Sharing Moments with God - Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. Jer 33:3
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. Jer 33:3
Whenever our family takes a road trip we have a tradition of having a goodie bag in the car full of surprises. With three children, the echo of
“Are we there yet?” never ceases.
To add a little fun to the car trip, approximately every 1-2 hours we play a game. The children have to work together during the game, then everyone wins a prize from the goodie bag. It might be snacks, candy, or dollar store toys. The kids think it is the greatest thing ever! They have so much anticipation for the next game. We have even stopped at rest stops and had treasure hunts for their prizes. Their excitement builds, and so does mine.
As soon as we finish one game, I am already counting down to the next one in my mind. Thinking of the best way to make it meaningful and exciting! I love to see the teamwork during the game and the joy in their eyes when they receive a gift.
I have planned out the games based on the lessons I want them to learn and have decided the reward they will receive for completing it. I prepared these moments long before they got into the car. They don’t know exactly what
they just trust that there is something good ahead for them during our travels.
What if I looked at life the way my kids look at road trips? What would happen if I had that kind of anticipation for the plans that God has for my life? Sometimes, I get into the “Are we there yet” cycle. I want some direction, some clue to what lies ahead. I want to get to the destination as soon as possible with no setbacks or uncertainty.
I think the excitement that I have holding that bag of goodies for my kids, is how God feels when He sees us and knows what He has planned for us. We can’t see in the bag. We can’t determine the miles on the road. However, He has already planned every moment of it. Sure we will face detours, roadblocks, traffic, potholes and even flat tires. Those things take us by surprise, but they are no surprise to God. He knows the challenges, lessons and rewards that are waiting for us.
On this first day of 2015, I am reflecting back on 2014 and celebrating all that God has done in my life and in the lives of those I love. I am choosing to embrace the New Year with anticipation and trust. God has a plan for my life, for your life, for our loved ones. God is bigger than our uncertainties, hurts and fears.
We don’t know exactly what is in store for us in the New Year. O there is an exciting journey ahead for us! I want to be like my kids, excited and confident that there are good things coming, even when we can’t yet see them. Bring on 2015; it is going to be a great adventure!
A shepherd comes through the front gate openly w just a desire to lead, protect, and nurture
his sheep. A thief comes in a different way, sneaky, self serving, and often goes undetected until he has stolen something from you.
Isn’t this the same concept in the battle for our mind? God tells us His intentions, His plans, and He nurtures us through our lives. The enemy on the other hand comes to kill, steal and destroy our lives. The battle for our minds is a pretty vulnerable area. Let’s look at a story from John 10:1-5.
“I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
Ever have a hard time telling if it’s God, you, or the enemy that is speaking to you? I know this is a constant struggle for me. God calls us by name, and leads us. He brings us out and then He goes ahead of us to protect us and keep us safe, just like a Shepherd. The voice of a stranger can sound like many things. It may sound like a condemning, nagging thought of something you did wrong. It may sound like a recording from something out of your past that is stuck on repeat
in your head. It may even be the voice of someone in your past that did not nurture you the way God intended.
Those voices are quite hindering, and they must be acknowledged as a deceiving voice and not the truth. We know that God has wonderful things to say about you and wonderful plans for your future. Jesus tells us that He has come so that we may have life, and have it to the full. But, we can’t always see that future if our past is standing in front of us.
We are in a battle for our minds, our thoughts, and our emotions. Principalities go to the high places. Where is the high place on your body? Your mind.
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2Cor 10:4-5
What would it be like for our minds to be in agreement with the word of God? For us to view ourselves through God’s eyes? May we be like the sheep that never follow a strangers voice but run away from him because we do not recognize it.
I once heard a friend in my Bible study say, “You might be the only Bible someone reads today.” That has really stuck with me. So many people are watching our lives. To them, we represent Christianity. What does that look like through their eyes?
Did you know that 85% of our lives are non-verbal?
We live, they watch. Paul says, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” If I am being totally honest, I can’t always speak those words from Paul. There are times that I am a Sunday morning worshiper and then a Monday morning whiner. What do the people in our lives see when we demonstrate that behavior? Do they see us trusting God through everything in life? Do they see that we are different from the rest of the world?
We all want to be salt and light to the world. We have so many opportunities around us every day to love. Displaying love will always go further than clever words ever will. When we love with no expectation of it ever being returned to us, it is a powerful representation of God’s love. We love because He first loved us.
In an older post, I asked what came to your head when you hear the word evangelism. I loved the responses that came in!
“Evangelism to me, one loving and meaningful moment turning into another.” ~Mark
“Evangelism, to me, is living life allowing God to share His message of love to whomever He directs.”~VGWilford
To me, both of these statements summarize the very heart of evangelism, love. Where is He directing you to love? Sometimes, He sends us to love on someone who is not very lovable. One of my favorite prayers is “Lord show me your heart for _______”. I can tell you several stories about wanting to walk away from someone that God had put into my life. After praying that prayer, I was filled with such compassion and love that nothing could have pried me away from them. Love changes everything!
Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” Where is your world? What about your work, your school, your friends, your family, the grocery store? Where do you go? As you go, go in His love and look for those moments to share some of it with others. Remember, we could be the only Bible someone is reading today.
