Reset

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105 (NLT)

Lately, I’ve found myself really busy. My day job has amped up in activity and my other job of living life for Jesus has done the same. I say there are two jobs when in reality, it is one job. My job is to live my life with all the activity in it for Jesus. 

Frequently, we compartmentalize our lives. We have our families, our jobs and our spiritual walk but we keep them separate. It’s no wonder we can’t see God moving. If we keep spiritual things in a spiritual box, how do we expect to see God moving in our circumstances or in the lives of the people we live life with?

Whether I am attending meetings with hundreds (not kidding here) of people or I’m standing at a sink washing dishes, it’s all a life with Jesus filtered through it. If I am leading a Bible Study or working through a schedule with a team for a deployment, it’s all God’s work. 

And when we see it that way, God gets free reign to move as he wants whether it be in work conversations or in a family member resting because I am doing dishes. God wants to be a part of all of it, not just a one day a week event.

So how do you live life keeping God at the center? For me, it’s my morning reset. Each morning I get up and spend time with Jesus. What I do isn’t so important....and that changes day to day depending on how I feel, but each day I come. And I reset.

I reset from thinking about my list of things to do to the people I will see that day. I get a reset from worrying about a particular problem to remembering that God is in charge of it all and he’s got this. I reset from looking at my overly full calendar to a mindset that this day belongs to Jesus and it will be what he wants it to be so I can let go. Mostly, I reset knowing I am loved and a part of a much bigger plan. I get to look at each day with excitement waiting to see what God is going to do. 

Resetting my human agenda to God’s agenda is how I can keep the messy life I live centered with one purpose.....a Jesus purpose.

All In

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” Isaiah 6:8 (NLT)

I’ve been thinking about Isaiah lately and this verse. Isaiah’s ministry was not easy. He had to go to a corrupt nation and tell them they were corrupt and they needed to change how they did things. He predicted their destruction. He predicted that nations would conquer them and to make matters worse, they thought these nations were more evil than they were. It wasn’t an easy job. Imagine trying to do this today?

But I don’t think Isaiah looked at that when he volunteered. He came face to face with the Holy One of Israel and he was changed. You see, when you come face to face with Jesus, when you get to know him and understand deep in your soul what he has done for you, something happens to you. In the depths of your being you are changed and suddenly, the things you thought were important aren’t important any more. The things you focused on become blurry and the things God wants you to see become prominent.

There is a pull inside you that draws you to a different list of accomplishments, to a different set of values, to a different definition of success. And while you know that this definition will not resonate with most people, it’s okay. Because you no longer want to satisfy anyone else but God.

This is what happened to Isaiah when he came face to face with the Holy One of Israel. He had no choice but to volunteer because he was so overcome with who God was, nothing else mattered. This is still happening. All around there are people who are saying to Jesus, “I’ll do anything. Send me.”

This is what discipleship is all about. It is not about a technique. It is not about a program. It is not about trying something new because you are tired of the old. It’s about digging deeper into your relationship with Jesus because you know there is so much more to this life than what you thought. It’s about being so overcome with love for Jesus that you say “Here I am. What do you want me to do? Send me.”

"What if" Fears

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)

Almost three years ago, God began to rock my world. I don’t mean that I just got to know him. He had whispered to me many years before and I considered myself a Christ follower. So did the people who knew me which is very funny if you knew my backstory…..but that’s another blog post.

I did want to know Jesus and I did follow him. And I kept asking him to know him more. I did really want that. And I guess, he decided to answer.

In mid-2016, the bottom fell out of my business. Along with that, the bottom fell out of my bank account as well. There is so much to that story, I could write a book. As I was stumbling along trying to figure this out, God kept saying “Trust me.”

In March 2017, my Pastor and friend asked me to go with her to a spiritual conference. I thought “Well, I’m not really working right now. I don’t have anything else to do so why not.” And I went. During that conference I felt God call. What does that mean? God spoke so loudly that he had something for me to do that I broke down sobbing when it happened. I cried through the rest of the day. Now, for those that don’t know me, I do cry but I don’t usually sob. In public. Uncontrollably.

