Stay Just As You Are?

Years ago, I used to drive by a church sign that always had the same phrase on it: COME AS YOU ARE. I suppose it may have been taken from the mid 90’s praise chorus Come Just As You Are, but today I pondered the phrase. I even wondered if they still had the same phrase on their reader board since the mid 90’s.

Sunday, during the preservice prayer time, the Lord gave me a word to share prior to leading worship. I quickly jotted it down and read it to our congregation in obedience. Today, I used what the Lord whispered to me and expanded on it to write a short poem. 

(Disclaimer: I do not consider myself to be a "poet".)

Come just as you are

Accepted with all your scars

Come hungry and hurting

Leave satisfied and whole

Come lost and longing

Leave with peace in your soul

Come angry and confused

Leave with all tensions diffused

Come weak and weary

Leave bolstered and cheery

Come as a seeker of things above

Leave with a heart filled with hope and love

Come; bring your lifestyle of despair

Spend time on your knees in warfare

Come and meet with Jesus

For He is the One who can free us

Come just as you are, indeed

 But leave as a new creation, set free

You see, Jesus loves you just as you are. This is true. But we need to understand that we can’t truly live for Jesus and stay in that “just as you are” condition. He loves us enough to help us grow beyond our “just as you are” mindset. 

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: Old things have passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Almost three decades have passed since I first saw this phrase on that church reader board and it is still there today. I hope and pray that over the years as people enter through their church doors just as they are that they have left  a little bit different every week. 

And I pray that for our church as well.

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Take Heart!

I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind.

Some come without help and some others I find.

I can whine and complain and have a good bawl.

But really some troubles aren’t troubles at all.

Sometimes a thought tromps all around in my mind,

Stirs up my spirit and grips my heart in a bind.

It’s the enemy’s tricks, I know it’s plain crazy

But my brain tends to get a just little bit hazy.

See that mole hill o’er yonder, the one that’s so small?

If I rant on and on I can push it up tall.

Then I’ll stare at Mole Mountain, with my hands on my hips.

Tears will stream down my face, and leave salt on my lips.

Hopelessness will move in, Faithless brings her tent.

I don’t ever recall posting a sign: “This Space for rent”!

But then I’ll remember, the WORD lives within me

I can hear in my heart: “Be thrown into the sea!”

I’ll scrape up the fresh dirt,

With a feeling of mirth.

I’ll fill a big bucket,

In the lake I will chuck it!

Then I’ll plop my bum in the sand,

Watch the sun kiss the land.

And savor the moment,

When I beat the opponent!

I have heard there are troubles
of more than one kind.

Some come from ahead 
and some come from behind.

But I've got a big God. I'm all ready you see.

Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me! 

 John 16:33b: "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world."

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The End is Here

So here it is; exactly a year later…the end…the letter Z.

We often use the letter Z to represent sleep. Gonna catch some Z’z. Zzz….snore…zzz. The word I’m closing this series out with is anything but a sleepy zzz. You might even say the final word is a zinger.

If the apostle Paul were alive in this generation, I’m convinced he’d be a blogger. God stirred his heart to write letters to the churches to teach, train, and encourage them. Isn’t that what most Christian bloggers do? Paul may have used papyrus to spread the good news then, but I’m sure his zealous spirit would be thrilled to get his message out via the world wide web.

  

I imagine his blog design might consist of a map of the world (as he knew it), or perhaps a pair of worn out sandals would adorn his header. Maybe a wrecked ship or a snake in the fire lashing out at him would be a possible backdrop. Perhaps broken chains but most defiantly there would be the cross of Christ somewhere in his design.

Sometimes in his zeal, Paul could come off a bit pushy. A lot of people who are zealous about a cause appear that way, but when you’ve been zapped by the Holy Spirit, you simply don’t want to zig-zag around avoiding the call God has for you.

  

I remember when my husband was a brand new Christian, he was full of zeal. He devoured the Word and would stop in the street if he saw someone he knew from his past to tell them about his salvation experience. At first I found his zealot behavior embarrassing, but then I became ashamed at my lack of zest for Jesus because I had been conditioned to accept my faith as the norm. I zoned out in church and became a Christian zombie; saved but with zero enthusiasm.