I am thankful for rear view mirrors. I think back on all the mountains, speed bumps, and potholes that God has taken us over in our life. To look back on them gives me the faith and trust to give him everything that I am. He is so faithful, loving and truly has the best plans for us. Looking in the rear view mirror makes it so easy to turn the blind corners up ahead.
It is so nice to remember things that God has done for us. It really does help to get through the times that are uncertain. In Joshua 3, the Lord stopped the flow of the Jordan River for Joshua and all the Israelites as they crossed with the arc of the covenant. This was during a time when the Jordan was at flood stage because of the spring’s rains and the melting snow on Mount Hermon. Can you imagine looking at this raging river then, as soon as the priests who carried the arc reached the Jordan, the water from upstream stopped flowing and the ground was dry. It was just like the Red Sea parting for Moses.
After it was all over, the Lord told Joshua to choose twelve men representing the twelve tribes of Israel. He told him to have each man take a stone from the middle of the Jordan and carry it to their camp that night in Gilgal. Joshua set up the twelve stones as a memorial to remind future generations of what the Lord did for them at the Jordan. The stones symbolized what God had done so that they would never forget. What do your stones of remembrance stand for?
Today, I would like us to share some of our rear view mirror moments. We all have those great moments when God was so real, so alive in our lives. Although, He is always with us, that never changes. It is great to remember those times when He just seemed to penetrate our lives in such a special way.
I remember Christmas 2007. We didn’t have much money for presents, yet we had two very excited kids, ages 2 and 4. Months before Christmas, our daughter had seen a dollhouse that she really wanted. The only problem was the $139 price tag. In December, I got a call from a friend saying that her daughter had outgrown her dollhouse and wanted to know if I would like to give it to our daughter for Christmas. It was the exact dollhouse she had wanted. I was amazed at God and how He answered the desires of her heart. Next, we were playing at a local mall and our son fell in love with a construction set. Once again, WAY out of my price range. Well, before Christmas a family at church asked us if we would be interested in a construction set their son no longer played with and yup, you got it, same EXACT one!
It was an amazing Christmas that year. It happened a total of 7 times where the kids got exactly what they had wanted and we never bought one thing for them.
The last time it happened my son was playing with his favorite train set that we bring out every year. It broke and he was devastated. He asked me if we could get another one. You are not going to believe me when I tell you this, but an hour later, no kidding, I get a call from a friend of mine. She had a CAT train set that was a duplicate present from last year that she wanted to give to our son. When I told her that I would pay for it she said, “consider it a gift from God!” Boy was it ever! I remember bursting into tears.
Life can give us so many challenges. In the grand scheme of things Christmas presents are not a top priority. Yet God came through in such a special way for my kids. It demonstrated to me how God cares for us. We can trust Him with the big stuff, or the small stuff, it all matters to Him.
Would you please consider commenting and sharing a time in your life where God did something amazing that you do not want to forget. I want to share these moments with each other. Simply click on the comment button, login and share your testimony. Whether it is an answer to prayer, a time when the scriptures really came alive for you, a healing, or a story you keep close to your heart. May this be an encouragement to us all. I look forward to reading them! Blessings!!
Do you ever get discouraged? I sure have, more than once. Perhaps there was a time in your life when things seemed hard, almost impossible? I’ve felt that heavy feeling, as if I can’t break out, like a weight on my mind keeping it trapped in discouragement. It seems that it is those times when the voice in my head gets louder and louder trying to accuse me of all I have done to deserve to be there.
Job felt that way when he was going through his trials…
If I am guilty—woe to me! Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head, for I am full of shame and drowned in my affliction. Job 10:15
There are many ways we can come out of those situations. Sometimes our circumstances just change and that is enough to give us hope and turn our feelings around. Other times nothing changes at all in the natural but something inside of us gives us the hope and the strength to move on.
But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my
head. Psalm 3:3
What does it mean to lift our head? There are several examples of lifting our head in the Bible and most of them refer to being released from prison. When Joseph interpreted the dream for his two cellmates, one he told that Pharaoh would lift his head and restore him to his position, a promotion. The other cellmate, well, let’s just remember he had his head lifted, it just might not have been what he had in mind.
There are so many ways that God can encourage and strengthen us through whatever it is we are going through. God is our shield. When we put our full faith in him, we will be strengthened as He lifts our heads and stands with us. David understood that it was God who lifted his head, it was God who “bestowed glory” on him. What happens if I try to lift my own head? Who will get the glory? Me?
If I work my way out of a situation, or rely on confidence in myself, my situation may change but I have not grown in my walk with the Lord. I come out saying, “look what I have done.” Instead of, “look what He has done for me.” Now, I am not saying that we just get to sit back and wait for the Lord to fix something while we do nothing. It is always a matter of our heart. But as we go, lean into His love, His wisdom, and stay in a position of having an open and trusting heart that your God will be the one to lift your head.
A friend once gave me some very good advice. When something goes wrong in our life it may be a complete surprise to us. But, it is never a surprise to God. He never paces heaven saying, “Oh no I didn’t see this coming. Wow! What am I going to do about Sally’s life? This is a surprise!” What He does do, is sit on his throne and cheer you on. “Come on Sally. We can do this together. Just keep your eyes and your trust in me. I have all the answers. This is no surprise to me.”
