I’ve spoken of it on many other occasions: the fact that my upbringing causes me not to say what’s on my heart and mind because it’s seemingly impolite. Never mind the fact that it’s the truth. And especially never mind the fact that everyone else is intitled and can ram their opinions down my throat, in my face and stick it to my heart with a dagger, but I should smile and say, “thank you, have a nice day, please come again.”
Did that sound bitter? It’s really not. It’s just frustrating.
And so today as I study my way through Romans, God laid the deer image on my heart. I hesitated to publish my words. I could just use this as my own personal study; keeping my thoughts to myself rather than risking the chance at offending. But then I thought of Paul. Who was martyred for the Word of God and most of all Jesus Who died for me. Why should I keep silent about the angst in my heart and my desire to see the lost come to the saving grace of Christ. The fact that I want them in Heaven with me. The only way to do so, is through the word of God.
I had just heard Paul say, only a few verses before. “For
I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.” Verse 16 of Chapter 1.
And so in love, I share my heartfelt plea to those who have made homosexuality their life style. And my honest opinion that the use of the rainbow for the pride agenda is a slap in the face of God, for which someone will stand accountable for.
The rainbow was a covenant symbol between God and man in
Genesis 9:
11 And I
will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any
more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to
destroy the earth. 12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I
make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for
perpetual generations: 13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token
of a covenant between me and the earth.
We don’t speak in that phraseology today. “Covenant” isn’t a
word you often hear. Even by definition, it doesn’t mean in man’s terms what it
meant in God’s. Because God’s covenant’s will stand the test of time.
This weekend is mine and David’s 39th wedding anniversary. It’s hard to imagine that those two kids who walked across my parent’s lawn on August 16, 1980, and said their vows have survived what we have. It’s not been easy, and it’s only been by the grace of Almighty God. Divorce would have been easier at times than fighting through the battles we did. But we made it because we both believe in the covenant of marriage.
That bow (rainbow) God placed in the sky was a promise that God’s wrath toward sin would not come through in the flood again. God’s grace would flow through Noah to a world who didn’t appreciate it and God would offer His Son, Jesus Christ, as atonement one day for all of mankind. It did not however, promise that judgment would not come. It will.
I am sad to say that I will not buy anything with a rainbow
on it. I just can’t. The pride agenda has tarnished that beautiful image of God
for me. But every time I see one in the sky, I think to myself, “They can’t do
that.” They cannot place a beautiful arch in the sky.” Not like my Lord!
And so today I took back the rainbow, and placed it over my
husband’s favorite critters. (although for him he likes them seasoned and
smoked on the grill.) For me I love the fact that they cannot change the fact
that nature knows and obeys God’s design.
And so I shar His word. In truth and love. ~ Shari. The Jesus Chick.
Questions? feel free to message me. Let’s talk about it.
Even
creation awaits it’s turn for redemption. Can you imagine that day?! I think
about it a lot. The more and more wicked this world gets, the more I think
about it. Perhaps you do too, or perhaps you’ve not given it any thought at all.
You may not even know the truth about creation through the Word of God. But
regardless we are all excuseless when it comes to the Creator.
And
unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and
hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat
of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it
all the days of thy life;
And
there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall
be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
Between Genesis 3 and Revelation 22 is a whole lot of history. A whole lot of sin and praise God! a whole lot of grace for those of us who know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. But one thing there is not, is an excuse.
Romans 1:20
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal
power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
This
morning as I sit in my little office at the back side of my house, I hear the
rain pouring down outside. It’s replenishing the ground, filling the rivers and
doing what nature does. Taking care of us. It’s also making my White Silky
chickens, tan, but that’s a part of nature too, even if I don’t like it.
I’m
not a big fan of Hell either. Neither is God. It was never His design for us.
And yet there it is, looming at the end of a life who denies the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Redemption.
Just like the end of time when the curse will be lifted from off this earth, so
will it be lifted from the souls of men when we spend eternity, forever and
ever in a curse free, perfect place with the Lord Jesus. We can do that because
He redeemed us by His blood sacrifice on the cross. He died for you, and for me
and for all others and that is why we are excuseless.
Think
about it…
If
you gave your child, that you love more than life, for the redemption of a
nation, would you be willing to accept anyone who wouldn’t confess what your
child did?
