Messes Everywhere - But for One

When I think of messes, I think of toddlers learning to eat on their own. All the food goes everywhere except their mouths. I think of someone cooking in the kitchen who doesn’t “clean as they go” and the amount of pots, pans, utensils, bowls around when they are done their creation. I think of me when I am done painting a room. There is paint everywhere from my head to my toes.

 I think of people. People are messy. People say things, not nice things, which leave a lasting impact on others. Hearts are hurt and damage is done. People do things that make you shake your head and wonder “What were they thinking?” People are messy. 

 Hearts are messy. My heart is messy. One minute I am filled with anger at something and the next I am feeling compassion. Our hearts can be stubborn and want their own way and then in the next minute letting go of the stubborn and relinquishing control. If I dig down into the motives of why I do things, I see that my motives are not always Christ-like. Sometimes, they are genuinely filled with love. Other times, not so much. Hearts are messy.

 One thing that is never messy is God. Now, I know from experience that following God is often messy. This is because when we follow him it involves people and our hearts…which are messy. But God himself is not messy. We know who He is and what He is about.

 We know that God loves us. In spite of who I can be at times (not pretty), He loves me. Truly, give his own heart on a cross for me, loves me. He would move worlds if He thought it would be for my good. What he wants more than anything is to spend time with me and talk. 

 God also loves every single person on this planet. Every person. No matter how good or how bad they are. They are loved equally, unconditionally, giving his own heart on a cross for them. 

 What does God want from me? He wants me to love like that. When someone does something that makes me shake my head and want to put distance between us, I go to God and say “What do you want?” And He says “Love them.” My messy heart does not want to do this. I am comfortable with the distance. But if I want to be like Jesus, if I want to be like love, then I need to do it.

 The other cliché we hear all the time is “What would Jesus do?” I’d like to rephrase that and have us ask “What would love do?” In our world of hurt, and there is a lot of it, we need to take a step toward love by reacting and reaching with love. 

Joy

 ““This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.” John 3:16-18 MSG

A little over a week ago a friend of mine lost her battle with cancer. I am still having trouble believing that she is gone. Her death was pretty sudden. Even though she had cancer, her heart stopped which was what caused her death. Even in this, God answered my prayer. We were praying for her healing but I asked him if he wasn’t going to heal her to please not let her suffer more than she already was. And while I miss her, I am thanking him that he took her suddenly and she didn’t suffer any more.

She was definitely an interesting character. All throughout her journey with this disease, she never gave up. She kept working. She kept living life. She fought. I really don’t think I ever heard her complain. When I asked how she was doing she’d say something like “Oh you know, a little nauseated from the chemo but I’m ok.” And then she’d say “How are you?” 

Even to the very end she would always ask “How are you?” I would wonder at this. Sometimes when I get into a mode where I am complaining about something going on in my life (way more trivial than fighting cancer), I forget to ask people how they are because I am so focused on me. And here was Joy, still thinking of others.

When the church would help folks who needed a hand, she would ask how she could contribute. Fighting cancer, doing chemo, working and she still was volunteering to help. 

We had some conversations at the end about what comes next. She wanted to talk about salvation and Heaven. Joy became very serious about her faith when she was diagnosed. She wondered if God wouldn’t accept her because it was later in her life. We talked about the thief on the cross who figured out who Jesus was at the last minute. Jesus didn’t say “Sorry you haven’t believed long enough.” He said “Surely, today you will be with me in paradise.”

She wondered if waiting until she was diagnosed was a problem. She used to say “You know, like buying fire insurance at the last minute.” There is the story of the prodigal son who didn’t turn back to his father until he was at the end of his rope. And the father ran to him and welcomed him with open arms.

And then we read today’s verse. And I think she knew. She knew God loves her and that he wants her to be his no matter when, no matter how. God isn’t there pointing fingers telling us we didn’t do it right. He is welcoming us. He is saying “Come. Just come. I love you.”

As we mourn Joy’s loss, we are comforted in knowing that we will see her again. We will see her in Heaven when we all get to celebrate Jesus together. I still miss her here but I know she is in a way better place and after I spend some time with Jesus, I am going to hang out with Joy and hug her tight!

It's Not a Program

18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,[b] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT)

One of the hardest parts of planting a disciple-making church is that we don’t actually know what we are doing. Most of us don’t really know what it means to make disciples. There aren’t many true disciple-making churches as models…which actually turns out to be a good thing. Why? Because it’s not a program. You can’t make it a program. It’s connecting with people and meeting their needs where they are. And what is their biggest need? Jesus. There is no agenda. Just love. And therein lies the problem. Love doesn’t come with an agenda. EVER. It doesn’t come as part of a program. It comes from your relationship with Jesus. It comes from the Holy Spirit.

