God of the Journey

I was reading in Exodus this morning and asking God for direction on what to speak at a luncheon next month.  The more I read the more God spoke.  The more God spoke the more excited I became.  Now that I have calmed down a bit I just had to write this down and share it.  I couldn't hold on to it and keep it for myself.  If this is what I speak on then so be it but in case that day never comes I've just got to let this wonderful hope God has filled me with this morning out before I explode!

The I Am appeared to Moses in the midst of the bush.  The I Am had heard the groaning of His people.  The I Am of every aspect of their past was on the scene of their present and was already moving in their future!  Who is He who dwelt in that bush?  According to Isaiah 40:21-31 it is He who sits above the circle of the earth.  It is He who stretches out the heavens like a curtain.  It is He who brings out the stars and names them and knows where they are.  The creator of the ends of the earth dwelt in that bush....no wonder it was ablaze!  The bush had no choice!

THIS was HE who dwelt in the bush...The I AM of all creation.  Where we are right this minute, in the middle of our desert, while we are moving through the circumstances of our daily lives, this same I Am is there with us.  He is our hope when we despair, are discouraged and want to quit.  He is our keeper and protector when we are vulnerable, our rest when we are tired and can't go on, our truth when we have been lied to and our wisdom for all of life's difficult choices.  He is OUR I AM for whatever challenge we face today. 

The I Am can cover all the sins, mistakes and bad choices of our past.  The I Am can take us in His arms during the storms of our present and The I Am can arrange those storms in such a way that our future outcome is all that He has promised and even more.  This I Am was the God of their Journey.  This I Am wants to be the God of our journey as well.  From our exodus out of the captivity of sin to our entry into the land of promise this I Am wants to lead us.  Just as He led His children through the wilderness so many years ago He desires to lead us through our wilderness today.  If we will allow Him to move in our daily distresses our outcome will be as the children of Israel in Joshua 21:45 "Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel.  All came to pass." 

Let Him be the God of your Journey.  While there will be wilderness experiences I assure you in the end The I Am will be the author and finisher of your faith and every good thing He has promised will be fulfilled.  Hold on to your I Am and allow Him to carry you to your destiny!

A Good Going Over

My mom used to sew curtains, comforters, pillow shams and all sorts of bedding.  She put out some extremely detailed work.  She also sewed clothing.  I had the most beautiful prom dress my junior year and I just about lost my mind before it was finished.  Anytime my mother sewed it had to be finished to perfection, not a stitch out of line, lace in perfect "folds" (whatever that meant) and every button just so placed.  Every day when I would get home from school she would say "Put on this dress so I can give it a good going over." Every day, I'm telling you, EVERY DAY.  I am not even going to discuss how many times we went through the "going over" process on Saturdays!

 As I was reading from Romans 12 this morning I was reminded of my mom and her "going over" process.  In verse 1 Paul says "present your bodies a living sacrifice..."  In the past I always just grabbed the most familiar definition and ran with it:  Present - to make a gift to, but wait there's more!  Present - to aim or point in a specified direction (such as "present arms"); to offer for inspection or consideration.  This last definition rerouted my entire thought process:  To offer for inspection or consideration.

 Obviously "present" means much more than just flopping down on the altar and saying "OK Lord, here I am for you to use."   What about saying "OK Lord, look me over.  This is what you've got - all you've got".  Suddenly "present" takes on a whole new mental image for me!  It goes from the self-glorification of me laying myself down for God to use (like that in and of itself is very impressive) to the humbling thought of God inspecting me as I'm there.  Considering what I've done, said and thought lately. Comparing it to His unending love, mercy and grace and then gladly accepting my sacrifice in spite of what it looks like.  Wow!  I now see where Isaiah saw us as "filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). Why can’t I allow God the same opportunity mom took with my prom dress?  Why can’t I allow God to give me a good "going over"?  It's a scary thought.  My pride has to be completely out of the picture!

Yes, I had the most beautifully crafted, detailed, exquisite prom dress my junior year.  It was made just for me, fitted to me (over and over) and lovingly, painstakingly tapered and put together.  That's the last dress I ever allowed mother the privilege of making. I hated the whole "going over" process too much to have the beautiful dress that would have been produced.  She wanted to make my wedding dress too.  I can't imagine what she had in mind but I suddenly realize, as I'm sitting here typing this, that I missed such a wonderful, one-of-a-kind opportunity!  Then I hear God say "Yes you did.  And you've missed many more opportunities by not allowing me the privilege to craft you into a beautiful garment.  All because you didn't want to take the time and effort of the going over process!"