I
didn’t think so.
Yet, the world expects the Lord to. Even though He gave us not only His Son, but all of Creation that testifies of the Creator. It’s all written in His book, even science can’t deny it. But men can.
We can deny it because unlike creation we’ve been given free will. God wants those who want to be apart of His family. It’s that simple. Why would you invite someone into your home who didn’t want to be there?
I’m
extending an invitation to all who read my blog, to join me in Heaven when it’s
our turn. You have received your invitation. If you don’t come, you’re excuseless.
I’d
like to say you’ll be missed. But truthfully, I don’t think so; because there’s
no sadness in Heaven. But there will be a great sadness, pain and separation in
Hell.
The
greatest road anyone will ever travel: Romans Road of Salvation
ACKNOWLEDGE YOU’RE A SINNER
Romans 3:23 KJV “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory
of God;”
REALIZE THAT SIN DESERVES PUNISHED
Romans 6:23
KJV “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord.”
UNDERSTAND THAT CHRIST HIMSELF TOOK THAT PUNISHMENT ON THE CROSS
Romans 5:8 KJV
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us.”
BELIEVE THE TRUTH OF THE WORD OF GOD AND CONFESS IT
Romans 10:9
KJV “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved.”
PRAY AND ASK GOD TO SAVE YOU. TALK TO HIM…
Romans 10:13 KJV “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved.”
UPON THAT CONFESSION THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL MOVE INSIDE YOUR HEART AND STAY THERE UNTIL ETERNITY. AT WHICH TIME YOU’LL BE WITH THE LORD HIMSELF!
Romans 8:1 KJV “There is therefore now no condemnation to them
which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
BUT WHILE YOU’RE HERE, YOU’LL NEVER BE OUT OF HIS PRESENCE!
Romans 8:38-39 KJV “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor
life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor
things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
DID YOU TAKE THAT STEP? PLEASE MESSAGE ME AND LET ME KNOW! I WANT TO CELEBRATE WITH YOU 😀
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For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. ~ Romans 1:11-12
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It’s
what’s kept me going for 23 years. I believe with all my heart that it is the
most undervalued superpower of the church today. It’s why pews are sitting
empty and saints of God are living defeated lives. God never intended for us to
go through this alone. Even He had 12 friends.
Mutual
faith is a beautiful thing. Let me tell you what it looks like in my life.
Mutual
Desire
On
Sunday morning I’m with the local church. A body of believers that I stand doctrinally
in agreement with. We don’t argue. Haven’t for the 23 years I’ve been there, (which
for some churches is unfathomable). We’ve not argued because we’ve had strong
leadership and a mutual desire to keep Christ as the Head of the church. He’s
in charge, then we fall in line accordingly – Pastor – Deacons – Church.
If
everyone is doing what they’ve been designed to do, you don’t want to do what
someone else has been called to do.
On Saturday my heart begins to desire my Sunday morning time with God’s people. It’s genuine and I know that I’m called to serve in that place in my multiple positions. I don’t want anyone else’s! Believe me, God has placed enough on my plate. That’s what He does when you share His mutual desires.
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Mutual Foundation
When
Victory Baptist church was established in 1992, it came to be out of heartache.
A church split that was never desired, causing division among God’s people,
which was never intended. I came on board 4 years later. After the dust had settled.
I
came in from a church that had been established for decades. A church that
loved each other but had lost their mutual desire. There was no Kingdom
purpose. No foundation. (I don’t say that lightly) it makes my stomach turn to
think about it. But it is unfortunately what is happening to most churches of
today.
The
foundation of the church is to edify the body and seek souls to be saved. Victory
was built on soul winning, something we too have lost sight of over the years.
It’s easy to get complacent and become very comfortable with those we have.
Peter
sent thousands out from Pentecost. Can you imagine? These people in Rome were
of that lot and they were excited, and Paul was excited to meet them. He loved
where he was, but he desired to go where he had not been.
That’s
a lesson for us! I so desire to go where I have not been.
Mutual Faith
It
doesn’t matter where I go, I find those of mutual faith. Or perhaps God sends
them my way. I seldom ever go anywhere that I don’t meet up with God’s
children.
