Monday, June 27, 2011

Lord.....please raise up Nehemiah's! Make me a Nehemiah

Nehemiah 1:2-4 (NLT)
Hanani, one of my brothers, came to visit me with some men who had just arrived from Judah.  I asked them about the Jews who had returned there from captivity and how things were going in Jerusalem.  They said to me, "Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah.  They are in great trouble and disgrace.  The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down and the gates have been destroyed by fire."  When I heard this, I sat down and wept.  In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.

Back in the days of Nehemiah, walls meant security and safety.  Nehemiah was broken hearted that his homeland was in such disrepair and while he had a very nice job of being a cupbearer to the King, he could not just let his homeland be in this trouble.  He wanted to do something, so he made the appropriate first step of taking his concerns to the Lord through prayer and fasting.  Nehemiah was not just asking a casual question of "how are things going" and hoping he wouldn't have to stand around and hear the answer.  His concern was genuine and this concern took him to prayer and then God led him in an action plan that led to the walls being rebuilt in record time.

America is in trouble.  I am not so sure she realizes it....or if WE realize it, but she is in serious trouble.  My husband and I live in the Los Angeles, California area.  Just yesterday we were driving through Hollywood on our way home.  As we drove down Sunset Blvd we saw billboards of lesbians kissing (it actually was a advertisement for a brand of clothes...go figure), we saw billboards for new movies or TV programs.  Every billboard was either sex oriented or occult vampire shows or gross murder films.  We saw many folks sleeping on the streets, we saw a man digging though a garbage can looking for something to drink, shaking beverage cans to see if there was anything left in them.  We saw a city in bondage.  It was heart breaking.

There was one particular store we wanted to stop at.  We began to look for parking when my husband said that he didn't know if we were going to be able to go to this store.  I looked around and I understood why.  It was dark out and there were a lot of young people around in small groups that looked like they were up to no good.  We couldn't quite figure out what was going on, but we knew something was not right.  Finally my husband decided we would park in the "Jack in the Box" fast food parking lot, go in get a coke and then run in this store real quick since the store was right across the street and we would only be in there a few minutes.  We got up to the counter only to find this young man who had appeared to have some mind altering substance flowing through him making inappropriate comments to the lady behind the counter.  My husband kind of stepped right up to order in hopes of shutting this guy up.....he succeeded.  We got our cokes and headed out the door.  Approximately  25 feet in front of us was a man on a motorcycle who was fighting with this woman telling her to get on the motor cycle with him.  He yanked her pretty hard and was using some harsh language. She jerked away from the hold he had on her and started walking pretty fast away from this man.........more bondage

We passed the large CNN building where the news was scrolling across the building in big lights.  What was the story?  The celebration in New York.  Gay marriage signed into law......more bondage

It seems like this bondage to sin is more of a joke than it is heart breaking to most Americans.  I ask myself if I am like Nehemiah.....am I laughing about some of it, am I just shaking it off, or am I truly burdened.  Burdened enough to fast and pray over the trouble that my country,which I love dearly, has found herself in.

America's bondage in sin is the joke of every late night comedian. Many of those folk who don't find it funny find that in many ways they are in a state of apathy...."it's just how this world is today....what can you do?"  At times I am embarrassed to admit that I have had that thought cross my mind.

Nehemiah took his problem to the Lord.  He and the Lord worked together and things changed.  It took effort and sacrifice on the part of Nehemiah, but he was willing to sacrifice his comfort of living in the King's palace to go and work and pray and love people and confront people.  He looked evil square in the eye, unafraid, for he knew that the Lord was on his side.

Oh Lord, thank you for America, Father, you see the trouble she is in, the bondage to sin. Wake us up Father.  May we not find it humorous but rather see it as you see it......heartbreaking.  Give us a love for this country and her people.  May we be like your Son who had such great compassion, seeing the crowds through eyes of compassion, for they were like sheep without a Shepherd.

Take us out of our comfort zones and give us a burden for the lost living around us.  In Jesus name.

The most troubling thought is that most of those folks my husband and I saw last night will die and spend eternity separated from Christ in hell.  Hell is not a "state of mind".  It is a real place where real people who have rejected Christ, will reside forever and ever and ever.  Hope is abandoned at the entrance gates of hell.  There is no exit gates in hell.