So as I begin my day today I open myself up to God and ask him to perfect my spirit and align my will to his so I can be the beautiful bride he has in mind.

I Could Be

My mom found a little book the other day as she was cleaning out closets, chests and book shelves.  Neither of us seem to know where it came from or how it ended up at her house but she was insistent that I take it home with me.  I tossed it in my car, along with multiple other things she had "found" for me, and it made the trek from city to country to arrive in yet another household.  I've been busy trying to do something with all the things my mother has been sending home with me lately but the books are still in a neat (although growing) stack beside my reading table.  That's where this book ended up as well.

As I sit here waiting on my coffee to brew I thoughtlessly pick up the book and begin thumbing through it's pages. Inside the front cover one of the credits says "Art reproduction copyrighted 1957" and lists the artists name.  I still haven't found the author's name.  The books title you ask? "Jesus and the Twelve" and under that "May the example and dedication of The Master and His followers be a source of inspiration to you always".  I wonder if the author of those words had any idea that, some 50+ years later, a little woman sipping on her auto-brewed coffee and chewing on a microwave-warmed biscuit would be reading of their examples.

Each page of the book is dedicated to a disciple.  The very first page is dedicated to Jesus.  To the left is the artist's rendering of what these men could have looked like.  To the right of the portrait is a scripture and a historical account of what is known and/or speculated about the subject of that portrait.  As I flip through the pages and read about each disciple I find myself identifying with them:  Andrew the introducer, Bartholomew under the fig tree and of course Peter the hard-headed.....um....I mean the rock.  I thumb through the pages again reading how they carried the gospel to the world after Pentecost.  I think about what disappointments they had to overcome after Christ's crucifixion.  I read of how most were martyred for the cause of Christ.  The book's line-up goes from Jesus on pages 1 & 2 to Judas Iscariot on pages 24 & 25 with a tribute to Paul reserved for the back page...not of the original 12 but a disciple none the less.

We all can identify with at least one of these men and we all will gladly, and sometimes with much humor, tell others the disciple we can most relate to; however, there is one disciple I have never heard anyone relate themselves to:  Judas Iscariot.  Judas.  The Judas that betrayed our Lord.  The Judas that turned Christ over to those who would torture and kill Him.  I've heard others say "I could be a Peter" or “I am like Matthew".   I've even heard a brave few identify with Thomas the doubter but I've never heard anyone say "I could be a Judas."  Our false humility may allow us to claim our hard-headedness or lack of faith but pride steps in full force when we think about betrayal.  OK - so here it is - I could be...a Judas.

"Judas, who betrayed Him...repented himself...saying I have sinned." Matthew 27:4  Written in this little book, on the next to the last page, is a description of Judas I have never heard before:  "Judas, who hoped that Jesus brought a 'human' kingdom that would overthrow Roman rule betrayed Him, being confident that Jesus would save Himself at the last moment, for he had seen Jesus perform many miracles.  When he realized that Jesus was not going to save Himself he repented and tried to return the silver to secure Jesus' release saying he had lied and Jesus was, in fact, innocent."

Judas had seen Jesus work, heard Him teach and witnessed His great power over sickness and even demons.  Judas had also seen Jesus' meekness and humility.  Perhaps he thought Jesus just needed a reason to rise up in defense like when He threw the money changers from the temple. Maybe Judas thought Jesus just needed a little "help".  Judas was focused on this earthly kingdom.  He didn't get the full picture.  He just couldn't wrap his mind around God's Kingdom.  Often neither can I.  Sometimes I can't wrap my mind around the fact that God does have a plan for me even if things look chaotic, at best, so I rush ahead with my plan trying to help God get things done.  I often get so tunnel visioned in trying to open others eyes to what I know is good and right that I misrepresent God to the very "sinners" I am trying to convert.  When people don't receive their healing in the way I envision, or when seeming destruction comes instead of the mending I pray for I could be a Judas.

How often have I tried to push my plan on God expecting Him to react and move according to my will? How often have I "betrayed" Christ's character by my words and actions, or by the lack of them?  You see, being a Judas or a Judah is not that far apart.  They both have the same meaning - praise and thanksgiving.  They are both derived from the same Hebrew word Yehuda.  It's all about the choices we make.  We all want to be a Judah of the lineage of Christ.  Not one of us want to identify with a Judas; however, our actions dictate who we are most like.  They reveal our idea of kingdom and clearly show what kingdom we are focused on.

Judah or Judas - which name do we more closely resemble?