My
husband David and I went on the hunt of yard sales in the city last weekend and
low and behold, one after another I met with God’s people. What a blessing!
I
drew strength from them. They perhaps did not even know it. Or maybe they too drew
strength from me.
By
the same token at those sales I also met people that my soul bore witness that
they did not know Christ. I feel like I missed the boat because I didn’t take
the time to tell them about Jesus. I have friends who you’ll not be in their presence,
but a few minutes and you’ll know that they have come to tell you about Jesus.
They do it unashamedly, with bold conviction!
I
have bold conviction, and a big mouth. I know that I’m failing to use my
spiritual gift to do what God designed me to do. Tell the world about Jesus…
better.
I
don’t take lightly the web platform, after all, how many people has Paul
reached and continues to reach for the cause of Christ through the written
word. It too is a superpower. The point is, there is not only safety in numbers
there is power in numbers! Together we are an amazing team.
I
pray this has encouraged you! Feel free to share it and invite people to your
church. Let them know you’re a part of a great team too!
On my radar of hopes, prayers and desires for the past five or six
years has been an Albuquerque, NM trip, Not entirely for selfish reason, but I must
confess there is always some selfishness in my hopes and dreams, because they
become so very personal.
I will not say that my trip is in line with the desires of Apostle
Paul, because when Apostle Pauls said “by any means,” that was sometimes as a
prisoner on a boat with a shipwreck in the future! I am not that brave. And
while I would prefer a first-class flight, that’s a bit expensive too, so I opted
for a less than typical mode of transportation. The train. It’s a long trip,
but it’s much cheaper, and I think a little bit of an adventure. I’m always up
for that! Especially if it gets me in a new part of the country where God can
use me.
And so as I begin to study my way through the book of Romans, with
a heavy heart about more than a few things… this trip being one, Paul’s words
spoke to my already tender heart.
For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel
of His Son, and without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; – Romans 1:9
God is my witness, that although I fail Him miserably and I will
not say that I pray without ceasing… I cease. But, I do serve Him with my
spirit in the gospel of His Son. I am passionate about my role in the Kingdom There’s
something about traveling that makes my heart flutter with joy, because I know
it will be an adventure and I know that if I go in His name and in His will, He
will make things happen.
Why Albuquerque? Good question. And it deserves an answer. It was
6 plus years ago that I connected through social media with Radio man Dewey
Moede. God was dealing with Dewey’s heart to leave his job and go full time
ministry. I was struggling with that same issue. I still am. Although I’m full
time, it’s not quite what I had in mind.
Kind of like when Paul’s boat hit that storm. I’m sure he would
have preferred even coach tickets. He wasn’t expecting first class. But what he
got was the prisoner’s pass. I’ve felt like that many times in the past 5
years. I’m not asking for sympathy, I don’t deserve it, I just want to be real.
Paul continued in verse 10 to say, making requests, if by
any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to
come unto you.
And there it was. The train trip (at length) made sense, and the
fact that God could prosper my journey through the winning of souls or the
encouragement of the church made my soul rejoice. Some might say I’m making the
word fit the circumstances. I don’t believe that because the last thing I want
to be is out of the will of God. I will say that my circumstances fit into the
word.
When Paul wrote his letter to the Romans, he’d never met them.
They were a group of believers that left Peter’s conference, also known as “Pentecost”
and went back to their country and got busy planting churches and spreading the
gospel. Paul had hopes and dreams of meeting those he’d heard about, and encouraging
them in their faith.
He wanted to impart to them some spiritual gift! Me too! He wanted
to comfort them! Me too! The work of the ministry is a struggle. It’s worth
every bit of it, but there are days it’s not easy to go on. I spend much of my
time encouraging believers and ministries by offering them my help using the
gifts I’ve been given in music, graphic arts and speaking.
My desire is to do that more and more and travel anywhere the Lord
leads. Like New Mexico.
The price on that ticket stub is the cost today of the ticket
only, there are other expenses as well. It may go up as time goes by. I’m also not
going alone, I plan to go with my bestie Glo, who’s been a part of my ministry
from the beginning. If you’d like to contribute, that would be more than
awesome and more than appreciated. You can contribute through the Paypal button
below, or contact me directly.
