way that seems right to them.  I looked again to the east bound lane and the picture of “few there are that find it” screamed out at me.  Few there are that find it; why???  Why is there so few on the narrow road and so many on the wide road?  The Lord spoke, “The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.  My people have become so entwined with the rat race and the fast, cluttered pace of daily routine that they do not take time to care about the lost.  There is no sense of urgency among my people.  There is little or no discipleship and the church has become so complacent and worldly that the lost world is confused and bewildered.  Many of them know there is something missing in their lives but when they see “Christians” they see people who say one thing and live another.  They see people who can’t get along among themselves and who fuss and fight over nonessential differences.  They see people who are so compromised that there is very little or no difference in their lives.  They don’t believe we have the answer because so many of us are walking around like a question mark instead of an explanation mark.  Most “Christians” cannot defend their faith or even share what they believe and why they believe it.   Divorce among proclaiming Christians is as high as or higher than the lost world.  Fathers have disengaged and the family unit is falling apart.  Mothers have left the home in search of “fulfillment and gratification” while relinquishing her role at homemaker and care taker of her children.  So called “believers” have traded the truth of God’s word for a lie of convenience and self-gratification to the point that they do not have time to care about those on the wide road because they are too busy trying to run each other off the narrow road”.

I heard the Lord as He described the current day condition of His people.  I realized again that God’s perspective is so much clearer than mine.  He is not lulled into thinking “things are OK in the USA” and He reminded me “to whom much is given, much is required”.  Being on the narrow road is not a free pass to forget those on the wide road.  Romans 10:14-17 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”  But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”  So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Heavenly Father, please put a burning desire in my heart to see lost people come to know you.  Help me remember that it was for the lost that you came and gave your life.  I too was on the wide road and had it not been for your undeserved grace and mercy I would be there today.  You loved the world so much that you sent your only begotten son that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish but would have everlasting life.  Father help me remember that we are called to be salt and light to a dark, hurting, broken world.  Help me remember that your Holy Spirit does the drawing and the convicting but we are called to do the telling, the living it out, the bearers of the Good News.  We are to cover our feet with the gospel of peace and take that message to a world in ciaos.  Father, give me kind of love you have for those on the wide road. 
In Jesus Name, Amen