When I read Paul’s “blog” in 2 Corinthians 7:11, it pretty much sums up my husband’s salvation experience:

“For observe this very thing that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves. What indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what indication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”

1 Thessalonians 4:16b about sums up my enthusiasm at that time :-(  "...and the dead in Christ will rise first."

Recently my husband’s sister and niece have come to know the saving grace of Jesus and have the same zeal he had over thirty years ago. Again, I find myself smiling and thinking…stir up the ambers, Girl…get it together!

In this most awesome Z scripture we see how God feels about us: 

"Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am zealous for Zion (His people/church/bride) with great zeal; with great fervor I am zealous for her.” Zechariah 8:2

Wouldn’t it seem that we should be equally zealous for Him as He is for us…with great fervor?

Let’s zip it up…

In one year, twenty-six words have been studied, researched, and processed to help us understand the Christian terms we often hear and say. I hope we all feel a new passionate fervor… dare I say…a fresh zeal for our Lord.

“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”  ~Paul (Romans 12:11)

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Oh Lord, give me a sign!

Many times, as we travel the road called life, we wish that God would just give us a sign. You know…the flashy neon light type that sticks out more than any other? Something obvious so we don’t have to work so hard or guess which way to go.

On the road, signs are easy to recognize by shape and color. We have become so accustomed to this fact that our brains automatically process the instructions as we zoom by.

When you approach a stop sign, what do you do? (stop, duh). But beyond stopping, there are some automatic instructions ingrained in drivers that should be processed at the first glance of the red octagon shape: Come to a complete stop. (no rolling through) First come first go or when in doubt, cars on the right have the right-of- way.

 

When you see the yellow diamond shape sign with two arrows joining into one, you know traffic is merging into the same lane. Manners and common sense tell drivers to allow space and/or adjust speed to give in to the inevitable. All of us must work together to go with the flow of traffic.

What about the upside-down red triangle; the YIELD sign? In some countries, they call it “Give Way”. Much to the chagrin of some drivers, it is NOT the same as stop or merge. If you stop at a yield sign and there is no traffic coming to “yield to” you might find yourself rear-ended by someone who also is looking left and seeing a clear road. If you try to force your way by merging into the flow of traffic instead of waiting for it to be clear, besides the blaring of horns, angry looks, and possible *gestures*…you could cause an accident.

The act of yielding in traffic is a skill. A distracted driver could be dangerous. I wouldn't recommend adjusting the radio or talking on your phone at this time. You prepare yourself to look to your left as you approach the sign. Read the traffic, make the decision to continue on without hesitation, or give way to the cars already on the main thoroughfare, allowing them to go on ahead of you.

Using this concept, let’s address the Christianese phrase “Yield to the Holy Spirit”.

One of the characteristics scripture tells us about the Holy Spirit is the ability to guide us. 

John 16:13 says:

“But when he, the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all truth…”

In essence, like the dove that descended upon Jesus at His baptism, the Holy Spirit is our sign from God.  If we are aware of the Spirit of Truth’s character, we will recognize the signs we are to follow and obey.

How do we recognize the signs? When we prepared to take our driver’s license test, we studied the manual. We learned to identify the road signs and process them easily. Just like a driver understanding the red octagon, yellow diamond arrows, and yes…even the red upside-down triangle, we can learn to recognize a sign from God.

Study His manual and become familiar with His signs. Set down your distractions (phone, computers, tv, etc). Read the traffic around you, making the decision to continue on if it looks clear... or give way to the one who is on the road ahead of you, designated to be your guide.

Yield to the Holy Spirit…

“…because all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.” Romans 8:14

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Trust, Fruit & Perspective

Don't forget to read the post below this one (Only 75...) and leave a comment to get your name in for the drawing for a $5 Starbucks gift card. The drawing will be on Oct. 5th!

♥ ♥ ♥

It's been a few months since I last vlogged. I'm hoping to do some video devotions for JournEzine in the near future. Until then...here are some thoughts from a recent jaunt in the forest.


So, do you have something in your life that you need to step back and get a new perspective on? A God perspective? Are you willing to settle for the tiny fruit, or fully trust Him to lead you to the bigger fruit?
Sometimes a whole bush is nothing but tiny, sour berries, yet a bush right next to it will be loaded with big, juicy ones. I thank God for giving me some wonderful fruit, even through painful experiences, and I'm trusting God to show me the fruitful bushes in my life.