If you’d like to be a part of the Jesus Chick Ministry, by prayer, financial or you’d like to know more about what I do through out the week, message me, I’m an open book! It’s the gospel.
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be
an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
Romans 1:1
And that’s all the further I made it before my mind started reeling. Thinking about Paul, who he was, who he became, and the fact I’ll meet him some day in glory! And the absolute fact that I am so not like Paul. He was so very committed to everything he did. It reminds me of the children’s rhyme:
There was a little girl who had a little curl Right in the middle of her forehead And when she was good, she was very very good. But when she was bad, she was dreadful!
Sorry! But that’s how my mind works. And that’s
kind of how Paul was. When he was a Jewish Pharisee, he was very good at being
very bad to the Christians, but when he became a Christian, oh my stars!!! that
same zeal that he used to persecute and kill saints of God, he used to spread
the gospel every where he went. He sowed seeds that would no doubt harvest a
mighty crop of kids for the Kingdom. Oh, that that would be said of me… or you!
We are people of purpose, but we tend to
forget it; or at least I do. Maybe you’re better.
As we continue reading Paul gives us more
insight on our purpose as he scribes his letter to the children of Rome.
The Gospel
Romans 1:2
(Which
he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
Malachi 4:1-6
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;
and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day
that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave
them neither root nor branch. 2 But unto you that
fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings;
and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.3 And
ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your
feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts. 4 Remember
ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all
Israel, with the statutes and judgments.5 Behold,
I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful
day of the Lord: 6 And
he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the
children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
That’s the
whole chapter, just 6 verses, but my what a kick in the pants and a reminder
that this story wasn’t new in Paul’s
day, and it isn’t new in ours, but what it is the prophecy fulfilled, for what
the old testament revealed. And Paul’s reminding the church of that very thing.
And there in those
6 verses we see the reminder of why we should be far more diligent at getting the
Gospel out. Just as Christ came the first time, He’s coming again; but this
time He will not be the gentle man that the world loves to view Him as. He’s
coming as King of all and Lord of all and He’ll judge the earth in righteousness.
And those who do not know Him as Savior, our chance to see them saved will be
gone. Who are we going to meet today that we’ll not see in Heaven? That’s a
sobering question.
The Good News
The good news is that though His
return is imminent, for the time being we still have time. So, what will you
and I do with it? I’m asking myself that question in all seriousness.
Romans 1:3-6
3 Concerning
his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to
the flesh;4 And declared to be the Son of God with
power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
5 By whom we have received grace and
apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:
If you’re saved, you’ve been
called. And unlike the iPhone, you can’t pretend you didn’t see it. You can
reject the call, as many of His children do, but somebody is going to suffer
the consequences of our disobedience. That’s the bad news.
The Grace
Thank God for it, I’m going to
need an abundance.
Romans 1:7
To all that be in Rome,
…or Mt. Zion, West Virginia
Grantsville,
WV
Windom,
MN
Albuquerke,
NM
Manilla,
Philippines
Marietta,
Ohio
Well, you get the picture.
beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace
to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Even in our failures, we are still His beloved.
He didn’t die for perfect people, else there would have been no reason. He died
for folks like us who failed before we were saved, and we’ve failed afterwards.
But the difference is, we now know the whole story. It’s been revealed to us
through His word that there is a purpose for us on this big ball of dirt! It’s
to tell the world about the wonderful news of Jesus. And that the evilness of
this world will be overcome. We will win the victory. But only those who know
Jesus.
For the greater portion of my ministry, which I feel
officially began in 2010 when I really felt the Lord’s calling on me to be full
time ministry, I really didn’t know what that ministry looked like. Couple that
with my Pastor’s (at the time) response, who said to me when I announced that
thought, “You can’t preach, Shari,” I was perplexed. I had truly never given
preaching a thought. I hadn’t given anything a thought; I just knew that’s what
God said. But I was ever so
directionally challenged.
Bible
College had trained me to outline, write and speak. Wonderful mentors had
taught me how to share the saving grace of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit
revealed to me my calling and I was set to go forward, but unfortunately in an
utter state of confusion.
