Child-Like Humility

And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. "Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.…”  Matthew 18:1-4

I've been spending a couple of days with my sister, her husband, and their two little boys.  The youngest one is two years old and quite the hoot. He's full of energy and playfulness which makes him irresistibly adorable and precious.  What I find further endearing is the fact that he loves to do things on his own to show that he is a "big boy."  Yet, when he finds himself in a bind such as not able to zip up his pajamas on his own or he needs help turning on the television  or getting a snack from the fridge, he is not too proud to call out to "mama" or "auntie" for help.  There is something about a child's helplessness that makes a parent (or an auntie, in my case) unable to resist the child's request.

When we think of humility, I'm sure a lot of thoughts run through our mind.  In the scripture above, we are told that we must become like little children to enter heaven.  Further we are told that we must humble ourselves like children in order to be great in the kingdom of heaven.  What does that look like exactly?  Well, it looks like my nephew and the way in which he trusts his parents.   My sweet nephew is very dependent on his mom and dad for EVERYTHING.  He depends on them for food, shelter, clothing, and love. He trusts them to meet his basic needs and he isn't too proud to ask for what he wants.   If he wants something, he will ask for it no matter how big or small the request is.  He trusts mom and dad to protect him. When he's scared, he clings to them for assurance.  What I just described is the same kind of trust and dependency God wants us to have in Him.  We must trust God for our every need no matter how big or small.  Whether it be financial, physical, spiritual, and emotional, we must learn to depend on him in that area of our life.  That is the essence of humility- knowing that we can do NOTHING without him just like a child can do nothing without his mom and dad.  I'm personally learning to truly trust God for every single need in my life.  When I pay my bills, I give them to Him.  When I drive to work, I give my job to God.  When I walk into my classroom, I give my students to God.  When I have a conflict with another person, I've learned to give it to God.  When I make a purchase, I give it to God.  I depend on Him for EVERYTHING. When I need to make a decision in my daily life, I trust in Him.

A couple of nights ago, I was struggling with a decision that needed to be made.  I was afraid of making the wrong decision and kept praying to God asking him to help me make a good decision.  Yet, something kept nagging at me for the entire day, scaring me into thinking that I would make the wrong choice and displease God. Later that evening, my little nephew snuggled next to me on my bed and we dozed off.  In the middle of the night, I woke up to a cold draft in the room.  I looked next to me and there was my nephew shivering. Without even thinking about it, I grabbed a thick blanket and covered him.  Even in my grogginess, the Holy Spirit spoke to me very clearly.  April, did you think twice about what you just did?  All of a sudden I was alert.  No, Lord, I didn't.  He continued Well, I'm the same way with you.  You don't have to worry about making a bad decision because I'm not going to let you.  As your father, it gives me great pleasure to take care of you. I can't help but protect and take care of you.  I take pleasure in guiding you and covering you because you depend on me and trust in me.  

It was then that I realized that when one depends on God with child-like trust for every need in their life, God will show himself in every aspect of their life.  There may be some areas of your life that you feel God would not care about- your weight, your romantic relationships, your travels, your college classes, your children's schooling, your hobbies, etc., but if you welcome God into those parts of your life as well as into the other big areas, you will see Him move like never before. What are you waiting for?  Trust Him.

Remember, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths!

April

Call of the Cross

“The said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”   Matthew 16:24

When I think of all the friends and family members, as well as acquaintances that are going through a hard time right now or have experienced trying times in the past, I am reminded that we are all called to take up our cross to follow Jesus Christ.  We each have a different cross to bear.  For some, it is season of sickness and life-threatening diseases that have visited us.  Sometimes, it is the loss of a loved one whose exit from this life leaves us with an aching gap that can never seemed to be filled.  For others, their cross may take the form of persecution, criticism, and rejection.  Other crosses include a season of waiting and watching our loved ones wait.  Often our crosses bring with them seasons of intense loneliness, pain, and disappointment. Sometimes, carrying our cross leaves us with anger and bitterness which we must surrender to Jesus.  Each cross is different, but the lesson still remains the same.  Our cross teaches us to trust in Jesus and leads us to a place of exchanging our lives for His.  One preacher said it this way, “We carry our crosses and come to find that in the end, we are to be crucified on them.”  Like Jesus, we may cry out to God feeling rejected and forsaken (Matthew 27:46), but we continue on the journey despite not having all the answers. As a Social Studies teacher, I have asked my students to reflect on the big idea of “Struggle leads to change and growth.”  The more I reflect on this myself, I find the same to be true in the Kingdom of God.   If we are experiencing discomfort and struggle, then we are truly growing in Christ.    The cross is not glamorous. Others may not understand your cross and may deem it foolish (I Corinthians 1:18).  You may even fall under its weight at times, but the strength and power of God is sufficient. My cross may not look like yours and yours may not look like mine.  God has called us to different experiences, but in the end, our crosses lead us all to a place where we surrender to God the pen of our lives and allow Him to script a story that is so beautiful, that it brings Glory to His name.  In the end, that will be all that matters. If you are just starting your walk with Christ, I encourage you to hold fast to His unchanging hand and never, ever give up.  If you are a little more seasoned, then I pray that you keep on walking and trusting in His perfect plan knowing that He is not finished with you yet.      