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Clanging vs. Singing

I played the drums in the school band from fifth to eighth grade. Being the only girl on the back row of the concert band in junior high, I put up with a lot of flak from the boys.

Although playing the snare seemed to be the coveted percussion instrument, our band teacher generally rotated us through the various instruments: snare, bass, timpani, bells, and cymbals. Eventually I gravitated towards the timpani, bells, and cymbals by choice. In part to avoid standing too close to boys because they were gross, but I also found I enjoyed the musical aspect of them.

I was familiar with a piano keyboard enough to sight read the bell music, I had a good ear for tones when tuning the tympanis, and I could make the cymbals sing. If a percussionist doesn’t play the hand cymbals correctly, the clang sound causes audiences to grit their teeth and pray for the end of the song to come quickly. 

In the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13:1 is extremely familiar even among those who aren’t Christ followers.

“If I speak of tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”

But how does that look to us who are Christ followers?

 It carries a whole lot more responsibility, that’s how it looks. And if you are one who is serving in a “higher call” capacity, it involves even more responsibility.

It hurts my heart when men or women stand in leadership within the body of Christ and proclaim the truths of God’s Word and treat their loved ones poorly. When their “tongues of men and angels” flow skillfully from behind a lectern or pulpit, but switch to spewing hurtful words or thoughtless comments within the walls of their home… it simply grieves me.

What does this do to their credibility with their spouses and children?

Colossians 3:21 reminds us Fathers do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

I’m writing a novel and the title is Wellspring. I chose this title because the common thread I weave throughout the story is that God is the wellspring or source of everything. When I think of a wellspring I envision the source of bubbling, clean, pure, spring water.

Proverbs 4:23 says: Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life and Luke 6:45 reminds us that what is in the heart inevitably comes out of the mouth.

Grant it, no minister’s family is perfect. I can attest to that. But I encourage those who serve in a position where you are called to teach God’s word, whether full time vocational minister or volunteer, be sure you are drinking from the Wellspring and you will make those cymbals sing.

“Fathers do not exasperate your children but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”    ~ Ephesians 6:4

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The Exodus

God speaks to me. I’m sure he speaks to you, too. And despite all the writing advice I've gleaned, I believe God can speak a cliché.

What did God speak to me? 

“I never promised you a rose garden.” Is He being sarcastic? Or maybe He's just disappointed in my fretting and worrying over something that He is in control of. Not only in control, but orchestrating.

“The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." Exodus 14:14

I have meditated on this word knowing the story behind it. The children of Israel have their backs to the Red Sea and Pharaoh is a-comin’ after them with a bitter vengeance. Moses speaks with bold confidence:

"Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” 

Let me tell you why Moses is so confident. God had previously spoken to him and assured Moses that He was the One orchestrating everything. Why? So they can be scared spitless? So they can be made an example of? So they will be scared into obedience? 

No, nope and no way.

Let’s back up a few verses and have a quick look-see:

V.4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." 

Need I remind you that Pharaoh and the Egyptians are the villains in this story, the bad guys? I always thought God parted the Red Sea to prove Himself to the whining Israelites. To cause them to understand that He is the one that protects them and that is why they need only to be still. But this verse says: and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.

We have a Red Sea moment happening in our life. Our backs are against the Sea, fear has attempted to creep in, and the bad guys are pursuing us with a bitter vengeance. Like Moses, we know we are right where we are suppose to be, even if it is with our backs to the sea.

 So why are we going through this? So we can know fear? So we can be made an example of? So we will be feared into being better Christians? 

No, nope, and no way. 

He is doing this so that : the Egyptians (enemy) will know that I am the Lord.

The word of the Lord to me today is a cliché: I never promised you a rose garden.  

Which interpreted means: Life isn’t always perfect, battles and tough times will come, but I need only…to be still.

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Say Mercy

Notice my mom's eyes on the ever mischievous brothers?

Mercy me!

When I was a young tormented baby sister, I remember my brothers would sit on me, pin my arms to the ground, and proceed to repeatedly poke a finger into my chest and taunt me. “Say mercy. Say mercy.”