Stop & Go Faith

Things I learned on my way to Lewisville – Day 1

Stop & Go Faith

Hebrews 12:1&2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

2 Tim. 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;

Phil 3:10-15 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.
The last two weeks of March was end of quarter for our customer and I was required to be in the Lewisville TX warehouse.  The drive from my house is about an hour and I must admit, I was grumbling and not looking forward to that drive.  I told myself and the Lord every reason why this was ridiculous and unproductive but I was required to do it so I did.  As it turned out, the Lord had something in mind when He set this whole thing up and as He usually does, He taught as I drove.
Day one was crazy.  It was a Monday and anyone one who knows me well knows Mondays are NOT my favorite day.  This is partly because I try to pile a weeks worth of chores & activities into my weekend so I am usually exhausted when Monday roles around. 
So off I go and as I pulled out and noticed the amount of traffic I was going to have to deal with I grumbled.  I was reminding the Lord that I could already be on my computer being productive but no, here I was in this rush hour traffic.  I would get started going good then all of a sudden brake lights would light up the road and we would start slowing down.  Just as we were almost at a stop, the traffic started moving again and I hit the gas only to have to hit the breaks again.  Stop and go, stop and go, stop and go.  Suddenly as I sat there waiting for the traffic to move again I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit saying, “Stop and Go, Stop and Go.  This traffic is allot like your faith walk.”  I took a deep breath then exhaled whispering, “I should have known You had a lesson for me today”.  I was reminded that my walk with the Lord was exactly like this traffic.  Going along fine, seemingly walking in His will then all of a sudden something happens and I’m moving at a snail’s pace or not moving at all.  On fire one day and cold as ice the next.  Depending on Him as my life’s source one day and trying to do it on my own the next; living in victory one day and back in shackles the next. 
As I thought about what the Lord was showing me I realized how true it was and began to ask why; why was that the story of my faith walk?  Why was I not consistently running the race with endurance; pressing toward the goal, fighting the good fight?  Was it a lack of trust, love, dependency, belief?  “Partly all of these,” He replied, “You are not seeking Him first in all you do. Your faith walk is a picture of your lack of seeking Him and putting Him first.  You get so caught up in the daily demands and doing your will that you often allow Him to be crowed out.  He becomes a back seat passenger instead of the GPS system that guides and directs every turn.  You do not live as if you are desperate for His guidance and dependent on His presence; you live as if you can take it or leave it.  You want Him there but at a “close distance” in case you need Him but you do not want Him to come in and take over every thing that makes up your life; your being; your very next breath.”
I tried to take it all in and realized every word was true.  I take the Lord for granted and I expect Him to do His part whether or not I do mine.  I want the benefits of His blessing, protection, guidance but without having to seek Him for it.  I want to know Him and have a relationship with Him but don’t take the time required to develop that type of closeness and intimacy.  If I am to be transformed by the renewing of my mind, if hiding His word in my heart is what keeps me from “stop and go” faith then I MUST make that my priority.  I can not let days go by without as much as a glance in His word.  I must hunger and thirst for Him and His truth.  I must put Him in His rightful place as the very center of my being; seated on the throne of my life.  He must be the ultimate “love of my life” and I must not forget what He has done for me.  He loved me, bought me & sought me before I ever knew He existed.  He has been the one person in my life that has loved me like I dreamt of being loved and He desires that I love him back; that I seek Him first and that I have no other gods before Him.
Once again I realized how much like the children of Israel I am.  An entire generation of them lived with stop and go faith and they died without ever receiving what He had prepared and promised them.  I do not want that to be the legacy I leave my children and grandchildren.  I want to have a faith that presses on, runs the race and fights the good fight.  I want to know that I have been faithful and not ashamed.  I want to get on the gas and live out the rest of my life as if there were no brakes when it comes to following Christ; no stopping, no looking back, no regrets….full throttle ahead.
Father,
Thank you for loving me and using everyday life to teach me the lessons you have for me to learn.  Thank you for not condemning me but making me aware of the areas in my life that do not please you.  Thank you most of all for wanting intimacy with me and for seeking me on the days that I have not thought to seek you.  Father, please give me the strength and the desire to make the changes that need to be made.  Make me willing to obey you and love you like you so deserve to be loved.
In Jesus name, Amen.

Lip Service

Lip Service

Luke 18:13 "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner”

Ok, so yesterday I shared what the Lord showed me about the still waters which bring refreshment and reflection right???  This morning I woke up and as I began to talk to the Lord He led me right to the still water and said “Take a very close look at the water; what do you see yourself doing”?  That’s when the Holy Spirit showed me something that was very hard to see.  My prayer this morning like so many other mornings was lip service to the Father.  I was telling Him what I thought He wanted to hear.  It sounded good, it was the right words but the problem is He saw the heart behind the words.  “Lip service” prayers come from a prideful heart and there is no action behind them therefore they go no where.  I tell the Lord I want to honor Him with my life; my whole being.  I tell Him I do not want to worship or give Lordship to anything but Him.  I tell the Lord I want to make necessary changes in this area or that one.  I ask Him for His help, for power to overcome, to break free, to move forward, and to be changed but that’s usually where it ends.  I tell, I ask, I even hear Him but what am I doing with what I’m shown?

It hits me the most when I am flipping through a notebook or journal and find things I may have written months or even years back.  I read it and realize I could have written it that day.  “Why am I still there” I ask myself.  “Why am I still in this place, fighting this same battle, dealing with this same “whatever it may be”?   I know the answer, God shows me the answer and it’s back to “lip service praying followed by lip service living”.  Victorious praying and victorious living requires something of me; not just of the Lord.  It requires me to take what He reveals and do something with it.  He will not do for me what I can do for myself.  He gives me the strength, the ability and the directions but He will not pick my feet up and make me walk in that knowledge. 

The Bible gives us a clear picture of behaviors and characteristics “fruit” that are available through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Available does not always mean active.  My husband has a grill that has a full tank of propane but it’s of no value and there is no heat until the knob is turned to release the propane and it’s ignited. I recently heard someone say, “You already have all of the Holy Spirit you will ever need but the question is, how much of you does He have”?  Lip service does nothing to ignite the power of the Holy Spirit, but sincere prayer backed by action turns that valve and releases the power and ignites the flame which produces change, freedom, victory and death to old, unhealthy habits….the fruit of the Spirit.