Sometimes we can’t always see how something will work out but God always knows.
Lift up your heads, O
lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Psalm 24:9
I want to share something that I believe the Lord showed me on December 30th 2009 in regards to unity in the body of Christ. I was wide awake, in prayer, and saw this like I was watching t.v.
I was looking down at a map of Tucson. I was facing south and the map was below me. On the map I saw fires begin to ignite one at a time around the city.
I felt the Lord say “I have lit fires in unsuspected places in the body”.
Then I felt Him say “Unity… division divides, but unity unites.”
Then the vision zoomed in close so that I could see one fire at a time. I saw little campsites set up, with people pitching tents. There were several people at each campsite setting up poles with material on the top as if they were setting up a tent only there were no sides to them. I knew the people setting up each tent were of like mind and in unity.
Then my picture expanded and I saw this was going on at every place there were fires. People setting up this type of canopy together, some ‘campsites’ only had one tent with four people in place. Other campsites had several tents put up with a person at each pole.
Some tents were large, some were small, but there was such a feeling of unity.
Then I zoomed out and began to see what was going on from above the tents looking down. I saw many
different fabrics on all of the tents across town. I saw corduroy, stripes, floral patterns, solids, thick material, and thin material, all different. I then saw each piece of fabric drawing towards one another, getting closer and closer together until they formed one large covering over the whole map. Next, I saw a large hand come down with a needle and thread, sewing them like a quilt. The thread was very strong and thick. Every patch was different but united with the same thread. It was beautiful!
I believe there was significance to the fact that the tents being put up had no walls, just a top covering. If the whole city was covered there would be no walls separating the campsites. To me that signified church’s without walls that were willing to reach out to the rest of the city and body.
I really feel as if I was being shown God’s desire for unity among the body of Christ in Tucson. He desires for us all to be individual patches on the quilt yet be woven together with the same thread (Him and the Word). I feel like there are people that He has strategically placed around this city (in His words “unsuspected places”) in different settings that He will use to pitch a tent that He can unite the body with. The finished ‘quilt’ was very soft and fluffy looking. I felt as if I could jump on it and just be wrapped in love and comfort.
Why would God show me this? At that time I didn’t know, I prayed and asked God what I should do with this. I didn’t get a clear answer so I just began to pray for unity among the body in Tucson. I sent this out to a few of my closest friends. I got an email back from a lady who organizes churches for the state wide prayer in Arizona. She had a similar vision a week before mine,
seeing a quilt being formed over the state of Arizona. That was such an amazing confirmation for me! It was proof to me that the Lord still speaks through visions today.
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13
Over this summer I had a chance to be a part of something that I really believe went right along with this theme of unity. We had a prayer meeting at my friend’s house with a pastor from Pennsylvania and we thought we were there to learn from his teaching. God had another plan. The Lord laid it on his heart to have each ministry that was represented get up and all of us pray over them and bless them. This was such a powerful night. As I sat there, I realized that we had many different Christian denominations represented, a messianic Jewish priest, private
ministry leaders, pastors of different denominations, and many more. It hit me as we all got up to pray for and lay hands on each other that this was such a strong representation of unity in the body. I felt like this was a part of what God was showing me.
We are all a part of His plan for unity. Sometimes, I tend to ignore odd things that happen, like seeing the vision of the campfires and quilt. Then, to hear that God had given someone else in Arizona a very similar picture, really showed me that God was up to something. It has been on my heart to share this. If there is anything on this subject that is on your heart, I would love to hear.
What comes to your mind when you think of unity? Do we think of people living together in peace? Do we think of like minds working together for a common purpose? How can unity be applied to the church, our lives, even the way we perceive ourselves?
We all know about Saul. He was directly involved in the stoning of Steven and the persecution of many Christians. So there he was, walking down the road to Damascus to cause more trouble, when all of a sudden he saw a light from heaven. He heard a voice ask him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. Acts 9:4
Let’s take a look at that for a moment.
Saul was going after Christians. Saul never persecuted Jesus directly. So why did Jesus say, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting?” You see, to persecute the church is to persecute Christ, because we all represent Jesus. We are His body. When I learned that, it was a huge revelation for me.
How many times do we use our thoughts and mouths to judge, condemn or criticize others? Notice, I am saying “we”. When we come against the church or other believers, are we persecuting Christ? WOW! That will make us take a look at our actions.
Can we take it a step further? Who is the body of Christ? Aren’t we also the body?
I tend to be very critical of myself. Do you ever do that? When we start getting down on ourselves, judging and allowing condemnation, isn’t that persecuting the body of Christ? Just a thought.
There are many great scriptures in the Bible on unity, here are a few…
How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! Psalm 133:1
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus. Romans 15:5
I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. John 17:23
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Col. 3:14
How awesome that love binds us in perfect unity. Jesus wants us to be as one as He and the Father are one. Loving others, loving ourselves, loving Christ, all of that brings about unity. This is a lesson I want to keep in the front of my mind and heart at all times.
What if you were being persecuted for something that you were doing then you were given a moment to pray for whatever you wanted, what would you pray for?