Looking back on it, I think the objective my brothers had in mind must have been to see who would actually cry out for mercy and end the torment, me or my mom. Was I tough enough to endure the torture before my mom had mercy on me and put an end to it?

“Ricky! Gordon! Leave her alone.”

I win… that round anyway.

Humanly speaking, mercy is the act of compassion, particularly on the helpless. In the illustration above, my mom was the one who truly exercised mercy. If I had called out mercy, it would be better defined as forced surrender because I knew neither brother would truly ‘have mercy’. If they did, they’d quit the moment my chest was red or tears slid into my ears whether I asked for mercy or not.

Mercy is a very confusing term. I can’t even say that I fully understand it but I’m going to give it a shot anyway.

Let’s start with the Mercy Seat that is known as the lid of the Ark of the Covenant. This is where blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement. The Mercy Seat represents God’s throne.

When I hear the words, God’s Throne, in my mind I hear judgment. If the Mercy Seat represents God’s Throne (judgment)…and blood is sprinkled on it for atonement of sin, then it seems to make sense that if God accepts the Atonement offering, then He is having mercy on the sinner and giving them another chance.

In the Psalms, David prayed many times “Oh Lord have mercy on me…” and believe me, I’ve prayed that prayer a time or two before I even really understood it.

I remember praying it out loud one time when I was dealing with past issues wrapped in unnecessary guilt. A friend wrapped her arms around me and let me weep, deep, groaning, tormented sobs. Her arms around me were filled with God’s mercy for me. I thought I was repenting, asking for forgiveness, but now that I look back on it, God showed me what mercy really is. He showed me that the past is the past and just because I revisit it on my own and feel the weight of guilt doesn’t mean He hasn’t forgiven me.

Someday everyone will stand before God’s judgment throne where mercy will no longer play a role, but for now His throne IS the mercy seat.

Hebrews 4:16 says “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Let me leave you with a video of a song that reminds us not to be timid before the mercy seat…but to come running. His arms of mercy are waiting to hold us and free us from the torment of unnecessary guilt of forgiven sin.

 

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No More

It’s that time of year again. The calendar is about to be replaced and plans to set New Year’s resolutions are brewing in your brains even as you read this. Before you start jotting down that list that looks remarkably similar to the one you lost somewhere last January, even though it included Get Organized, let me share a few thoughts on the whole resolution idea.

Did you know that almost half of Americans make these vows to begin the year with? And of those, one third break them before the groundhog pokes his head out of his hidey-hole. Let’s take a gander at the top ten resolutions, shall we?

 The Top Ten Resolutions for 2011:

1. Stop Smoking

2. Get into a Habit of being Fit

3. Lose Weight 

4. Enjoy Life More

5. Quit Drinking

6. Organize Yourself

7. Learn Something New

8. Get out of Debt

9. Spend More Time With Family

10. Help People

Let this simmer on the back burner for a moment while I chase a rabbit trail, so to speak.

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I'm All Shook up...

Dr. Elisha Mvundura, M.D.

Now Faith...

A few weeks ago I needed an unexpected surgery. My new surgical doctor is from Zimbabwe. He has lived in the United States for over 17 years and speaks very good English, but with a thick accent. His smile, humor, and semi-sweet dark chocolate complexion fascinated me. Maybe it distracted me a bit too, because I struggled to grasp hold of what he said sometimes.

He told Les and me from the very beginning; if we didn’t understand something he said to please stop him and ask questions. He didn’t want us to leave without understanding all that was happening to me.

Every word that came from that doctor’s mouth I understood. He spoke English. But how he strung them together, or emphasized a word in his sentence structure made it difficult for me to understand. I asked questions often. One time he laughed and left the room to grab a model of the body part in question. Another time he smiled that Mickey Mouse sort of grin, flashed his pearly whites and said, “Let me draw a picture for you.”

I was told by other hospital staff that this doctor was very good at what he did. He can be a bit difficult to understand, but they assured me he was the best one for the job. Because of their experiences and previous knowledge, I had faith in my surgeon’s abilities.  What could have been a very complicated surgery, he was able to perform perfectly, even with unexpected issues.