Throughout
these years God has sent opportunities in abundance to serve. One such
opportunity is the FGGAM.org ministry. A news, views and avenues of faith and
life topics to keep your mind focused on God. It’s Co-founder, Dewey Moede, has
become one of my greatest friends and ministry partner’s over the past seven of
my nine years. He has been a large portion of the cup which the Lord has given
me to drink from. Dewey and I share 3 ministry drives that I want to share with
you today in hopes of encouraging you to find your place in the ministry.
Psalm 16:5
The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou
maintainest my lot.
Everything for God’s Glory
That’s Dewey’s life goal and ministry mission. He and his
wife Sharon (co-founder number 2) named their ministry For God’s Glory
Alone, when Dewey walked away from the security of a very nice income,
to live on Sharon’s nursing salary and faith. Those life decisions and that
sold out faith is what brings glory to God’s name. It’s a given opportunity to
share with the world that our Lord provides. He maintains our lot.
It’s the same purpose and drive that causes me to continue
on the Jesus Chick Mission, believing that God’s provisions will take me through
till Jesus’ return, or He calls me home.
You can find more information on giving a worthy contribution to their 501c3 ministry on the www.FGGAM.org website. And by the way… any contribution to the Jesus Chick will be of the utmost appreciation. For information on what my expense are, and if you’d like to contribute for the direct expenses, click here.
Anything for God’s People
I’m a born encourager. So is brother Dewey. It’s why we work
so well together. If he has a down day, my words encourage him, if I have a
down day, the same holds true with his words. We speak most every day in one
form or another, via phone or text. His ministry has needs that I can provide
through the gifts of artistic expression and graphic work that God has enabled
me to do. It’s a privilege. He promotes and supports my ministry, and together
we’ve become quite the duo for Jesus. FGGAM provides me the opportunity to help
a brother out and in the process minister to the world through the banners and
graphics I provide.
In this “all about me world,” even Christians have lost
sight of the fact that we’re here to help each other out through this life. Anything
God has given us the ability to do, we need to share it with God’s people.
Philippians
2:4
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on
the things of others.
Nothing Without
Accountability
Another great ministry attribute of FGGAM.org and one I hold
to with TheJesusChick.com.
But I say unto you, That every idle word that
men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
That’s the Word of God, and it’s a very scary word (or it should be) for those who don’t take it seriously. What we understand as ministry partners is that our convictions are more than just “notions,” they’re founded on the word of God. When we speak it, we want those who read our material to know that we’ve backed it up by the Word of God, and the resources that we’ve used for information gathering are trustworthy and honest.
When I stand at the throne of Christ, I want to hear Him
say, “Well done thou good and faithful servant!” I don’t want to hear Him say, “Seriously
Shari, what were you thinking?”
I hope these three attributes are a part of your life, and I
pray that our ministries edify you as we’re instructed to do!
They
used to say “There are no atheists in fox holes.” I don’t think that’s true
anymore; the arrogance and pride of man is shockingly ignorant.
We’re
in the second night of tent meeting at Victory Baptist Church, in Grantsville,
WV and while the church in the holler is feeling the Spirit of God move in a
mighty way, the world around us goes on, oblivious to the truth of God, that He’s
coming back. And you’d better be ready!
Psalm 14
1The fool
hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done
abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
2 The Lord looked down from heaven upon
the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek
God.
The context of this scripture
does not speak of men in general, but rather a specific group (Sennacherib’s
invasion of Judea) to which David is writing and directing this Psalm. Well, I
too could write and direct a Psalm toward specific groups of people that I feel
fall into the category of fools. But I won’t. They will not listen and my words
would offend and do little for the cause of Christ. So I’ll direct my thoughts
to those who perhaps will listen, the children of God.
While we would never say there is
no God, we will skirt on the issue of foolishness by pretending His return is
far, far in the future. So I pose these questions for you and I today.
If Jesus phoned you personally
and said, “I’ll be leaving Heaven in 15 minutes to call my children home,” who
would be your first call? I have to ask myself that question too. And why haven’t
I been more persistent about their salvation?
Would there be any materialistic
thing that you’d look at and say, “This is worth staying for?” Mmmm…. Not when
I got a mansion there waiting! However, you’d think that some of the things for
which I put great value on were worth staying for, because I sure waste enough
time on them.
My third and final question is
this… “How soon after reading this will we forget the questions?”