Are You Still Listening?

My Pandora app on my ipad often produces a message that simply says, “Are You Still Listening?”  after a period of inactivity.   I often feel like replying, Of course I’m still listening, but I’m busy getting stuff done.  Why don’t you just keep playing instead of stopping to ask me if I’m still listening!  When it comes to God, He is constantly speaking to us, but so many times we let his voice just become part of the background “filler” music to our everyday tasks to the point where do not even hear the words that are being said.  God is so powerful and his creation speaks to us in itself, yet God still chooses to whisper to us in that still small voice. 

I love how Job put it,

The pillars of heaven tremble,
And are astonished at His rebuke.
He stirs up the sea with His power,
And by His understanding He breaks up the storm.
By His Spirit He adorned the heavens;
His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!

(Job 26:14)

I have seen the majesty of God waking me in the morning with bright rays of light that burst into my room as a tired-eyed woman slowly awakes from her slumber.  I have seen bits of His majesty while gazing into the lush landscape of the English Country side and into the hillsides of Tuscany during my times of travel.   I have even beheld a bit of God’s glory as I watched grown men weep in humility and deep reverence unto God at the Wailing Wall of Jerusalem. These experiences have put me in such awe of God that often times, I was left speechless. God speaks in such powerful, yet indirect ways, but like Job, I am more astonished and amazed that God, who can speak in such power and splendor, still speaks in the form of soft holy whispers.  It has been the whispers of God that have truly put me in awe of Him like nothing else. I was 16 when I first heard His whisper, Go this way, not that way as I prayed over His direction for my life. His whisper told me I needed to trust Him and allow Him to be everything to me. As I have continued to grow in Christ, His whisper has been sufficient and satisfying to my spirit when experiencing a disappointment. I daily long for those whispers.  His whisper is so soft and gentle that it can be easy to miss it in all the hustle and bustle of a life.   I can’t say that I hear His whisper every day because, frankly, I sometimes do not allow the demands of life to be quieted long enough for me to hear His voice.  But when I do stand still long enough to hear Him, I savor His words like honey to my lips.  Sometimes, He has had to tell me something  twice because I did not allow my spirit to be quieted the first time.  I have to let the distractions go and tell Him, Yes Lord, I’m still listening.  What do you want to tell me today?  When I do, He gently places the right word into my spirit- words that I need to hear.  These words are nourishing.  They are life.

My question to you is are you still listening? Is God trying to speak to you and you haven’t been able to quiet the distractions and frustrations long enough to hear Him speak?  He is waiting.  He is patient. Open your spiritual ears and your heart to hear His still small voice. You will find yourself in awe of Him as you realize that He has the exact word you need to hear today. 

Blessed

 

When we say a person is blessed, we usually refer to the fact that he or she has an abundance of material possession- cars, houses, savings, etc.  However, when we read Psalm 1, we see that to be “blessed” goes beyond the boundaries of the material world,

 

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful…

 

First of all, we know that to be blessed, we must be obedient to God and stay away from sin and others that would encourage us to sin.  If we want God’s blessing, we must be willing to walk a godly path.  This is not always easy, but we have a high priest who was tempted just like we are, but without sin, (Hebrews 4:15), He walked this world.  It is through His grace and mercy that we can do the same (Hebrews 4:16).  

 

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.

By eating of the Word of God daily, we can also keep ourselves separated unto God and away from sin.  David put it this way, “How can a young man cleanse his way?  By taking heed according to Your word” (Psalm 119:9).   Let the Word of God be more important than anything else in your life.  Job said it best when he said, “I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12).