As a child, I remember quoting the infamous faith verse from Hebrews 11:1:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Every word in that verse is English, yet I really didn’t understand it when it was all strung together like that.

It’s been said often when someone is struggling with a trial in life; “I have my faith in God to hold on to.” Let’s see…. Hold on to something you can’t see…but hope for?

What if there is a crisis of faith? Perhaps you’ve grasped at that substance you hope is there but cannot see and felt only thin air.

We’ve had some doozey winter storms blow through where we live already this year. Branches litter the yard and roads after being pounded all night by high winds and heavy rains. The morning after one storm, we were rattled by a magnitude 4.2 earthquake where the epicenter was about 20 miles from us.

In our personal lives we weather one storm, recover, and the next thing we know another storm is hitting. We look around us at the debris and before we can begin to clean it up, the earth shakes beneath our feet.

Have I ever experienced a crisis of faith? Sure, more times than I care to admit. I’ve felt like I was grasping in thin air searching for that substance of things hoped for…but the evidence of things not seen…

Remember why I had faith in my Doctor? I heard the words of others verifying his abilities. Why do I hold on to my faith in God to take care of me? Because of the words others share that verify His abilities. Hebrews 11 is full of words about others who put their faith in God. The Bible refers to their words as a testimony. Maybe I’ll save that word for my T post.

Sometimes life’s storms can really shake us up, but let me close with this chewy verse:

Hebrews 12: 26b & 27 He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 

I can’t touch it… but even when I’m all shook up…my faith is firm.

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Something Nice...

Shortly after Les and I were married, Bambi was being shown in the theatres.  Now back in the day, it was not uncommon for some Christians to abstain from attending “movie houses”.  I didn't attend a movie, except for the movie Joni (Erikson), until I was married. No, I didn’t get married in the dark ages, but things were a lot different in 1981 than they are now.  Minimum wage made a huge jump from $2.30 to $3.35 an hour, a postage stamp was .15, computer technology was excited to offer 16 kilobytes of memory, expandable to 256k, mobile telephones in cars (car phones) were hitting the market, and I walked 2 miles to school uphill both ways…if I missed the bus.

Back to Bambi… In that day, movies would play in the theatre and eventually, they would end up on TV. But Bambi was a huge box office hit. It was never going to be on TV. Seriously, the movie was made in 1942 and Disney refused to play it on the Wonderful World of Walt Disney, family television at its best in my opinion.

At first, Les didn’t want to take me to see Bambi. That was sissy stuff in comparison to the likes of Raiders of the Lost Ark, or Superman II. Eventually he caved in to my pleas and I was as excited as a 6 yr old sitting in the dark theatre with my popcorn and soda. When Bambi was shot when man [was] in the forest, I determined not to be a sissy and choked on the lump in my throat. Much to my surprise, I heard Les sniff, and even though it was dark, I could tell when I looked at him he was crying.

I absolutely adored the movie. In high school a few friends nick-named me Thumper. I didn’t get it until I “met” the mischievous character with the big cheeks.  One of the things that stood out to me, and made Thumper a role model for this eighteen year old young bride were these infamous lines:

MRS. RABBIT: What did Father tell you this morning?

THUMPER:  If you can’t say somethin’ nice…don’t say nothin’ at all.

I think Thumpers’ father read the passage from Ephesians 4:29-31 for the Rabbit family’s morning devotions that day in 1942, and Mrs. Rabbit found a life moment in which to reinforce Mr. Rabbit’s godly leadership

.

The letter E Christianese post in my iBlog series is Thumperology at its best, because Thumper taught me to EDIFY.

Ephesians 4:29-31 says:

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.  And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Our words are very powerful. Stick and stones may break our bones…but words will forever hurt. I mentioned this in my letter B post concerning how the very words that come from our mouth speak blessing and cursing.

To edify means to instruct or improve morally. Edification is the act of guiding morally for improvement, to uplift another. How can we improve one another morally if we are wagging our tongues in gossip, spewing bitterness from a hard heart that hasn’t forgiven?

Father forgive me for times when I’ve lacked in the edifying department and help me to remember the lessons I learned from Thumper. If I can’t say somethin’ nice…

I’ll try harder to edify, how about you?

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