Okay…
so I feel like I should apologize for whining yesterday. It’s not that it’s not
in my character, it’s just not in my character to do it out loud. I always do
it in my head so the world thinks I’m super spiritual. Just kidding… they don’t.
But I like to think myself super spiritual sometimes; because then I don’t feel
so bad about myself when I realize I’m an epic failure. Now that I’m done with
that, let me tell you what I really want to do. I want to Psalm 13:6 it today!
Psalm
13:6
I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath
dealt bountifully with me.
So in case you missed my whining session
at the end of my vlog (video blog) yesterday, I was a tad emotional about the
fact that temptation in this world is hard. Everyone faces it, and I’ve had my
share lately when it comes to wanting to escape the will of God. That sounds
bad. I should want to be in the will of God, right? Well, I technically do,
until it’s a struggle. Like in the world of my finances and then I want to jump
this ministry ship and get a “real job.” I get in that mode because that’s what
the world tells me I should do. So this morning as I went merrily on my way, bible
journaling through Psalms I came upon David’s whining session. However in his
defense, his own son Absalom was trying to kill him. That really trumps my
reasons to whine.
Abandonment
Issues
1How long wilt thou
forget me, O Lord? for ever? how long
wilt thou hide thy face from me?
Forever? Have you
ever felt that way? When God does not answer immediately, especially in the
microwave society for which we live, the feeling of despair can take over
quickly. I want an immediate resolve so I can move forward. I want God to fix
this mess! But with that cry I have to realize that God didn’t make my mess. I
did.
Just like David. While
he didn’t cause his son to become his enemy, he caused himself to lack the confidence
that he had earlier experienced (before the sin with Bathsheba). Failing in our
walk with Christ causes the feeling of abandonment, not because God moved, but
because we’re not as close as we once were.
Advice
Issues
2 How
long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long
shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
The worst thing I can do is ask myself
for advice.
Taking counsel in my own soul will just
add insult to injury. I’m a little too close to the situation, don’t you think?
And yet when I don’t hear from God, rather than being still and waiting, I
talk. And talk. And talk some more. I’m
such a slow learner.
Ability
Issues
3 Consider and hear me,
O Lord my God: lighten
mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; 4 Lest
mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice
when I am moved.
Can you not hear the
whining heart of the Jesus chick? It’s pretty loud. “I’m dying here Lord!” that’s
what David said and that’s what I have a tendency to say. Because of my struggles
I don’t have the ability to get the things accomplished that I want to get
done. And because of that, I too feel like the enemy is rejoicing in my
failures and I’ve been moved out of the place I long to be in.
Unexpected Blessings!
So here I am sitting in my office this morning and God reminds of a pumpkin that’s sitting at the edge of my yard in a pumpkin patch that I didn’t even plant. I had pumpkin décor last fall and it stayed in front of David’s wood shop on a few bales of hay, until it decayed and David as he often does, he cleaned up my mess. He threw the hay, pumpkin and all at the edge of a field. The seeds from those pumpkins made it into the ground and bore fruit. It was so exciting when David discovered our unexpected blessing and showed it to me.
Huge Leaves!
So this morning I
hear… this mess too will bear a surprising fruit. Be Still.
5 But I
have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.6I will
sing unto the Lord, because he hath
dealt bountifully with me.
So let me unwind and
un-whine. God is good. That pumpkin is far from the only blessing in my life. I
received such sweet encouragement from a few friends yesterday.
I shall not be moved! Because the Lord has more than dealt more than bountiful with me. How about you? Do you have a pumpkin in your patch? Praise God for it. And run the enemy off the porch of your dreams. Thank You Jesus.
There hath no temptation taken you but such
as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted
above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
1 Corinthians 10:13
We all have them, yours are different than mine, but it’s still the same
emotion, days of victory and days of utter defeat.
There’s not any new temptations according to Apostle Paul. And even though
sometimes I think mine are so pathetic that everyone else has won their battle
with it, the scripture says I’ve gone through nothing that someone else hasn’t
already faced. You may be facing it today.
You and I are not that weird.
Satan does not have anything new to use against us that he didn’t have
in the day of Paul.