Father,

Forgive me for simply praying "right words" while forgetting you see my heart.  Forgive me for praying like the Pharisee, thinking I had really done something that would please you.  Thank you for loving me enough to discipline me and show me the error and pride of my prayers and my walk. 

Going forward, "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer".   Psalm 19:14

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Still Waters

Still Waters

Psalm 23:2 The Lord makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

“Home sweet home” was our theme for Wednesday as we ended a 3 day stay in San Antonio TX during Spring Break.  What were we thinking…LOL???  All in all it was a wonderful first “Bobby L Gaddis Family Vacation” and Gramps and I were thrilled and honored that we were invited to tag along.  We have vivid images burned into our memories for years to come and just in case the aging process diminishes some of them, we also have pictures.  We learned allot on this first vacation.  Some things we need to do differently but others were just right.  As I was thinking back on the wonderful experience one thing stood out this morning and it describes Psalm 23:2 in a way that makes the passage even more alive to me.  We were a troop of 6 adults with 7 children; 2 toddlers, 2 very animated 3 year olds, a very curious 6 year old and 2 preteen girls plus ALL the other tourists…did I mention Spring Break???  We experienced every emotion you can imagine plus some…ha, ha.

Tuesday was our day to tour the River Walk.  It was a beautiful day but a little warm partly due to miles of concrete, crowds of people and trying to make sure none of our little ones wandered off.  After allot of walking plus going up and down a few pesky stairs, we finally got on the river boat that gave us a tour of the area.  I didn’t think of it at the time but this morning the Lord reminded me of how life can be totally chaotic, crowded and confusing.  In the midst of it all, He knows that we need some green pastures and still waters so He gives us His Holy Spirit and He leads us beside the still waters.  We were on a boat in the middle of the San Antonio River Walk lined with people hurrying to and fro and there were still waters. Still waters accompanied by cool, calming breezes and beautiful snapshots of God’s handy work.  The flowers were brilliant in color and shaped as only a Heavenly artist could have designed them.  Trees and greenery that were all unique and beautiful in their own right lined the paths.  The birds sang and ducks swam as if they hadn’t a care in the world and they too portrayed the majesty of our magnificent Creator.  In that brief time it seemed as if we had been carried far from the hustle and bustle into a place of serenity.   It brought comfort and rest for our tired feet and wearying bodies.   We had not been taken out of the ciaos; but there in the very middle of it all were those “still waters”. 

Our Father who is also our Shepherd knows there are times in this life which mandate green pastures and still waters.  Our souls become weary and weakened by the pull of the world, the pressures of daily demands that weigh on us and the challenges that we face whether by divine design or consequences of choice.  We need to take time to lie down; we need to take time to stroll along side still waters for rest and reflection.  Reflection, when done with the right motive, brings valuable insight into what we are doing that is pleasing to the Lord and what might need our attention.  I so identify with the writer of this Psalm when he says, “He Makes me and He Leads me” because most often, I would not do it on my own.  In this fast passed, “rat race” that we have created, some how spending time by the green pastures and still waters is rarely in “MY” schedule.  How thankful I am for a Shepherd that’s looking out for me even if He has to put things in my path that force me to those “Still Waters”. 

Father,

Oh how I thank you for those times when in the midst of the ciaos you lead me to the still waters.  Thank you for the calming effect those precious waters have on my weary soul.  I praise you for knowing what I need and then providing it.  You are my source, my provision and my sustainer.  Give me the desire and the wisdom not to neglect the times of refreshing and reflection. 