What if each one would reach one?


Amen

To God be the glory





Wednesday, June 22, 2011

What is your vocation?


"Many people mistake our work for our vocation.  Our vocation is the love of Jesus." Mother Teresa

I read this a while back and it can change your outlook on your job if you take time to meditate upon the Truth in it.  God has placed His children in many different arenas performing various jobs each and every day.  No matter where He has placed us and what He has us doing, our #1 priority in our job description is the love of Jesus.

We can show the love of Jesus as we take orders in a busy restaurant or bagging groceries at the local grocery store.  We can show the love of Jesus as we change the oil in a customer's car or as we give medication to a patient as he lay in his hospital bed.

Every job is of equal importance when we realize that we all have the same job description....show the love of Jesus.

When we focus on showing the love of Jesus we will find that we can more easily tolerate our co-workers.  We see past what we see as their faults and we instead see their hurting heart or their need for Jesus.and find ourselves asking "What would Jesus do?."

I wish I could say I was an expert in this area.....I can't.  It is not easy.  But I am often reminded by my Heavenly Father that my vocation first and foremost is to show the love of Jesus.  I am working on it and I hope you are working on this too.

We can find satisfaction in our jobs when we take on the outlook of Jesus.  When Jesus looked out on the crowds the Bible says that He had compassion...for He saw them as sheep without a shepherd.

Matthew 9:35-38 (NLT)
Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom.  And He healed every kind of disease and illness.  When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  he said to His disciples, "The harvest is great, but the workers are few.  So pray to the the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask Him to send more workers into His fields.

Oh Father, you do not call the qualified.....rather you qualify the called.  We are Your children, called by You to work in Your fields.   Cleanse us and fill us up with Your Holy Spirit.  Send us out into Your fields to impact Your Kingdom.



Wednesday, June 15, 2011

"Are we there yet?" The eleven day journey that took 40 years

I have read the beginning of Deuteronomy hundreds of times and I still chuckle every time.  I will read from the New Living Translation in Deuteronomy 1:2-3.

"Normally it takes only 11 days to travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, going by the way of Mount Seir.  But 40 years after the Israelites left Egypt, on the first day of the 11th month, Moses addressed the people of Israel, telling them everything the Lord had commanded him to say."

11 days.....40 years!!!???  Road construction?  Traffic jam?   Didn't get good directions??? (perhaps the man was driving and he wouldn't stop and ask for directions?!)  Camel trouble?  None of the above?

Well, if you chose "none of the above" then you got the right answer!  So what was the problem?.....it was a heart condition.  Yep, a heart condition will definitely slow us down.  Think about our physical hearts.  I am in the medical profession so I've had a lot of experience with heart conditions.  People who suffer with them get slowed down.  They easily tire and get out of breath, they can't go the distance they were once able to when they had a healthy heart.

It's no different when we have a spiritual heart condition.  A problem with our spiritual heart attack will diminish our effectiveness for the Lord.

That is what happened here in Deuteronomy.  God's purpose was not to just transport a group of people to the promised land....He was looking for an obedience from His children once they arrived.  God won't take us where He wants us if our heart reveals that we have no intention of obeying Him once we get there.

If reminds me of organ transplant surgery.  A person who needs a kidney or a liver or some other organ is screened very carefully.  Why?  Organs are hard to come by.....most of the time somebody lost their life and through that death another person is given another chance at life through an organ transplant. We are looking at the potential candidate's history of compliance with medical care, as it will lend information on the likelihood of compliance with all that is involved in maintaining a transplanted organ.  If the person does not look like they would comply then they are not put on the list at that time.

What good would the promised land be if the Israelites were just as wicked as the nations already living there?

Are we looking for our Heavenly Father to take us to new heights.  We must be faithful and submissive right here where He has us.  He will test our hearts.  However, the test is never to harm us but rather to grow us and strengthen us so that He may transplant us to even higher ground.

Do you know that the first "transplant"  occurred on the cross?!  That's right.  You and I were in need of a heart transplant.  We were dead in our sins.  God have His Son to die so that we might have life!  What a costly gift!  Let's not waste that gift of a heart transplant that we've been given.  Let us be found faithful.