Personally, I would pray for release from the persecution. I would pray that it would all end and I would be safe and sound. In Acts 4 the disciples were being persecuted for sharing their faith. It was their boldness that was getting them in trouble. What did they do? Did they pray for freedom and safety? Nope. They prayed for more of what got them persecuted in the first place… boldness!
Evangelism of any kind takes boldness. Whether you are with a family member, a friend, coworker, or on the streets, that feeling of nervousness can only be conquered with boldness, and compassion. If you feel like that is a little scary for you, then, congratulations! You are more than qualified for the job.
Our lives are an example of Christ to those watching us. We can show them love, talk with them, listen to them, be real, patient, and available. How about sharing the gospel with them? Inviting them to church? These are just a few ways we can evangelize.
There is so much power in our testimony. Share with someone how you found the Lord and ways that He is real in your life. These are very easy and powerful tools you can use to share God’s love. We all love stories, especially stories of life change and heartfelt moments. When we genuinely share from our heart and do it in love it can really have an impact on someone.
I once heard a pastor say, “It is impossible to pray without something changing.” Prayer is such an awesome tool that God has given us. Praying for those around us can do infinitely more than just talking could ever accomplish. We can also pray for wisdom when it comes to sharing our faith.
I love to go out on the streets and share God’s love in a nonthreatening gentle way. I have had many moments of growth and learning on the streets. One of the most memorable moments for me was one of the most simple.
It took place in the parking lot of a grocery store. We were walking to our car, and a man in a very nice suit walked by us. One of my friends yelled out to him, “Hey man, Jesus loves you.” To be honest, at that moment, I thought that was probably not the right thing to say to him. Boy was I wrong. He stopped walking, turned around and said, “Who me?” She replied very sincerely, “Yes, you. Jesus loves you.” The man began to cry. He allowed us to stop and encourage him right there in the parking lot.
Jesus loves you. Pretty simple words, but if said with God’s breath on them they can impact someone’s life forever. Who around us today needs to know that simple truth? The creator of the universe loves them, right where they are, right now.
Let’s all take a chance and be bold. God will use you. He wants to use you more than you know!
I want to thank many of you for your feedback on this site, it seems like some of your favorite articles have been the ones about reaching out to those around us. Honestly, that is a passion of mine, but it hasn’t always been that way.
What comes to your mind when you hear the word “evangelism?” I used to think of the people that stand on the streets preaching that you were going to hell if you didn’t come to Christ. They always scared me, which may have been their good intentions gone bad. Or, I would think of having to know the Bible so well that I could recite scripture at any moment that was totally relevant to the point I was trying to make. Then I looked at one of Jesus’ examples of evangelism.
There He was by himself standing at a well, tired from a long trip. He then meets a Samaritan woman who had come to draw water from the well. He asks her for a drink, then tells her to go and get her husband. She tells him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” John 4
He told her things that only He could have known, and because of that encounter… Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. John 4: 39-41
I love that example of how one encounter with God’s love and acceptance can lead many in a town to believe. How many people are around us daily that are one act of kindness away from finding God’s love? All it takes is for us to be bold and step out in faith, if we fall, we simply learn from that experience.
What if this technique is scary for us? The first night I went out on the streets, I was petrified!
I was awkward, afraid to talk to anyone, and found myself more with an agenda than just going out in the love of God. I remember meeting a guy that night that had pain in his shoulder and wanted prayer for it. It was so odd, that I am sure he thought I was crazy. I kept praying, and going on and on out of my own nervousness. I was definitely not a good example of love. I wanted more to say the ‘right thing’ rather than just being filled with compassion and lean into God to do His part. At that point I still thought it was about me. After several total God moments, I realized it had nothing to do with me, and was all about Him. My journal entry for that night said, “Everything in me is trying to tell me that this is not for me and that I should just stop now!”
Luckily, even though I was ready to give up. God wasn’t. I have posted two previous articles one titled “Erased” and one titled “Freedom in the Water”. I met those people only four days later after saying I wanted to stop trying. Boy, am I glad I did not give up. Now it is so fun to go out and wait to see what God wants to do.
There are many ways we can share God’s love. Next week I am going to share some other ways that we can love on those around us. If this way seems uncomfortable to you, you are not alone. The good news is there are many ways we can be the light of the world!
How can we share the truth of Christ with people of different faiths? I will admit, this has been a little scary for me. I have thought I had to be a Bible scholar to know exactly what to say, and how to defend my beliefs. Instead, I have learned it is not about defending or ‘preaching’ to them, it is all about love.
Recently I posted an article titled “Erased”. That morning before our trip to the mall, we had made up jewelry with words on it, or we drew a picture of whatever we thought the Lord was putting on our hearts.
Right after meeting the erased man, and being so excited I could hardly see straight, I walked through the mall with the picture above in my purse.
Suddenly, a beautiful young girl practically jumped out in front of me and wanted to sell me something. She was very confident and bubbly, she said, ” I will show you something amazing but you have to promise not to yell in the middle of the mall.” Honestly, at that moment, all I could think of was that I had lost my group and needed to find the people I came with. I was distracted and looking around a bit while she was talking to me. Then it hit me.