In Jesus Name,

Amen

^{"She has reached the age of appreciation"} 

“You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.  Leviticus 19:32

While looking out my window today I watched a little lady take a stroll down her driveway and it took me back to precious memories of my own granny.   This little lady is what some might call “up in age”.  She drives a little slower, walks a little slower and she speaks with elegance & grace and yes, that too is a little slower.  She’s never in such a hurry that she doesn’t have time to smile and wave or greet with a word of encouragement from across the way.  She’s got silver and gray strands running through her thinning hair and there are quite a few “life lines” etched in her face.  Her hands have brown age spots but that never keeps her from offering a soft pat on the shoulder or a little pat on the top of my grandchild’s head.  Some times she will stop and look around and you might even catch her closing her eyes, taking a deep breath then smiling as she imagines the wind blowing her a kiss, or the sweet aroma from the flowers God planted just for her.  She listens as the birds serenade a special melody and she cuddles into the warmth of the sun’s rays that enfold her as she gently slides her bare feet across the soft cool blades of grass.  She laughs as she hears the children playing and offers to help each time she sees one of the neighbors doing a chore.  She brings homemade goodies over for the holidays and apologizes for them being a little late or a little over done.  She has plenty of time to listen to anyone but finds that conversation is rare with the “younger folk” who are all too busy to give her a moment.  She has a wealth of knowledge that has been learned from years of trial and error but the “younger folk” don’t think it’s relevant for them today.  She knows how to take flour, baking soda, salt and a sprinkle of this and a dash of that and make the best bread you’ve ever tasted. Sadly the “younger folk” don’t have time to get their hands dirty kneading dough; they are too busy working to earn it so they can go spend it; usually on themselves.  She is entertained by God’s creation, moved by the simple things in life and she lives each day with purpose.  She has reached the age of appreciation and she knows how precious life is and how fast it passes by.  She has seen many changes in her life and lost many loved ones along the way.  She seems to be able to put things in perspective.  Her little bones and joints are bent out of shape but she’s learned not to let the rest of her get bent out of shape over things that do not matter in the big picture.  She realizes things can be replaced but loved ones can not and the value of family and friendship will out last any 401K.  She chooses what she says a little more carefully than most because she’s learned carelessly spoken words have devastated lives, broken many a heart and even caused world wars.  She could teach us all a thing or two but sadly, we see her as a person of lesser value, a burden or just another “little old lady” that needs to get off the road because she’s slowing us down.  I think we are missing one of God’s greatest gifts.  I think we need to see her as a precious heirloom that should be treasured.  I think we should make a point to sit with her, learn from her and give back to her what she deserves; our love, respect and most of all…..our time.

There are “up in age” folks everywhere, perhaps you have a family member or a neighbor. I challenge us all to find someone that our family can “adopt” and share time with.  No banking system or stock market venture could ever compare to the measure of return you will receive for your investment.

Life was never intended to be lived for “us four and no more”.  Share your heart and your lives with others and you will be blessed.  When the Son of God was demonstrating His greatest act of love it was on a cross with His arms wide open.  Open your arms to someone today and let them know that you love them because He first loved you.

My "Comformed Zone"

As my journey continues the Lord has begun to peel away at yet another layer of my "conformed zone"; which is a close relative of my "comfort zone".  There is a song that asks the question, "when did love become unmoving" and that's what the Holy Spirit is asking me these days.  Why is it that I read a scripture or a devotional; I watch a movie or hear a wonderful story and I am flooded with emotion to which I say, "Boy, that really moved me"?  The Lord is showing me that there is a BIG difference in being moved by something or simply stirred or pricked by it.  I was reading in Joshua a week or two ago and as I read of the Children of Israel crossing over into the promised land I was amazed by some of the things they allowed and were eventually defeated by.  To preface it, let me just say that a week or so ago I was around all 5 of my grandbabies and they were all sick.  At the time I was feeling fine but within a day or two I too was sick and ended up flat of my back for a couple days.  One thing that crossed my mind was the fact that I, a well person, around 5 little sick ones did not make them well, it did the opposite, being around 5 little sick people made me sick.  Now there is more to it than that, I was also tired and run down which did not help.  I only shared this to make a point that was in Joshua.  God told His people to drive out the pagans that lived in the land.  He told them not to have anything to do with them because God knew the Children of Israel would not make the pagans conform to the ONE TRUE GOD but they would be led astray and would begin to take on the gods of the pagans.  And that's just what happened.  As I read, the Holy Spirit stopped me and asked me this question, "So, concerning MY PEOPLE in America; which of the pagan gods have you taken on and are now bowing down to"?  I pondered that and began to think of what the pagan gods are in America today.  Lovers of self, lovers of money, lovers of food and entertainment, lovers of greed and violence.  Basically we are lovers of pleasure, passion, power and prosperity.  We as God's people have become so interwoven with this pagan world that we have taken on their gods and we've begun to worship them.  No, I do not have a statue of Buddha in my home but I have a bigger image of worldliness in my television set.  It sets there erected like a god and if anyone comes close to it with possibility of harming it or damaging it in any way we go nuts.  It has a draw and a pull on us that occupies hours of meaningless, empty time that could be used in much more productive ways.  We set there memorized by it to the point that we have been so lulled in and desensitized that we no longer see the poison that is subtly having its images burned into our hearts and minds and that of our children.  What we would have been in total outrage about a few years ago is now so common that we no longer see it for what it is.  The wolf in sheep’s clothing who comes in and removes the fake wool so slowly that he has actually removed it from his back and totally pulled it over our eyes.  I think that's where the term "pulled the wool over them" must have originated from.  One of the most damaging and destructive addictions today is pornography among both men and women.  We are told it's happening at dangerously younger ages due to the exposure of images on our television sets and magazines that are readily available in any grocery store.  There are parts of the brain that are not developed and are not supposed to be exposed to certain images at such young ages but since they are being exposed, there are chemicals that are being released in the minds of our children years before it was supposed to be there.  It is causing generations of children to become lured into the world of seduction and very early sexual experimentation.  You don't have to look very far to see the far reaching effects of the "sexual revolution" in the lives of our children and grandchildren.  Some middle schools (and I would guess elementary schools) now have to deal with the outbreak of herpes and other STD's that are being transmitted due to huge increases of oral sex among young people. 