When I was a teen alcohol was an issue. Do you know that in Paul’s day,
the people of the church would come in and get drunk on the communion wine? If
you don’t believe me read 1 Corinthians 11. It’s in there.
It’s why the Baptist use grape juice. We can’t be trusted in the wine barrel.
How big of an issue is alcohol today? Not with teens only, but more so
with adults who should know better. It’s an issue that can so easily out of
control, and blind side the strongest of Christians even. Especially those
prone to addiction. For which I have that personality and it would take nothing
to get me over the edge of any addiction.
They didn’t have pornography as we do in Paul’s day, but they were so
brazen, they were having scandalous relationships to the point Paul had to
preach on it in 1 Corinthians 6 and it’s captured in the eternal word of God.
So Satan doesn’t have anything new there either, he just has a new outlet. The
internet. And while it’s done in secret with man, God still knows
Paul preached on corrupt conversations (Ephesians 4:29) How many things
could fall into that category? Gossip, anger, criticism?) Finance issues, 1
Timothy 6:10,
Tell me these aren’t the same issues that we’re facing today. There is
not new sin. Nothing’s changed since the garden. Man is still trying to make it
on his and her own, without getting busted by God.
I heard a really deep sermon on this topic this week. A lot of bible study had gone into it. I’m
not going to tell you that I’ve done a lot of studying. But I can tell you that
I’ve done a lot of thinking about how to speak on relevant topics of discussion
for today. And going into tent meeting I wanted something for my own life to
jerk a knot in me and say, “Shari, you can do better.â€
If you want to be successful, you cannot continue dragging your heels in
the dirt of this world, you’ve got to get up in the heavens where the air is
clean and the sky is clear.
We’re seated in heavenly places the bible says.
That may sound metaphoric, but it’s not.
This earth is disgusting. The preacher reminded us of a story of Billy
Sunday, who was asked by a woman why he found the need to hold revivals all the
time? And he asked her why she found the need to take a bath all the time? We
need a bath for the same reason we need a revival. Because we’re dirty.
So I wanted to speak on something that is relevant and something that we
can all agree is an issue. Dirt.
1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
The
Lust of the Flesh
John Gill described it as “All unchaste
thoughts, desires, words, and actions.â€
Have you ever seen a time when there
was more exposure to corrupt immoral behaviors? You can’t watch a commercial, a
television show, movie, or even a child’s cartoon that it’s not there. It’s not
only there, we don’t think twice about it. That is the scariest part. It’s on
us and we don’t even try to wash it off.
I’m not sure how much it affects your
world, but it certainly has been affecting mine. I don’t watch a lot of television
during the day, but late at night, Netflix has been my go to source for
entertainment. There’s hardly anything fit to watch. I finally resorted to
watching kid shows because I needed to get a break from “too much adult content.â€
I’m not that grown up. My mind goes places it shouldn’t go. I’m just being real…
And it always pops up in the middle of a sermon, or when I’m trying to be
spiritual. It’s like someone is trying to sabotage my relationship with God. I
wonder who that could be?
It ends up being two sabotages’. Satan,
and me. I don’t want too, but I do.
The
Lust of the Eyes
Sinful pleasures most generally begin
with the eyes. Covetousness, vanity, idolatry… if we see it, we want it. We
want to look like them, be like them, live like them… who are they? Anyone with
something we don’t have. It takes over
our thoughts and desires and soon God is pushed to the side for stuff… It’s
what takes people into a world of debt and destruction.
One poll that I read said that financial
issues were 1/3 (it was the leading cause) of marriages ending. I don’t think
that’s a shock. And I would dare to say that most of those debts came from the
lust of the eyes. $50,000 dollar cars are standard issues for families. And the
houses are beautifully insane.
Have you ever watched the shows where
people are looking for a new home? I’ve pretty much stopped watching them because
I couldn’t stand the bratty attitudes of the people who were appalled that a
home only had 2,000 square feet. My home is less than ½ that. I lived in a tiny
house before it was cool. Raised two girls here. And always felt inadequate
because of people’s comments about other people’s houses and the fact that they
unknowingly were speaking of me.
I’m not throwing stones. I have my own
wants and desires that I could spill a list of. Some of which I need, and some
of which, I just want. The lust of the eyes will take our eyes off what’s
important.