I had a sense that she was the one my picture was for. We were going other places that day I had assumed my time at the mall was over but this was a pretty strong sense that said,”She’s the one”. I drew the picture above so you could see it, but honestly it looked like my 7 year old could have been the artist.
I listened to her sales pitch, while at the same time praying inside asking God what He wanted to do at that moment. I didn’t have an interpret I just had the picture and a strong sense that it was for her. After she finished, she sat down and asked me if I wanted to buy what she was selling. I said, “No, but thank you for showing it to me.” Then I stopped and said, “I am about to show you something amazing, but you have to promise not to scream in the middle of the mall.” We both laughed.
She had a Star of David around her neck and it was apparent to me she was Jewish. I wasn’t sure what to say, and I did not want to offend her. This is what I felt at that moment, I asked her if she had been in a rocky place in her life, and if she had been wounded and hurt by the rocks around her, and felt trapped there. She said “yes”. Immediately her bubbly demeanor dropped and tears welted up in her eyes.
I told her that I believed that close to her was a pathway of water that was narrow by the rocks where she was but that if she
followed that path it would lead to freedom. I then showed her the picture. She began telling me that very morning she had called three counselors trying to get help and was suicidal. She asked me how I knew this about her.
I told her that I was a Christian, and that I believed God sent me to her that day to encourage her and show her that there was hope and that would lead to the freedom she was searching for. She told me that she was Jewish and born in Israel. She asked me how she could talk to God. (OK remember me, I was so worried about not offending her.) I told her that in my faith I believed that you can talk to God directly and that a father loves his children and that she could go straight to him.
She then welcomed my friends and me to pray with her. It was such a lesson about God’s love. She was hugging us and thanking us for giving her hope and said she was going to find out more about the water that led to freedom. She held on tight to the picture and even demanded that I take her product home as a thank you.
It was all God’s love that touched her life that day. It wasn’ all I did was be obedient to His voice. It wasn’t about proving to her that Jesus was the son of God. God revealed himself in such a tangible way that no words could compete with His demonstration of love.
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13
When you think of a treasure, what do you think of? Maybe something hidden, something of value, perhaps a collectible?
What about a coin, that’s a treasure of value. “Suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘R I have found my lost coin.” Luke 15:8-9
What if we lose something important to us? What about our cell phones?
Do we just let it go, and continue on with our day? Or do we search high and low for it, asking for all the help we can get? When we find it we are relieved and say, R I have found my cell phone! How much more valuable are we to God?
Did you know that you are a treasure to God. You belong to Him He created you. Right where you are in life, He is looking for you, and will never give up on you. You are the most precious treasure in the world to God.
I’d like to share a story of God’s love and faithfulness. My friends and I love to go out on what are called “treasure hunts”. There are so many amazing stories of God showing up in such a special way for people. This may be new or seem a little out there, but I have learned that the Holy Spirit likes to have fun too. Today I’d like to share a story of a young lady we’ll call Sara. When we go out on a treasure hunt we pray and ask God for clues to help us find the people that He wants us to find. We write down whatever comes to our mind, (sometimes it may even sound pretty silly). This particular day, we had several clues on our list such as a blue baseball hat, a gun, an eagle, a rope twisted in a half circle, a horseshoe, and a few others. Here is the short version of how it all played out…
When we started out, we saw a man across the street at a bus stop with a blue baseball hat on. So we crossed the street and met him. We were able to encourage and pray with him. Then we walked down the street and continued to follow the clues to different people. It led us down an alley to a security guard with a gun. (Wheeww, I was worried when we had gun on our list, a security guard, awesome!) We stopped and talked with him, he wanted prayer for his pregnant wife. Then we walked by a store and in the window was a purse with a twisted rope handle. (Exactly what was on our list.) So I went in to the store and stood by it looking for my next clue. I see a young gal walk by me with a large eagle on her necklace. (also on our list) So I followed her to the dressing room.
When we both stopped, I said, “Hey, I like your necklace.” (Just like the erased guy, I had no idea what I was supposed to say.) She said “Thank you”. I then asked her, “What do eagles mean to you?”. She replied, “I just like them.” Then even surprising myself the following story fell out of my mouth. “Ya want to know something cool about eagles? They pick their mates by how well the males can fly. You see when a mama eagle is ready to teach her eaglets how to fly she pushes them out of the nest, takes them on her back way up high in the air, shakes them off and they are supposed to fly. It is the dad’s job to swoop down and save them at the last minute if they are in danger. Therefore, mama eagles pick their mates based on their flying skills so the dad’s can save the baby eaglets. I have a feeling that you are like one of those baby eaglets that has recently jumped out of the nest. You are flapping your wings as hard as you can hoping to fly, but find yourself unsure of your outcome. You’ve been wondering if your daddy is going to save you. God never misses and is always there for his children. God loves you and will swoop down and not let you hit the bottom, just look up.”
At this point Sara was crying. She said she had just moved out of her house and was failing. She was raised in a Christian home but doubted if God would still be there for her on her own. We talked about how the daddy eagle lets the eaglets flap their wings to find their own flight pattern but yet is always there to save them, just like God would always be there in her life, as she found her own way. It was a touching moment.
“Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the LORD has chosen you to be his treasured possession.” Duet 14:2
What a blessing to know that we are God’s treasure! The maker of the universe sees us as His treasure!