Here are a few things Called2Be has learned so far about planting a disciple-making church. It takes lots of prayer, trust in God, pleading for the Holy Spirit and obedience to what God is saying. There is no program. There is no plan to follow. The only thing we can do is to pray, listen and act on what we are being told.

As you can imagine, this is hard. It’s hard because well….I am a planner. Now, there is nothing wrong with planning as long as you understand you are not in charge. You have to be willing to change your plan on a moment’s notice if you are listening for the Holy Spirit. It’s hard to do that. Especially when it is an organization doing it. God has truly blessed our little group with people who when they think the Holy Spirit is leading, will change our plans on a dime and do what He’s saying. Some examples of that? When one of our members experienced the death of his Mom, we cancelled our church service and all went to the funeral. It meant so much to him. That is discipleship.

When another member who has cancer needed help, we cancelled our outing and all showed up at her house to help her unpack (she just moved), cleaned her house and went and bought her groceries. During this event, I got Covid. My husband and I couldn’t go. This amazing disciple-making church went anyway because that is what the Holy Spirit was saying to do that day. That is discipleship.

It is our human tendency to focus on things like the number of people attending your functions. This is very deceptive. The miracles are in the heart. The miracles are in the sacrifices we make to love on and help others the way Jesus asked us to.

So what does a disciple-making church look like? It looks like a group of people who are praying, asking for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, spending time in the Word and then going. Going where? Where ever Jesus says to go that day. As we spend time in our world, whether at work, in our neighborhood, running errands, with our people, we ask ourselves every time we encounter a human “Did Jesus put him/her in my path?” “What is my role right now? How can I help? How can I love?” “Jesus, what do you want here?” (That praying while you are watching is huge.)

Sometimes our role is to not be a jerk when things don’t go our way. Sometimes our role is simply to connect with their eyes and let your eyes smile at them. Sometimes Jesus sends folks who want to know him but don’t know how. What should you do in all of these cases? Pray. Engage. Participate. Share life together.

The lie we believe is that we don’t have anything to offer. This is a lie straight from hell. If you are in a relationship with Jesus, you always have something to offer. Every day Jesus gives you something. That is something you can share. You don’t have to be an expert. You just have to be in love. With Jesus. He’s amazing.

Reflection

Recently, I came down with Covid. I’d like to join the many people who have gotten it to say this virus is truly the spawn of Satan. And I got a milder version of it. It affects every part of your body from your brain to your ankles (joint soreness).

As I’ve been recovering….still not fully recovered yet….I’ve been thinking about The Thought for the Day blog. I don’t write as often as I used to. I pondered this and asked myself and God “Why not?”

A lot has happened in the last 2 years. We planted a disciple-making church, Called2Be. The disciple-making part is huge. We don’t look like a traditional church in so many ways. We spend a lot of time praying and asking God to show us what he wants this to look like. We spend a lot of time waiting for an answer.

In addition, I co-founded a non-profit called Rooted Pathways. Rooted is a faith based organization that is helping people who have had a life event get back on their feet and thrive. We actually founded it a few years ago but in 2021 God began directing us to do something with it.

And finally, I am bi-vocational….not sure tri-vocational is a thing…but bi-vocational in that I run my business and also do ministry. I’m not sharing all of this so you see that I am slightly crazy… I’m sharing it because in all of this there are so many God stories.

So why haven’t I been sharing them? It’s what I love to do….share God stories. There are lots of reasons really. One is that I’ve gotten busy, really busy and slowing down long enough to write isn’t my first thought. Another reason is that a lot of the God stories are personal to people. That makes me pause because well, it’s personal. You see, God is still working miracles! They will blow your mind…they blow my mind. But often they are personal to people and I want to make sure I am respecting people’s privacy.  Here is another thing I’ve come to realize. Many of these miracles are done in people’s hearts.

We too often look for the big blinking neon sign that says “God was here.” We want to see those kind of miracles like when Moses parted the Red Sea or the chains fell off Peter in prison. We look for those. But the real miracles are the ones that happen in our hearts. Do you know how hard it is to change the human heart? We can’t do it. Only the Holy Spirit can do it. And when He does, that is a true miracle.

All you can do is the Happy God Dance! I have been able to do the Happy God Dance a lot because He is still there, still changing hearts, still answering prayers and still doing miracles. Praise His Name!