 

 

He shall be like a tree planted by rivers of water, that brings forth fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

 

Here, we see what it means to truly be “blessed”.   True blessing comes from being connected to God. Just like a tree planted near rivers of water receives its daily nourishment from being connected to its life- source, we too receive our spiritual nourishment from God’s presence daily.  As a result, we produce spiritual fruit in God’s timing. So, we see that being blessed comes from being connected to God and bearing fruit as a result of this wonderful relationship.  That is true blessing. This leads me to believe that even if everything is not going your way right now, you are still blessed.  If you are drawing from your life source- Jesus Christ, you are blessed.  Your bank account may be low, your house may be in foreclosure, your car may be breaking down, and you may have very little money right now, but rest assured that you are still blessed.  You are blessed because God is on your side.  When you realize this, your worries disappear because you understand that as a blessed person, God will take care of all of your needs, whatever they might be.  Being connected to Jesus Christ, You will never wither spiritually and whatever you set out to do for God’s glory, you will prosper in that very thing.  This might mean that you will be blessed with wealth, but even if this is not the case, you are still BLESSED because you are sitting in heavenly places right now (Ephesians 2:6).  As a child of the King, you will always be provided for.  I leave you with the words of King David as encouragement today,

 

I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.  He is ever merciful, and lends; And his descendants are blessed.  Psalm 37: 25-26

All About Love

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” I John 4: 7-11.  

John tells us that we are commanded to love one another and that this is true agape-love that only Christ can give us. If we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us, then that type of love is available to each of us. Unfortunately, although this agape love has been spread in our own hearts (Romans 5:5), it sits there stagnant and inactivated.  Love then becomes a theory with no practical life application. The scripture above tells us the essence of love and how to live it out practically in our daily lives:

  First, love is to be shared unconditionally, many times with those who do not deserve it. God loved us first when we were still His enemies so we must do the same for our enemies.

It is not difficult to love those who love you.  The true test comes when we love someone that may seem unlovable.  When we find the God-given courage to love someone who speaks wrongly about us, spreads gossip about us, and has betrayed us, that is the special kind of agape-love to which John is referring.  This kind of love also includes loving the stranger or person that we do not already know.  I remember I had a boss who was harsh with me and always seemed to point out all my faults instead of praising my strengths.  After a while, I began to feel angry and bitter towards him.  I was very close to quitting my job, but God, in his ever gentle way, reminded me that I was to love this man as His word said.  I felt prompted to pray blessings over him daily (Luke 6:27-28).  At first, I couldn't do it because of all the anger within me, but I began to speak the words anyways although they were empty and insincere.  Lord, I bless this man’s life, his job, his family. Pour financial blessings on his life.  May you promote this man and allow him to reach success beyond measure.  Each day was a struggle to say those words because I didn't feel it, but I somehow found the strength to pray those words anyways. Little by little, I began to feel a change take place within me.  My heart became soft as each day I began to feel the words I was saying.  After about two weeks, I actually meant the words that I was praying over this man.  I began to forgive him and actually enjoy my job.  To add, I began to see God bless his life and promote him on the job.  Our professional relationship improved and we grew to have great respect for each other.  He was one of the best bosses I ever had and I learned so much from him for my future jobs.  We have to remember that love is not a feeling. Feelings come and go.   Love is a commandment and something that we can make ourselves do because it is God that does it through us.  You may be trying to love a spouse that seems unlovable through your own efforts, but you have been approaching it the wrong way.  Allow God to fill you with himself and you will quickly realize how much easier it is to love them even with all their flaws.  You may be struggling with a neighbor who has an issue with you, but allow God to give you agape-love for that person.  If you want this kind of love, but have not accepted Christ as your savior, then call on the name of Jesus and accept His word and commandments in your life so that you too can be filled with the agape-love that allows you to love others unconditionally.

Next, Love is to be sacrificial as it gives all of itself for the benefit of another.  God gave Jesus Christ as a sacrifice for our sins.   We too must give sacrificially.

If it’s not costing you anything, then it isn't love.  If love comes easy for you, then it’s not a sacrifice.  A sacrifice will cost you something.   In our relationship with Christ, we give our wills to Him, our time, our finances, and everything else.  It is often no different when it comes to loving others. I will note that if you don’t live in relationship with Jesus Christ, you won’t be able to love others with the love of Christ. We can only love from what we have been given.  Your well must be full in order to give others a drink from it. Trying to love on your own effort will leave you ineffective and emotionally drained.  God has way more capacity for love than we do so we must draw from him in order to be effective.  I find myself often saying how much I would love to give to others by volunteering or doing a special task for a person in need but often talk myself out of it because of time and money constraints.  God finally convicted me by reminding me that true love will cost me something and that’s what makes it sacrificial.  