The final of the three is
The
Pride of Life
What seems to be meant is, “ambition
and honor.†Titles.
Again have you seen it any worse than
now when people are far less concerned about the ethics of work as they are
about their position. Children are brought up in a world of entitlement and our
next generation of employees just think they deserve a pay check for the same
reason they deserved a trophy. Because they showed up. Not because they
excelled.
The same thing is happening in the
church. People feel like they’ve done enough because they showed up on Sunday morning
and participated. They sang a song, they put their dollar in the offering, they
shook the Pastor’s hand and told him he did a great job, now. Bring on the week
and don’t think about it until next Sunday! And if you have a revival, don
expect them to be their every night because that’s just too much.
I can guarantee some of our people feel
that way, and I’m not worried about saying it, because I can almost guarantee
they’re not watching me. Most of them don’t know I’m even on here, or what the
Jesus Chick ministry is about.
This is where I broke down this
morning.
I know this is what I’ve been called to
do. But … those first two issues. The flesh and the eyes, have put me in a
position that causes my family great issues financially. I want stuff. And
stuff costs money, and I’m not really upset that I don’t have what I want, I’m
more discouraged because sometimes I don’t have what I need to ministry work.
And that causes me to want to go back into the world to get it. But there’s
issues.
So this is where it got very relevant
with me this morning. Do I trust God, or do I turn to man? And I think it’s
where we all are in this world of dirt. This world gets on us and causes us to
be uncertain about Heavenly things, because we can’t see them. It’s like my
glasses most of the time. They have so much dirt and grime I can’t see clearly.
Well, God cleared it up for me. I have to make a living… but not in the world.
And that’s where I need to focus.
I like to think myself
as humble, and then I have to ask myself “Are you really? And if you were,
would you think you were?” I don’t know. Sometimes I don’t think I’m fully
understanding of God’s opinion of humility, so God’s word in Psalm 10, verse 17
was a good launching point to understanding my humility level.
Lord, thou hast heard
the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine
ear to hear:
Psalm 10:17
Humble People Have Desires
I often think to
myself and tear myself apart for wanting stuff. And I’ll confess, my desire for
stuff isn’t always for God’s glory. Sometimes it’s just because this girl wants
to have fun. Much like the gift I received from my overly generous husband
yesterday who has always wanted to give me the desires of my heart, and I him.
It’s how we’ve
come to celebrate 39 years in just a few weeks. Which is why he bought me the Apple
® watch. He knows it’s been a desire of my heart. But then I often cannot
reciprocate gifts of such value because I don’t have a “real job.” You know…
one that pays money. So the guilt sets in. And it’s much the same with my
relationship with God. I feel guilty that I’m not better at life.
Humble People Have Disappointments
Mostly in myself. I’m sure there are humble people
out there who have great confidence as well as humility. I’m just not one of
them. So when I read that God prepares the heart, it made me wonder what I’m
missing that causes me to lack confidence and be disappointed with my
accomplishments. Why am I not fully prepared? Obviously God isn’t the issue, He
has prepared me; so how do I tap into it? I found that answer in 2 Timothy
2:20-21
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver,
but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a
man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified
and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.
And there it was in the honesty of God. I often
lump myself in with wood and earth, rather than gold and silver. I know that I
fail God again and again, and so does God. But rather than accepting His grace,
and purging myself, I stay in the condemnation of this world. Foregoing His
grace for misery. And how does that make sense? But it’s who I am, and I need
to do better.
Humble People Have
Discouragers
Some on earth, some in the spiritual realm, and
some in the mirror. But the latter of my verse says “God will cause
his ear to hear.” But for some goofy reason, I buy the lies of my
discouragers. Oh… I believe God hears. They can’t fool me on that, but my
problem is, I don’t feel worthy of an answer. And that would be true, if it were
my worthiness that matters. But it’s not. It’s the worthiness of the Savior Who
thought I was of enough value to die for. The discouragement comes when I allow
the sounds of the sirens of Hell to speak louder to my soul than the trumpets
of Heaven that proclaim God’s glory.
This act causes me to live far short of the glory
of God than I should, and doesn’t allow the world to see me living in the triumph
that a child of God should.
A lesson for me, and probably a lesson for you too.
Let’s practice it today!