I'm pressing on the upward way
New heights I'm gaining every day
Still praying as I'm onward bound
Lord plant my feet on higher ground

My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay
Though some may dwell where these abound
My prayer my aim is higher ground

Lord lift me up and let me stand
By faith on heaven's table land
A higher plane that I have found
Lord plant my feet on higher ground.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Thy Word have I hid in my heart

Oh my goodness!  I was so blessed to hear this little girl this morning!  It takes me back to my childhood when I had folks teaching me the importance of hiding the Word in my heart in order that I might not sin against the Holy One.

This little girl is to young to understand just how much that Psalm is going to comfort her over the coming years as she grows up in this crazy world.  But I am just so grateful to have heard her.  The Word of God has been my life line and it continues to be as I go through some difficult times right now.

What about you?  Are you hiding the Word in your heart?  Don't miss out on the blessing of Scripture memorization.  It will be your comfort and calm in a sin sick world


Monday, June 6, 2011

Becoming a person of prayer

How does one become a "person of prayer"?  Does it mean that I lock myself in a room for hours praying.....it could mean that, certainly there is nothing wrong with that.  Does it mean I pray long beautiful flowery prayers that impress everyone......well others may be impressed, but I don't think God is impressed.

I want us to look at Nehemiah....someone I would call a man of prayer.  Please take time to read this wonderful book as it has numerous lessons that we can learn and apply in our own journey.  But for now, I just want to  point out this man's way of handling things.  I would call Nehemiah a man of prayer.

Nehemiah 1

Nehemiah is talking with some friends and he asks them how things are going in Jerusalem.  The news is not good.  vs 3 reads "Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah.  They are in great trouble and disgrace.  The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down and the gates have been destroyed by fire."  Nehemiah's response: 1:4 "When I heard this, I sat down and wept.  In fact, for days I mourned, fasted and prayed to the God of heaven."

Nehemiah 2

Nehemiah is still saddened by the bad news.  As a cupbearer to the King, Nehemiah spent much time in the presence of the King.  The King asked Nehemiah what was wrong and how he could help.
Nehemiah's first response:  2:4 "With a prayer to the God of heaven, I replied......."

Nehemiah 4

Nehemiah is facing opposition from enemies and they are mocking Nehemiah and the workers.
Nehemiah's response: 4:4 "Then I prayed"

Later in the chapter Nehemiah, once again, faces the harassment of these same persistent enemies.
Nehemiah's response 4:9-"But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves."

Later in the chapter when the workers are facing discouragement and are weary
Nehemiah's response 4:14- "Don't be afraid of the enemy!  Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious....."

Nehemiah 5

When Nehemiah defends the oppressed, this is how he deals with it
5:19 "Remember, O my God, all that I have done for these people and bless me for it."

Nehemiah 6

Nehemiah is facing heavier opposition- the enemies are trying to trick Nehemiah with the hopes of killing him.
Nehemiah's response 6:16- "Remember, O my God, all the evil things that Tobiah and Sanballet have done.  And remember Noadiah the prophet and all the prophets like her who have tried to intimidate me."

At the end of chapter 6 we read that the wall was completed in record time- 52 days! Verse 16 reads "When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated.  They realized this work had been done with the help of our God."

Nehemiah was a man of prayer from the beginning.  Before he followed his emotions and began such a great and costly task- He sought God.  Emotional decisions are not wise- we must step away from the situation and  ask God what He wants us to do.

When the King asked how he could help Nehemiah, Nehemiah took that moment to send one of those "911 prayers" to God before he opened his mouth.  I believe this speaks of the strength of Nehemiah's prayer life.  He had confidence in that "911 prayer"  because he had a strong prayer relationship with God.

When Nehemiah faced opposition, He could have argued and debated the enemies, he could have caved to intimidation and the work could have ended right there.  But Nehemiah prayed.  He fought the enemies with prayer.  This was a powerful weapon.  The enemies never saw this weapon with their eyes- but undoubtedly, this invisible weapon was the most powerful one Nehemiah had!

When Nehemiah found his workers discouraged and losing heart, the work could have hit a road block.  Nehemiah had wisdom and he encouraged the workers by reminding them to pray and remember God.