So this is the essence of Love.  Take some time today to reflect on how you can live out love unconditionally and sacrificially.  Don’t be afraid to take small steps of faith.  The other day, I was admiring a man who gives of his money and time to do events for underprivileged families.  His entire life is about giving and showing love.  He gave up his entire preaching ministry to minister in the neighborhoods and reach needy families.  My brother, seeing this desire in me commented that I don’t have to start big, but start by doing something simple such as taking groceries to a single mom or visiting an elderly person.  He’s right.  We must start small and allow God to do something great with our lives through his powerful love.

Your Heritage: The Power to Condemn the Enemy

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.  This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.”  Isaiah 54:17

The scripture above tells us that weapons WILL be formed against us. It is not a matter of if, just when.  If you are truly endeavoring to live a life faithful to God, you will experience spiritual attack and warfare.  The enemy knows what makes each of us uneasy or worried. He will attack in a plan tailored specifically for us.  He will attack our finances, our marriages, our children, and our minds. He will attempt to weaken our faith.  However, the Word of God tells us that no weapon will prosper or will be successful against us.  Part of the verse that is rarely preached is the second part, “every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.  This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.”  For the most part, we believe this verse in theory but rarely in practice.   As children of God, we need to fulfill the second part of this verse.  We need to begin to condemn those voices that speak out against us in judgment.  The enemy may send people your way to carry his message, but more than likely, he will try to speak into your mind with his lies. He’ll try to tell you that you’re not good enough, that you’re having an identity crisis, that there’s no hope, that God does not hear you, that you will always be the way you are, and that you don’t deserve love.  He will try to make you feel anxious, stressed, depressed, and confused.  Right now, you need to condemn those lying voices in Jesus name.  Began verbally speaking against them.  Condemn them and watch them leave.  Then begin speaking life into your situation.  Begin speaking the blessings of God into your situation.  Speak peace, joy, favor, and victory.  As the verse says, this is your heritage which comes with being a servant of God and a Child of King.  Maybe you do not feel worthy, but the last part of the verse says that our righteousness comes from God and not ourselves so speak those words anyways.  Speak and watch the enemy leave as God begins to work.  

April

The Way to the Place

In John 14, we receive one of the most powerful promises of all time,

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God, and trust also in me.  There is more than enough room in my Father’s home.  If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.  And you know the way to where I am going.”  V. 1-4

Thomas struggles with these words.  He wants to get the place God has prepared for Him, but despite Jesus telling him that he already knows the way to the place and what the place is, Thomas replies to Jesus,

"No, we don’t know Lord….We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?"  v. 5

Jesus replies back,

“I am the way, the truth, and the life: No one can come to the Father except through me…” v. 6

In these scriptures, we see many powerful lessons.  The most important lesson is that God has a special place prepared for us if we believe on Him.  This life is not the end of all things, but is just the waiting before we get to our eternal destination.   I could stop right there and it would be enough.  However, I want to share another lesson that I received from these scriptures.   In our life here on earth, God always has a place prepared for us or many places for us.  I like to think of them as mini steps we take or little stopping places we make in our journey toward our eternal destination.  We often get anxious about those places or dreams that God places inside of us.   Like Thomas, we have questions about the place that God has prepared for us.  When are we going to get there?  How are we going to get there?  What will the “place” be like?  Who will I meet when I get there?  My current situation seems so dark so how it will it be possible for me to get from this point to the next?  What is my purpose?  How will I get out of this situation?   Sometimes, these questions can drive us quite mad.  However, Jesus answers Thomas just like he answers us with a simple answer-   I am the way, the truth and the life. The truth is that Jesus is the answer to all of life’s questions.   If you want to know the way- Jesus is the way.  When your reality tells you that something is impossible –Jesus is the truth.  When you don’t feel like you can take another step, Jesus is the life that keeps you going.  We never need to look outside of Him.  In addition, it is the not really the place that is important, but Jesus Christ who is the way to the place, the process and the means by which we get there.  I heard one person say, it is not the final destination that matters but the lesson we learn, the people we meet on this journey called life. I also propose that it is not the small destinations in life that are so important but the process and the relationship with Jesus that we build along the way.  My encouragement to you today is that if you are struggling with questions, turn to Jesus who not only has all the answers, but IS the answer to everything.   It is easy to get distracted worrying about all the questions, but quiet those voices and focus on Jesus.  Set your affections on Him ( Colossians 3:1-2) and not the earthly distractions.  He will get you to where you need to be.

A quote to consider:

…I would like to beg you dear Sir, as well as I can, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.

Rainer Maria Rilke, 1903