People said God was calling me to pastor. I totally disagreed with that because just like I don’t typically sob, I’m also not your typical pastor material. I don’t say that in a derogatory way. Pastors are supposed to be gentle and not so opinionated (at least out loud.) Gentle and not opinionated are not usually used to describe me.

I was willing to say that God called me. But I was not willing to say to what. But that’s OK. God didn’t care. He just kept growing me, changing me and leading me into this calling of his. My job wasn’t to be able to describe it, it was to just keep walking the journey.

When people referred to me as a Pastor, I internally balked. I am not pastor material. But I kept walking toward whatever this calling was. Fast forward a few years. Lots of time spent with God, him growing, me walking (sometimes it felt like crawling (backwards)), training, reading and letting people speak into my life. And all of a sudden God said, “It’s time.”

We are planting a discipleship based church. And I am the church plant Pastor. It has taken a lot for me to write this post. I think this is why I haven’t written for a while. Because I knew I was supposed to write this and I couldn’t. I couldn’t because “what if?” What if I mess it up? What if this wasn’t my calling? I don’t know how to do this. My brain filled with “what if” fears.

Then God said. You can’t do it. Only I can. Look at me. Keep spending time with me and I will use you exactly the way I planned.

There is still a long journey ahead. And there is still part of me that wants to say that this is not the plan and something else will come up. But, in spite of the fact that I don’t believe this about myself, apparently, God is working.

And that is the really cool thing about God. If you can imagine it, put the plan in place and get it done, it was probably your plan and not God’s. If you look at it and think that is impossible and totally unbelievable, God was probably in it. The only thing to be afraid of then is that you start relying on your own strength.

I wrote this post because 1) God told me to and 2) because I want to be able to share what he’s doing. It’s exciting and terrifying at the same time. How cool is that? I also wanted to ask for your prayers. They are definitely needed and would be greatly appreciated.

Actually Alive

During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God. Acts 1:3 (NLT)

I can’t help but wonder when reading this verse what he did to prove to them that he was actually alive. The verse says he proved this to them in many ways. Just in case they didn’t get it the first or second time? Just in case one way convinced one person but another person who saw things differently didn’t notice? Maybe they were distracted during one proof so he did it again. Did he want to make sure they all got it so he showed them in many different ways? Again. And again.

That is so like Jesus. He shows up to each and every one of us in many different ways. There is not one way to know him. There isn’t a right way or a wrong way. Every time we experience Jesus is a good time. Every glimpse we see that he is alive and well, is a proof.

In my life, what moves me to know that he is alive, may not move you. And what you see as concrete evidence may not even be on my radar. Each of our relationships with Jesus is unique. Every time he speaks to us, shares with us, moves us forward is personal. It is a gift that he gives us every single day. Again. And again.

And I bet, just like he talked to the disciples about the Kingdom of God during those 40 days….I bet he’s talking to us about the same thing. Question is, are we listening?

What Is It For?

But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 (GNT)

Have you ever prayed to receive the Holy Spirit? Have you ever prayed that you would get a huge anointing of the Spirit? Have you prayed it for yourself or others? I have.

I pray for an anointing of the Holy Spirit all the time. I pray for a super duper portion. I pray it for me and for people I know. Heck, sometimes I even pray it for my whole church and for all churches all over….for God’s people.

Why do we pray this? I know I pray it because I want Holy Spirit power. Key word there is probably power. I want the Holy Spirit to move in such a powerful way that people know he’s in it without any doubt.

As I read Acts 1:8 I got stuck. I got stuck on what we are supposed to do when the Holy Spirit comes on us. It says When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power (WOOHOO!), and you will be witnesses for me everywhere. (WOOHOOs inserted are mine.)

There you go. I can be filled with the Holy Spirit and I can be filled with power. But wait. What am I supposed to do with it? Is it to make my ministry successful? Is it to get the church worship service to move people? Is it to get people dialed into my denomination or to grow the numbers attending my service? What is it for? The Bible says it is so I will be a witness for Jesus.

The definition of witness is to give evidence of something or to have personal knowledge of something. So, when we receive the Holy Spirit, we are supposed to share what we know personally, because we’ve experienced it. We are supposed to be out there, telling people about our Jesus and showing them how much he loves them. And, we are supposed to do it everywhere we go.