The end result was that the wall was completed and the enemies were humiliated.  The greatest thing is the enemies understood who was behind it all- THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.  

When we seek God's wisdom in our life and apply that wisdom, we will always ultimately come out ahead.  Those folks in our "world" will have no choice but to say "to God be the glory".

Don't set out to pray for a certain amount of time a day- just set out to pray each day
Don't set out to have a 10 page list of everything you are going to pray for- rather just set out to pray for people and needs as they are brought to your attention.

Don't only think of prayer as a time where you get away and pray.  
Rather think of prayer as dialogue with God throughout your day, while driving in the car, on your lunch break at work, waiting in line at the grocery store, etc.

Understand that none of the things I told you not to focus on are bad or wrong.  But, sometimes we get a little legalistic or we set the bar so high that we can't reach it and then we get discouraged in our failure and stop altogether.

As you start with goals that are easily reachable, you will find that you will crave prayer more and more and you will grow in the amount of time you spend with the Lord in prayer and how you pray.  In fact, it will grow out of desire and not even intentional growth.

We have been given an invitation to enter into the presence of the King.  May that humble us, encourage us, and draw us to the One who sent out that invitation.

To God be the glory


Sunday, June 5, 2011

Nothing between my soul and my Savior

I consider myself very blessed to have grown up singing the hymns.  I am not sure why so many churches have abandoned these beautiful songs and the stories behind them- but I can still play them anytime thanks to CD's!

One beautiful song has a chorus that goes like this:
"Nothing between my soul and the Savior
So that His blessed face may be seen;
Nothing preventing the least of His favor
Keep the way clear...Let nothing between"

How beautiful is that!?!

Let's look at this line "So that His blessed face may be seen".  As a child of God,  I am aware and I hope you are too, that without the Holy Spirit residing in me, I have nothing to "show off".  It is not my "blessed face" that needs to be seen.  I am only a vessel and it is the light of Christ that is to radiate through me.  That is one reason why it is vital that you and I have nothing between our soul and our Savior.

My purpose as a child of God, your job as a child of God is to shine!  We are be illuminated with the salvation story, the love of Jesus Christ and the message that needs to get out across the world.  There are many different ways of doing that.  God has called some to be preachers, some teachers, some homemakers, some medical professionals and so on......but at the core it is always the same.  We are to shine.

We know many things about the sun and the moon.  I want to use them as examples of what I am saying here.  The moon has no light of its own; it only reflects the light of the sun.

You probably have heard of a lunar eclipse.  That is when the moon passes behind the earth.  The earth blocks the sun rays from striking the moon. Basically, the earth gets in the way of the sun and the moon and the moon, having no light of its own, can't shine.

Wow, we can relate to this can't we?  Jesus is the sun, (the bright light)...we are the moon (we have no light of our own)....the earth represents sin.  When sin gets in our way of the sun (or the SON, Jesus Christ) we will no longer shine.

What are a few of the sins that crop of that cause blockage between us and the Light, our Savior?
1.) Pride
2.) Unforgiveness
3.) Activities that don't bring glory to God
4.) A loose tongue- (gossip, lying, slander etc)
5.) Submitting to temptation
6.) A lack of spending time with our Lord

These are just a few.....although when I think about it, I guess I would have to say the major problem that will block the light of Jesus Christ from shining through us is #6. - a lack of spending time with the Lord.

When we are spending time with the Lord we will find that the other problems will not so easily trip us up.

Just in case you've been hibernating-  let me catch you up to date...we are living in a very dark world!  The world just can't seem to get enough of the darkness.  But, the problem is not just "in the world".  The church has her own set of problems as many churches have forsaken their once strong stand for a "doctrine" that is not of God.  If there was ever a time when we need to shine and reflect Jesus Christ it is now....we do not have time to waste.

Let's take a moment to spend with the Lord and ask Him to point out anything in our lives that is preventing our light to shine brightly.  What a privilege we have been given to carry on the work the Christ left for us when He ascended to the Father.  Let's be responsible in the work He has given us to do.

If you are reading this and you do not know the Jesus I speak of, please don't delay in inviting Him into your life.  Click on my tab on having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  You will not regret this most important decision.