I’ve asked God to help me prioritize so I can write more. There are so many stories. I am sure He will show me ways to tell His stories while protecting folks. I just have to slow down so I can hear what He wants to say.

In the meantime, look for Him. Look to see where He is working….join Him and then we can all be doing the Happy God Dance while we Praise His Name!!! WOOOHOOOO!

What Philip Didn't Do

Acts 8:4-8, 12, 26-36, 38-40 (NLT)

“But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went. Philip, for example, went to the city of Samaria and told the people there about the Messiah. Crowds listened intently to Philip because they were eager to hear his message and see the miraculous signs he did. Many evil spirits were cast out, screaming as they left their victims. And many who had been paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city.

But now the people believed Philip’s message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. As a result, many men and women were baptized.

As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.” Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.

The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter. And as a lamb is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. He was humiliated and received no justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?” So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.

As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?” He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the town of Azotus. He preached the Good News there and in every town along the way until he came to Caesarea.” (V 26-36, 38-40)

As we (the folks in our Bible Study group) read this story, we talked about the things Philip didn’t do. These thoughts stayed with me so much, I had to share. Often as we walk through our lives, we are called to do things for God. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t. When we don’t, we make excuses. I can say “we” because I’ve talked to enough people to know this is definitely a “we” problem.

Philip didn’t do that. Here are some of the other things he didn’t do.

1. Philip was in the middle of a revival. He performed miraculous signs. He cast out evil spirits, healed the lame, people listened to him and accepted the Good News of Jesus. The city was filled with joy and people were hungry to hear more. Many were baptized. When God called Philip (v 26), Philip went. He didn’t say “I have this ministry going here. I can’t go there.” He didn’t insert his agenda into God’s plan. He heard God call and he immediately left.

2. God told him to go and join the Ethiopian. Philip didn’t make excuses about the cultural differences that would get in the way…he was different after all, from a different country, probably spoke a different language. He didn’t talk about the social differences….how the guy was an official in the Queen’s court or that he was in a chariot and Philip was on foot. He didn’t see the differences between him and the Ethiopian. He saw a man that Jesus wanted him to connect with so Philip ran to him.

3. When he heard the Ethiopian reading from Isaiah, he engaged him asking questions. He didn’t assume he knew what the Ethiopian needed. He sought to understand.

4. When he asked if he understood what he was reading, the Ethiopian said “How can I understand it if someone doesn’t explain it to me?” Philip joined him in the carriage and began to unpack the truth of Jesus to this man. He didn’t say “You know, I am not educated and really, I am sure there is someone who knows this better than I do. Maybe you should ask them.” He didn’t let his thoughts about his capabilities deter him from his calling. He stepped into this role, given to him by Jesus, and trusted the Holy Spirit to help him.

5. After Philip explained everything to the Ethiopian, the Ethiopian requested to be baptized. Now. Philip didn’t flinch. He didn’t question whether he was ready, he didn’t make him study further. He stopped and baptized him.

6. Afterward, God swept Philip away to continue his service where God needed him. Philip continued to evangelize and minister to people for the rest of his life. He didn’t talk to God about his schedule. He didn’t tell him he’d really done a lot lately and maybe he needed a break. He went. He obeyed. It was his life.

What’s my takeaway from this story? I can only pray that I, like Philip, pour my all into following Jesus. No excuses. No whining. Trusting that God is going to be faithful to His promises. I can ask him to grow my belief in who He is so that nothing stops me from His mission. I worry too much about how it’s going to work out instead of trusting, like Philip, that Jesus has this. My job is to obey.

What about you? What did the Holy Spirit say to you as you read this story?
What are you going to do about it?

Just Do It

27 So God created human beings[d] in his own image.
    In the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”

29 Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. 30 And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened. Genesis 1:27-30

These texts come after the story about creation. God created everything we need for life. He gave us light, air, food, animals and he created companionship for Adam.

As I read through this the thought crossed my mind.... God created all we needed to thrive. He provided for what we would need to “be fruitful and multiply.” He didn’t tell us to go figure it out. He didn’t say, “Look, here’s what I want you to do now go make it work.”

He said, “I’ve taken care of what you need. Now go and be fruitful and multiply.”

He does the same thing with us today. He provides and he says “Go share my love. Tell others about me. Be fruitful and multiply.”

Often we sit around waiting for the right time, the right situation, the right talent, or the right _________________ (fill in the blank). We have it backwards. He has provided for us. Now, we need to just do it. And in case you are wondering….He’s provided the Message, the Gospel. That’s all we really need.