I know there is so much more to this than my brain can comprehend but I am now clear on something. When I pray for the Holy Spirit, I understand why I will receive it. I understand what I’m supposed to do when I do receive it. Share Jesus. Simple, yet powerful.

Mercy in the Messiness

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) Ephesians 2:4-5 (NLT)

Recently, I was reading through the story of Abraham and Sarah, specifically around God promising Abraham a multitude of descendants starting in Genesis 15. God promised Abram he would have descendants. Sarai tried to work this out on her own by giving Hagar to Abram to have children. Hagar gets pregnant and starts treating Sarai with disrespect. Sarai blames Abram. Abram tells Sarai to solve her own problems and doesn’t lead the family. Sarai is abusive to Hagar. Hagar runs away.

All of this chaos and all of this messiness caused by the actions and behaviors of God’s people. What struck me as I read though this was not so much what they were doing but what God didn’t do.

God didn’t tell them they messed up. He didn’t make them feel less than (they were actually doing that fine on their own.) He didn’t throw his hands up in disgust and walk away. He stayed.

He stayed. He let the consequences of their bad decisions play out and he showed up in the mess they had created.

So often we think we have to have all the answers. We think we have to present a picture perfect person to God so he can work in us and we can do what we are called to do. But that is not true. All we have to do is come as we are (messiness and all) and give God a heart that is willing. That’s it. Be willing.

It’s so simple yet we make it so complicated. And sadly, when we stay away because we don’t think we are good enough, only Satan wins. God’s message is always love and mercy. We are already given life by the grace so freely offered to all mankind from the beginning until Jesus comes. What’s preventing you from coming to Jesus now? Stop listening to the lies. Jesus has got you covered.

Faith Shared

All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us. Hebrews 11:39-40 (NLT)

We reach the end of Hebrews 11 and find out that all the people who have gone before us didn’t receive all that God had promised. The result of their faith was not complete. And if I am reading this correctly, it’s because we weren’t there yet. He wants us to realize perfection as well.

This makes a lot of sense. As the people that went before us walked the paths God gave them, they were in the thick of it. They were fighting battles, dealing with sickness, stuck in Lion’s dens, beaten and jailed. They faced all sorts of trials. When they were facing those trials, I am pretty sure they didn’t stop and say “Well, I will face this with faith so Elaine can read about it later and be encouraged.” 

They faced it because they believed in God and what he would do. The awesome thing about that though is the result of that faith. When they walked in faith, their example radiated to all those near them and to us many lifetimes later. 

Our acts of faith are never meant just for us. They are meant to glorify God which then impacts all those around us. Being faithful, living your faith each day has a deeper purpose than just getting us through the messy stuff. It is to be shared so that we can share Jesus (even if just in our response to life’s problems) with other people.

Not Dead Yet

Though Abraham was practically dead, from this one man came as many descendants as there are stars in the sky, as many as the numberless grains of sand on the seashore. Hebrews 11:12 (GNT)

I have to be honest. When I read this text I thought of the Monty Python I’m Not Dead Yet scene in The Holy Grail where they are going through each town picking up the dead. One man is slung over someone’s shoulder yelling “I’m not dead yet!” This made me laugh.

When this text says that Abraham was practically dead (it is translated similarly in other versions), it is referring to his ability to reproduce. God promised him a son and at age 99, he still had not had one. Sarah was 90. She was also physically unable to have children. So what do you do when God has promised something and it looks impossible? When you look at the situation and there is no human possibility it can happen? When you are too old? When your schedule/finances/location are shouting “NO!”?

You do what Abraham and Sarah did. You realize that you are not dead yet and if God says it’s going to happen, you do your part. Isaac was not immaculately conceived (if you know what I mean). Sarah and Abraham had to do their part even though from everything they could see, this was physically impossible. 

They did their part and then God did his part and his part made the impossible possible. 

Isn’t that what God asked them? Is anything too hard for the Lord? (Genesis 18:14)  Obviously, since Isaac was born the next year, the answer to that question is a resounding NO! 

This is the lesson for us today. We are not dead yet. When God asks us to do something, we need to remember that even though it looks impossible to us; it is always possible for God. We need to do our part.