When Darkness Seems To Prevail

No matter how small a light seems, it is powerful.

I hate a little, tiny blue light in my bedroom. It comes from some electronics on the other side of the room from our bed, and it is ridiculously bright. You know what I mean, how research shows we need total blackout darkness to get a good night sleep? And then there's this tiny, blue but so-bright-light that interrupts great sleep. We try to cover it up, but inevitably something happens and there it is again, persistent, shining.

When it seems like darkness is winning....

GOD-IS-LIGHT.

Like that little blue light, He pierces the darkness. He's persistent, present, powerful, forever. Just as natural light travels forever, never ending, His light never fails, 

The revelator, John, tells us that "God is light and in Him is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5)

Occasionally we buy into the thought that we can hide, or that the darkness in our life wins, and it's kind of like our trying to cover this blue light - LIGHT ALWAYS WINS. If there is light, darkness flees from it. Our hiding is impossible, darkness is banished.

GOD-IS-LIGHT

At times we focus on the darkness and it appears imposing - we may feel threatened, afraid, angry even. We look at it so much that it becomes our focus and we begin to become swallowed up in it. What are we doing? Light kills the darkness.

We don't have to fight the dark, we have to let the light shine.
Let God shine in your dark places.
Let God shine through you to others.
You don't have to be the light - He is.
Get connected, stay connected, to Him.

Give up the idea that darkness wins.

Light wins. God wins

Eternal.Present.Powerful.God

 

Some of The Greatest Fruit & Legacy You Can Have

I was blessed, challenged and comforted by a message passionately delivered by Christine Caine last week at the Catalyst West conference (can she be other than passionate?). She is a fruitful minister, author, advocate for justice, a "doer" for the Kingdom of God. These are her words, her perspective:

 

“I think some of the greatest fruit and legacy I will leave the next generation is not all my accomplishments for God but the fact that after all these years in ministry (21 years full-time):

Ø  I am still passionately in love with Jesus

Ø  I am fully committed t building His Church
Ø  I am still in awe of so great a salvation
Ø  I am not bitter, offended or cynical
Ø  I am still pursuing His plan for my life
Ø  I still believe the best is yet to come
Ø  I still love my pastors and my local church (same pastors this whole time)
Ø  I still believe it is a privilege to do what I do
Ø  I adore my husband
Ø  I delight in my daughters
Ø  I don’t see a conflict between family and ministry
Ø  I love God, life and people
Ø  I am bruised and have taken some serious knocks, but I am still going
Ø  I didn’t slow down at 40 but ramped up to another level.”

Do you feel challenged by any of these in your own journey?

What’s getting in the way?

What made you squirm as you read it?

Perhaps these are areas where we need healing. Repentance. Restoration.

“In all of our doing we must continually evaluate our lives to determine whether we are in fact becoming more like Christ.

 
Ø  Is our faith growing?
Ø  Are we developing the fruit of the Spirit?
Ø  Are we enjoying the journey?
Ø  Do we love God and His church more or less?
Ø  Are we still filled with awe and wonder or are we getting cynical, disillusioned, disappointed or discouraged?
Ø  Are we more committed to building His kingdom rather than our own empires [lives]?
Ø  Do we still value things like commitment, faithfulness, loyalty, submission, honour and respect?”

My prayer is that we'll be honest; that we'll find the healing, courage, grace and re-kindled love that we need, which only truly comes from Him.

Are you challenged? I am.
Is there hope? Yes.

"For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:8

The ball is in your court.
Will you ask? Seek? Knock?
Will you receive? Find? Enter?

Blessings, friend. Blessings, grace and courage.

What Commends You?

That's a Scary question (at least to me): what commends you? If someone were to write you a letter of recommendation, what would that be based on?

Commend: to present, mention, to praise as worthy of confidence, notice, kindness, etc; recommend

Often we expect commendation for our feats of excellence - performing well at what we do. The Apostle Paul offers another measure of commendability, one that challenges at a whole other level. In 2 Corinthians 3:1-3 he writes,

"Are we beginning to praise ourselves again? Are we like others, who need to bring you letters of recommendation, or who ask you to write such letters on their behalf? Surely not! The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good works among you. Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This "letter" is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts."

Clearly. You. Your lives.

PEOPLE are the measure of commendation.

How are the relationships in your life?
Your family and neighbors?
Your employees?
Those you serve?
Those you minister to?
Those you help?
What impact have you had?

Our letter of recommendation is all the good we have sowed into people, the quality of time, effort and content. Their lives reflect that and commend us. Or not. Makes me think.

I also draw comfort from the fact that the Corinthians were FAR from a perfect bunch (read 1 & 2 Corinthians for more on that), yet their lives are a testament of Paul's labor. There is hope for all of us!

And people are worth it!