Who do you know that needs to know they are God’s treasure today?
~For more information on treasure hunting I recommend a book by Kevin Dedmon called “The Ultimate Treasure Hunt” Great book!!
Lately in my life, it seems as though the
heat is being turned up. The fire and trials of life seem to be getting hotter. As for me, I want to realize now more than ever, that God is close at hand.
There is a Rick Pino song called “You’re not alone”. The chorus says this, “There’s a fourth man standing there in the fire, you’re not alone” I love that song and have listened to it over and over again. It is about the story in Daniel when King Nebuchadnezzar threw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in to the fire for not worshiping the golden image that the King had set up. Let’s take a look at that story.
The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,
and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, O king.” He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods…They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair o their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. (Daniel 3: 22-27)
I love that! The King turned up the fire so hot that the soldiers who took them to the fire were killed immediately. They died just standing near the fire. That is one hot fire! So then, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego get thrown directly into the fire, and they are not harmed? What an amazing testimony of God’s protection! The King looked into the fire and saw four men standing in it when he had only thrown three in. The Bible says the fourth person was either the preincarnate Christ who often appears in the Old Testament as an “angel of the Lord” or may have been an angel sent by God to protect them. Either way, they were not alone.
Neither are we. God is always with us protecting us. They got out of that incredibly hot fire without a hair on their head burned, robes intact, and they did not even smell like smoke! Only God could have organized that!
What represents the fire in our lives right now? Trials, health challenges, relationship issues, financial struggles, family concerns?
Know that there is a fourth man standing in the fire with you. He will never leave you! When we come out of whatever fire we are facing, may we not even have a scent of smoke on us. No evidence of the trial except for a greater trust, love and wisdom than we ever had before!
We’ve covered a lot of areas about our past. I want to be transparent and tell you that while I have been writing these articles, I have been walking this out in my own
life. The area I didn’t even realize I needed to experience God’s forgiveness and love… the area of money.
The last few years have been pretty intense for us financially. I am sure many of you can relate to that. I have gone through times of very intimate faith, where nothing could have swayed me from believing that God had it all under control, to seasons of
battling unbelief, and feeling like God had released us to our circumstances. I realized there was such a connection between our financial past and living in God’s freedom today.
During the times that I was battling unbelief in the area of finances,
I realized I had shut God out of the solutions. I figured that it was our decisions that got us in the situation and therefore should be our decisions that get us back out. Once we figured it out, we could go to Him to get it right the next time. Pretty silly mindset huh? When all the time God was there, saying ” Just trust me, I am here for you.” Don’t get me wrong I prayed for our finances, but I was praying from a place of “please” (begging) versus a place of “thank you, I trust you”. I had the wrong mindset.
Remember back in Genesis, when God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruit from the tree? Let’s look at that scripture. “But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” Genesis 2:17
That scripture brings so much encouragement to me. Notice that God did not say “if” you eat of it, He said “when”. He knows our mistakes before we even make them. Whatever you are facing, God made provision for it before you even got
into the situation. With Adam and Eve, He had already planned Jesus coming to redeem them and us. Revelation tells us that Jesus was slain from the creation of the world. Why then, do we not always turn to Him? He always has a plan for our redemption.
We serve an unchanging God in a time when everything around us is constantly changing.
I love the story in Luke 17 about the ten men who had leprosy. They asked for Jesus to have pity on them. Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priests, and as they went, they were cleansed. Out of 10 men, only one came back praising God and thanking Jesus. May we be the one who comes back and thanks Him for our cleansing.
There is no circumstance that is out of God’s reach. He desires to be with us through every step of life. Through situations that are out of our control, and those that are the consequences of our actions. Let us be the ones who take the time to be with Him, and praise Him for what He has done for us, and is still doing in us.
Have you ever experienced a time in your life when you did not
‘feel’ the love of God? How about when the voice of the past continues to remind you of all the reasons you should feel guilt, shame, or condemnation? During those times it can be difficult to see ourselves through God’s eyes, to feel His love and forgiveness. We know that nothing can separate us from the love of God. But what can cause us to feel separated?
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39)
Notice, Paul listed our present and our future but he did not list our past? Is it possible that your past can separate you from feeling the love of God if you allow it? I believe so. We know that is not the truth because scripture tells us that
nothing can separate us from the love of God, but do we always believe it in our heart?
Let’s take a look at Paul’s past. Murder, persecuting the church, he had some things that he could have allowed Satan to hold over his head and keep him from the destiny God had for him. The day he met Jesus he had an immediate and dramatic transformation. He went from being a murderer, and a persecutor, to preaching the gospel and writing 13 books of the New Testament. Wow, now that is an example of redemption.
All things are yours, life or death or the present or the future—all are yours. 1cor 3:21-23 Once again, Paul says the present or the future is yours, but he does not list the past. Why, because it is not yours.
How did Paul get through everyday? Did he forget what he once stood for? In Phil 3:13 Paul says, ” Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.”
How do we do that? The study notes in my B “Not losing all memory of his sinful past, but leaving it behind him as done and settled.”