If that's not enough, the active, participating role of the father in the home is becoming extinct.  Many more fathers are simply walking away from the home but countless numbers of the one's that are still there are inactive or on restricted duty.  They too have become so addicted to this god that they spend hours watching one program or sporting event after the other.  They set glued to the tube as if they are unconscious to the world around them.  This causes the wife and children to have to compete with the god for the "natural affection" of the husband and dad.  The family feels rejected, ignored and the message is loud and clear, "my husband or dad loves that way more than us because that's all he does".  It’s a sad day when the house could be burning down around us and we would have to be pulled from the burning room by fire rescue team because we had no idea of what was going on.  You say that's an exaggeration but I challenge you to be able to name as much info about each of your children and what they do on a daily basis and you can the stats of the last 3 ball games you just consumed.  Better yet, not only has the god of entertainment crept into our living room and begun to diminish family relationships, what is it doing to out relationship with the ONE TRUE GOD?  Do we not take Him serious when He tells us every idle moment and word will have to be accounted for?  Do we not take Him serious when He tells us to be alert for the time is near?  Have we forgotten His words, "Thou shalt have NO OTHER gods before ME"? As they say on Wonder Pets, "This is Serious"!!!! 

Bottom line is we claim to be in such close communion with God and that we walk with Him daily but I fear that we have no idea what it really looks like to walk with God.  Television may not be causing you to waste precious time, it may be face book, shopping, eating, talking, or countless other gods that we look at as "not a big deal" but I once again challenge you as the Spirit is challenging me, "Which of their gods have you bowed down to"?  I assure you it does not usually happen over night.  It is a subtle, slow process that chips away at our convictions until they are less defined and certainly less adhered to.  We keep moving the bar on our standards because we have bought into the notion that "well, no ones perfect and you know, God understands".  Well to that I use a very technical term, HOG WASH!!!!  We are being drawn away by the lust of our own hearts and we are too "Wordless" to know it.  We are like the story of the frog that was put in a pan of cold water and placed on a burner.  The heat was turned up very slowly as to allow the frog to become adjusted or conformed to it then the temp is raised again and again.  Finally there he is being boiled to death and incapable of doing anything about it because he ignored the warning signs and the gradual increased heat while sitting in the pot singing "rubber ducky...your the one".    In closing, you might be thinking I'm just a "hater" of sports or the TV and I tell you I am a "hater" of anything that comes to steal, kill and destroy.  Life is too short and we only have one chance to do the most with the time we are given.  I am finding that I am full of conformed patterns that are crippling me, rendering me useless to my family and my Lord because I have slowly but surely become a lover of pleasure, a seeker of entrainment rather than a seeker of God and I'm being crippled by a deficiency of iron which comes from the steady intake of vitamin B; the BIBLE.   I want my grandchildren to be different than my children.  I want them to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul and mind.  I do not want them to have to look outside their home for what they should find inside it; love, stability, security, protection and conviction.  I want them to grow up saying I may not know many stats but I do know the scriptures, I may not have material things but I am rich because my parents and grandparents loved me enough to give me Jesus instead of what the world told them to give me.  I want them to grow up remembering the times we chose to keep the TV off and played games and laughed together and sat around and shared what we learned in God's Word that day or week.  I want them to be able to tell their friends that at our house we serve the Lord and our dad is our hero, not Payton Manning or Michael Erving.  I want my grandchildren to know that they are worth what ever price has to be paid, what ever sacrifice has to be made in order to help them come to saving faith in Jesus Christ.  Not that kind of "faith" that 85% of the teens have today that causes them to walk away after they graduate high school and never go back, but the kind that helps them stand and face the giants, that helps them be one in a million who say we will not shut up, back up or give up until we are taken up.  I want them to be equipped to go to battle fully armed and ready to use the shield of faith and the sword as they proudly proclaim the gospel of truth to a world that's taken on the gods of the pagans.  I want to see fathers willing to do more than watch Courageous but BE COURAGEOUS and take back what the enemy has stolen from them.  The right to stand in the threshold of their homes and proclaim boldly, "As for me and my house we WILL serve the LORD".