No matter where you are, what you are doing, employed, unemployed, single, married, rich, poor…..you’ve got what you need to share Jesus…..what do you need? Only Jesus!

Final Answer

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die. John 11:25 NIV

We were all gathered in her room at the hospital. The past weeks had been full of ups and downs. One day she was doing really well. The next day not so much. So many prayers were prayed for her. So many whispers of “Please help her.” Every day we came. Every night in between a fitful sleep we pleaded for her healing.

On one of these days as we sat in the hospital room listening to the monitor alert as her oxygen levels went up and down, I prayed “God, we’ve been here praying. She seems to be getting worse. Is this your final answer?”

His response, “Jesus was my final answer.”

She passed away not too long after that night. And our worlds are not the same. There is such pain and sadness in the hearts of many. But, here’s the really wonderful news. She embraced Jesus and believed in his resurrecting power. And so while we are mourning her passing, the Final Answer has stepped in. He covered her with his blood and she is resting in Him.

Celebrating Christmas is harder this year. But here’s the thing. Jesus’ birth was God implementing his plan to save us. It was the start of the biggest miracle EVER. It was culminated in the biggest “I love you” statement of all time. Without the birth of Jesus, we would not have the hope we have that we will see her again.

So while celebrating Christmas will be harder because she will not be here with us, I want to try. I want to focus on the life we’ve been given because of Jesus instead of the death that is meant to break us. As hard as it is, we need to keep our eyes on things of eternity, not the things of this world.  This eternal hope is not just for her, it’s for all of us. Jesus’ Christmas gift to us loves us through the things we experience here into the life we will eventually live with him. I want to try to embrace this gift in my heart and remember the real reason behind the season.

Jesus, thank you for the best Christmas gift of all. You. Thank you for coming. Thank you for walking this earth and showing us who God is and how much we are loved. Thank you for making the ultimate sacrifice so we would be healed. Help us to remember all of it, this and every Christmas. In Your Mighty Name, Amen.

Choose

…then choose today whom you will serve. Joshua 24:15 (NLT)

The last couple of months have been hard. We’ve had two family health emergencies for two parents and the sudden death of an employee. It’s been an overwhelming six weeks. During this time, Nick and I, by the grace of God, have been able to stay connected spiritually. We’ve been praying and seeking God in all of this. We’ve been able to trust Him and hold there. Until…..

Until one day one of the family members called and initiated a not so nice conversation. There were accusations and very little listening. You know how these go. I’m sure we’ve all had them. Stress goes up, things are said and we’re off to the races.

I really struggled with this. I was hurt. Then I became angry and the old Elaine, the one God has been slowly removing, surfaced. I wanted to retaliate, remind the person of the facts, and an assortment of other things that kept circling through my head. Ever been there?

But, I knew I couldn’t. I was a child of God. That is not what He would have wanted. I started praying – a lot. As I prayed I heard Him speak. He said “I see you. I know you are hurt. But I have called you to something else. I have called you to die to yourself.” And I had peace. For a minute.

The next morning, the voices in my head started again and they were relentless. No matter how much I prayed, they kept coming back. I quoted scripture. I sang songs. But the voices would not stop. I asked God to take them away….but at the drop of a hat I was mad all over again.

One night, I woke up in the middle of the night and there they were….hounding me again. I said “God?” And I heard “Choose.” And I did. I said (out loud) “In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Satan go away.” I then started thinking about Jesus and singing a song about Him. I went to sleep.

The next morning, I was fine. Voices gone. They try to sneak back in now and again but I am now actively choosing Jesus every time. As I pondered all of this, I realized a couple of things.

We are walking through some hard stuff. All the while I was holding on to Jesus and had a peace that was truly miraculous. Then, this one little thing happened and sent me off into a wasteland. As I processed I realized that Satan knows us so well. He knows how to distract us from abiding. He knows our weaknesses and will exploit those at any chance.

I also realized that I can pray and I can read the Bible and I can sing to distract myself but in my heart, I need to choose. I need to choose the path that Jesus wants for me. There are a lot of things that are going to happen in our lives that are wrong. There are things that are going to happen that are horrible in this world. Geez, just a minute listening to the news can send anyone spiraling. We have a choice to make. How are we going to live our lives….on the inside…where no one can see it but God? How are we going to live out being a disciple of Jesus? We have to choose Him. Actively, not just with words but in our hearts. No excuses. Not matter what.