How awesome is that! We don’t want to lose memory of our past because we can learn from it, and it contributed to who we are today. But we do want to leave it behind as done and settled. What a beautiful picture of how we are washed in the blood of Christ. May we not own our past, but identify with how Christ sees us. May we remember our past through what Christ did for us on the cross.
Do you have a past that you are not particularly proud of? I know I do. This may surprise you, when I tell you that I came out of the new age and occult. Yep, I sure did. I was into it pretty deep too. I was being trained as an apprentice to a well-known psychic. Perhaps at a later time I will share more about that time in my life, prior to meeting Jesus.
At the age of 22 I made Jesus the Lord of my life. That was the best decision I have ever made! Later, I renounced every new age practice from my past and closed those doors in my life. If you have dabbled into the new age and want to have freedom, I recommend finding a church that has a Freedom in Christ ministry. They will teach you, pray with you, and help you through that process.
In 2005, I was having a personal identity crisis. The accuser was quite active in my head. I continued to have thoughts telling me that I was an “impostor”. I would attend church or prayer groups and constantly feel like I did not belong. I did not realize that was the voice of the enemy. I really believed that I could not mature in the Lord because of the things I had done in my past. This voice was getting louder and harder to ignore. I was nearsighted and blind.
2 Peter 1:5-9 For this very reason, make every effort to add to and to goodness, and to knowledge, self- and to self-control, and to perseverance, and to godliness, and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed (purged) from his past sins.
I would like to think that I had goodness, and knowledge. But self-control and perseverance, I obviously was not practicing them or I would have silenced the lying voice in my head. I was stuck in a very unproductive place when it came to the knowledge of Christ. Through Christ, I had been cleansed from my past sins! That was knowledge I needed to grab onto and use to fight the enemy at his game.
I needed to forget the former things and not dwell on the past, because God was doing a new thing in me. (Isaiah 43:18) Does this mean I totally forget what happened? Or do I allow God’s love to renew me and point me into the direction that He wants for my life? Instead of agreeing with the accuser, I needed to agree with what God has said about me.
Scripture was written to teach us, so that while we endure life we can hold onto the hope we have in Christ. Romans 15:4 “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. “
Our past, if we don’t find purpose in it, then what was it all for? We want to learn from our past. And look with anticipation to our future.
What can we learn from our past? Where can we serve the Lord by helping others who are struggling in the areas He has saved us from?
Don’t regret yesterday, it causes a fear of tomorrow, and makes us anxious about today. (T.W)
We are doing what today? Making jewelry to take to the mall? I have been a jeweler for 20 years, but jewelry on an outreach, this was a first!
Allow in July of 2008 I am at a two week evangelism school that changed my life forever. It is our morning class and the teacher announces that we are going to be making jewelry, and going to the mall to hand it out. I will be honest, I was a little nervous. We were instructed to pray and ask God for an encouraging word for someone and then make it into a bracelet or necklace using little square blocks with letters on them. OK, how hard could it be? I sat and began to pray. Immediately, the word “Erased” came to my mind. I thought, “That can’t be God, He would give a word like joy, peace, love. What kind of word is “erased”? I remembered our teacher saying, “Go with whatever comes to your mind”. So, I made a man sized bracelet with the simple word “erased” on it, and off we went.
As we enter the local mall, I I am probably going home with this bracelet today, I could not have heard correctly. As we walked by a very athletic looking man sitting on a bench by himself, I felt the Lord say, “There is your “erased”. He was a little intimidating to me, but this time I knew what I felt, and decided to go with it. I went with fear and trembling, but I went.
I sat down next to him, having no idea what to say. I knew sometimes you have to step out in faith, so I boldly said, “If I thought I had a word from the Lord for you would you want it?” (The only word I had at this moment was the word “erased”, what on earth was I going to say if he said yes?) With a soft, kind voice he says, “Yes, yes, I would.” I opened my mouth and these words fell out… “The Lord wants you to know that your past has been erased. All thin you are a new creation in Christ. There has been something from your past that you are holding on to and the Lord wants you to know that He has forgiven you, and it does not belong to you anymore.”
His eyes were tearing, and he sat with a stunned look on his face. Not sure which one of us was more stunned to be honest. I asked, “Does that make any sense to you?” He said, “Yes, it does. I just got fired from my job because they found out about my past.” I replied, “You are kidding me!”
I think I was more shocked than he was! He told me that he knew the Lord but that he was not closely following Him at the moment. We talked for a bit and then I told him that earlier that morning I had made a bracelet for him. I was putting it on his wrist when up walks a beautiful woman and their children.
I introduced myself to her and he gave me permission to tell her what the Lord had showed us. She began to cry and said, “Did he tell you, he just lost his job because of this?” We talked and then all five of us while crying, prayed right there in the middle of the mall. We asked God to open doors of opportunity for work, and for God to continue ministering to them. In the middle of the mall, God met them and they rededicated their lives to Him.
God lo he knew he would be at the mall that day, sitting on that bench at that very moment. About 3 hours earlier He inspired that word on that bracelet, just for him. What an amazing testimony of His love.
I learned a lot that day. I was truly blessed more than the family I met. First, I learned that God’s love knows no boundaries. He will go to any length to show us his faithfulness. Second, I learned that God uses us, even when we are afraid. He speaks to our heart and if we obey, we can be part of
His plans and intentions. Third, I learned that God forgives us
it is others, and us, that hold it against us. The accuser loves to stand and charge us with our sin, but God has already forgiven us.