Father,
You hate luke warm and you hate idolatry in every form.  You sent your Son to come and show us the way that you have called us to go and you beckon us, "Come and Follow Me".  How I have fallen short and been deceived by the slow process of conformity and complacency.  Please forgive me, help me find the idols that I'm serving and destroy them.  Do a redemptive work in my heart and help me fall so deeply in love with You that the thought of serving another would sicken me.  Help me see through Your eyes, hear through Your ears and speak under the influence of Your Words.  Father help my family see the danger lurking and the criticalness of the moment.  Help us be bold in our decision making and courageous in our stand.  May we put Your Word to the test and find that Your ways are true, they are best and they can be trusted.  Help us all realize you are calling Your People, called by Your name to humble ourselves, turn from our wicked ways, pray and seek you then you will heal our homes, our land and our nation.  Help us stand boldly and proclaim “I WILL lead, I WILL teach, I WILL sacrifice what ever it takes to preserve and defend what's at stake.  Help us live what we profess and profess what we live.  Father, let today be the day that I make the stand, drive my stake in the ground and declare “UPON THE SOLID ROCK IS WHERE I STAND, all other ground is sinking sand; all other ground is sinking sand"

God Plus Nothing

God Plus Nothing

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

The other day I made a batch of baked apples.  Man, they smelled up the entire house with the scent of cinnamon.  I could hardly wait for the timer to go off.  This is one of the dishes I’ve learned to use when I have a sweet tooth.  I sprinkle stevia and cinnamon over sliced apples, add a cup or two of water, cover with foil and bake at 375 for about 45 minutes.

The time had come to take them out of the oven and after letting them cool for a few moments I fixed my bowl and began the wonderful experience of enjoying something so sweet and good for me.  About half way through the thought came to me, “Why not add some cool whip”?  I happened to have some of the extra creamy in the refrigerator and 2 tablespoons is just 25 calories.  So, there I went, off to add something to what was already good and good for me.  I scooped the cool whip on the apples and gave it a little stir.  Licking the spoon was a real treat too as I did not want to waste any of it.  I took my first bite and I realized the cool whip did not really add to the apples but it actually took away from them.  The delicious natural sweetness of the apples was enough but when I added the man made additive I realized the huge difference.  I could taste the “chemical” taste of the cool whip which made the apples seem less sweet.

I was standing there in the kitchen when the Holy Spirit began a training session.  He reminded me of how often I try to add to what the Lord has done in order to make it “taste better.”  I don’t always like what the Lord tells me and I rebel trying so hard to make it something that it was not intended to be.  I try to enhance it to make it fit my way instead of taking it for what it is; good for me.  His ways are not my ways and I need to learn to trust Him with what He brings.  I must understand that when I try to add anything this world has to offer to what God offers I will dilute His goodness and find myself in a world of compromise.  God is good and His ways are good.  The world has nothing to compare to the richness we have in Christ Jesus.  It is absolutely God plus nothing if I am to be a true follower of the Messiah.  If there is an area in my life that I am lacking I need to go directly to the source from where my help comes from.  Jesus wants us to be totally dependant on Him and He wants to be our source.   Every good gift and every perfect gift comes from the Lord.  Let’s stop trying to add to it and simply soak in His glorious riches.  There is nothing the world can bring to the table that would make what He has already done better.

Father,

Thank you that you are good and every good and perfect gift comes from you.  Forgive the times in my life where I try to add worldliness to fill a longing or emptiness.  Help me remember You are the source of everything I need and the world only offers imitation “sweetness” that distorts and diminishes your goodness.  Help me realize you are all that I need.

In Jesus Name…Amen