What Can Change Any Relationship For the Better

We have a family wedding in the near future, and I woke up thinking of the happy couple, saying a prayer for a long, blessed marriage. After nearly 20 years, I know a bit of the hard work it takes to make it, and also the immense fulfillment it brings.

If I could give them advice on a long marriage it would be: kindness and forgiveness.

Kindness is not giving people what they deserve.

When wronged, hurt or offended in some way, it's common to make that our position. Doing so means the offender must in some way make it right, performing to our personal and exacting specifications. Can I say that people generally aren't that gifted? They can't read your mind (even though they 'should know' what you want), and they probably don't have the personal resources to meet your requirements.

When we bring such a position into relationships, it's exhausting and destructive.
Kindness, though, kindness forgives even though we don't think they deserve it.
Kindness extends warmth and love instead of vengance ("If you won't perform to make this right, then I'll make you pay in my own way").
Kindness heals what is broken. It goes a long, long way towards making a lasting, joyful relationship.

Kindness is mercy.

Anger, hurt, disappointments happen in every relationship. Kindness can bridge over all of that.

My prayer for us all? That we'd both be receivers and givers of kindness.

Living in Victory is Living Connected

Ever read the Bible and get confused? This morning I read this, (and I'm glad I didn't stop there!):

"and you are complete in Him [Christ], who is the head of all principality and power." Colossians 2:10 NKJV

I like the "I'm complete in Him" part, but the rest? Ephesians says we wrestle against principlaties and powers - these are the 'bad guys' - yet Colossians seems to be saying that Christ is the head of them?

If I didn't read all of Colossians, I might become confused regarding who Christ is in relationship to 'the bad guys', but after reading all four chapters, I know He's not their ringleader, He's their defeater!

The Apostle Paul wrote Colossians to tell us that Christ is the Head of the Body [the church, Christians], and that He has definitively won the battle against principalities and powers, to the point of shaming them in their defeat. He stripped their ability to accuse us any longer when we identify ourselves with Him, connecting ourselves to Him and living in connection to Him. Now, the only real power principalities and powers have is what we give to them.

Stay connected to the Head, Jesus Christ, who's "power extends over everything" (Col. 2:10 MSG), and keep reading your Bible, especially when you come across something you question or don't understand. The clarity is there, you'll find it!

A Bosu Ball and Regaining My Balance

This is a bosu ball, an exercise tool that my trainer enjoys putting me on, for laughs I'm sure, as I'm not the best at keeping my balance. It's soft and bouncy when you stand on it as pictured, but she likes to flip it over and have me step onto the unstable platform where I have to attain and keep my balance while performing various exercises. The other day we were practicing this, when she asked me to close my eyes once I had my balance. That really threw me off!

I was thinking about this today, how life sometimes feel "off balance", and we are trying to regain it. It takes a lot of effort and focus to do it, but it can be done. But then we sometimes close our eyes. You know what I mean. We turn our focus inward, closing our eyes to outward influences, trying to draw what we need from within. While this may work for awhile, it's usually temporary at best and difficult to maintain.

For me, what I really need is to regain a solid foundation and to focus my gaze outside of myself so I can stay balanced. My personal foundation is a Rock that doesn't move (Jesus), and my gaze seeks to connect with others - thinking about/helping others is a great equalizer in unstable times.

My thought for today? Keep looking up and out while regaining your balance.

What do you do when instability rocks your life?



How to handle disappointment

We've all felt the sting of disappointment.  Someone has let you down, an opportunity has passed you by, a desire has been unmet. Disappointments can lead to discouragement and depression if we don't manage them.

In Genesis 13 Abram and his nephew, Lot, are having to part ways. Abram brought Lot along on his God-directed journey, and in the process Lot has grown prosperous - there is no longer space enough for them together, and Abram doesn't want the resulting tensions to come between them. Abraham gives Lot the choice of the land. After taking a long look, Lot chooses for himeslf the best land.

v. 12 "So Abram settled in the land of Canaan...."

Abram is sure to have felt disappointment in Lot's choice. Hadn't God promised to prosper him? And here is Lot choosing the best land. Where is the gratitude from Lot?

But Abram chose a different tactic. He settled in the land that was his. He continued to do what God told him to do, and he was blessed and prospered.

We need to choose to face things, and go forward, holding no resentments or negative attitudes in our heart. God's promises of blessing are not going to be thwarted by anything.

Psalm 37:7-9 says "Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don't worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper--it only leades to harm...those who trust in the Lord will possess the land."

Don't worry about what other people do or have.
When your emotions stir up - be still in God's presence
Trust God
Make good decisions for where you are today

Psalm 37:3 "Trust in the Lord and do good, then you will live safely in the land and prosper".

We all suffer disappointments, but today we can choose to go beyond them to a place of peace and trust.

How do you deal with disappointment?