For me, at that moment, I knew God’s love in a tangible way. I began to look more into what God has to say about our past. In future blogs I am going to share what I have learned. May God give all of us a fresh perspective on our past and our future in Him. I pray that I never forget the love that He showed to that man on the bench. It was a moment I will never forget.
“If you debate for a second when God has spoken, it is all up. Never begin to say- “Well, I wonder is He did speak?” Be
fling it all out on Him. You do not know when his voice will come, but whenever the realization of God comes in the faintest way imaginable, recklessly abandon. It is only by abandon that you recognize Him. You will only realize His voice more clearly by recklessness.”
~ Oswald Chambers
What kinds of things do you like to serve in? Do you serve as a volunteer at church? Do you help your neighbor carry some groceries into the house? How about that five minute phone call to someone that’s on your heart? Every one of us serves in our own special way. Please remember, the time you give will almost always bless you just as much as it blesses the receiver.
The book of Mark introduces Jesus as a servant. It focuses on what He did more than what He said. We see evidence of many healings that Jesus preformed in Mark. In Mark 1:40-42 we see the story of a man with leprosy that was healed by Jesus.
40A man with leprosycame to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
41Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” 42Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.
This word compassion in the Greek means “to be moved with compassion, and to yearn with compassion. It is frequently recorded of Christ toward the multitude and towards individual sufferers. (Strong’s Concordance)
There is more instruction from Paul in Colossians 3:12. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
So many times Jesus said “I have compassion”, and then the miracles happened. Sometimes we are asked to serve in places or with people that we do not feel compassionate about. Paul says “clothe yourself with compassion”. Notice no one el it is a choice we make.
We can always pray for God’s help and love to do this.
If we are clothed in compassion, it will move us, and give us a deep yearning to serve in those areas. First, we are filled with compassion, and then we extend our hand to serve those around us.
I have hesitated sharing stories like this for fear of being weird, but I have decided I am good with being weird and I will embrace it.
We have all had encounters with God that are abnormal. We serve a God that is out of this world! My friend Terri said to me today that to not share these things is selfish because God gives them to us not just to keep it to ourselves. That really hit me, so I am going to try to get more of these written down to glorify our awesome God. The more we all talk about these amazing times with our God, the more normal they will become. Feel free to add your stories too. I love them!! They encourage me more than you know!
My family and I were on our way to San Diego, Ca on Friday March 13th 09. We stopped in Yuma for a bite to eat. I see a family (mom, dad, and 2 boys.) sitting a couple booths behind us. I was eating and talking with my family.
All of a sudden, I could tell the Lord was pulling on my heart.
I felt like a little girl who was playing in my room and dad called my name from the kitchen. My first response was ‘I’ll be there in a minute.” Then I began to go into a work mode, I was being summoned and I needed to respond. I knew the Lord was about to do something and I should I press in for the message or just not respond? (Trust me I know how ridiculous that sounds but I want to be transparent, it would have been easier to keep eating and silently pray for them) I could feel some anxiety building up in me. Then, I felt such a loving daddy say “Don’t do it out of obligation, or work, do it out of My love for them.” Immediately all the nerves left and I was excited to share with them whatever the Lord had for them. That was such an amazing moment with the Lord. The fear broke right off of me. I then pressed in a little deeper to hear what the Lord had for this precious family.
First, I felt an amazing love for them, one that I knew was coming from the Father. Then I knew that He had a very important call on their children’s life especially the little boy in the high chair. I also felt that they have sacrificed a lot for their children and that the Lord was going to repay them through the work He would be doing in the lives of their children. That it would be worth all the sacrifices they’ve made. As we finished our dinner I was unsure how to approach them. So I asked the Lord how He wanted me to start off. In my heart I heard, “Ask them if they are in ministry.” “If they say yes, you know the feeling you have is accurate and you can begin telling them.” I thought this was awesome because He had never given me a lead question like that for my own peace of mind. Most of the time it was a leap of faith the entire time I felt I was to approach a stranger like this.
We finished our dinner, and headed out to the car. I thought I would get my kids buckled up and then go back in. When we went to the car, the husband was at his car which was parked right next to ours. (Of course, right) I said “Excuse me sir, are you by chance in ministry?” He said, “Actually, yes, we were lay people in the church and just recently accepted a paid position.” YIPPEEEE!! I thought to myself! I proceeded to tell him what I felt the Lord telling me. It turned out the little boy in the high chair was adopted. His wife had spent 2 weeks in Africa to adopt him. How cool is that! After hearing his story, they had indeed sacrificed a lot to have that little boy. After I shared my thoughts with him, he said he had to go and tell his wife. He was touched to tears. How awesome is God! To encourage that family and allow me to grow and be apart of that. I am so amazed at His love for us!!! That was such a great lesson for me to listen for His promptings out of love, not obligation or duty! Oh, how he loves us!!
Join my Mailing List
Recent Posts
CategoriesCategories
Select Category
Evangelism
God’s Love
Handling Life’s Challenges
Copyright & 2017 Sharing Moments with God