Liberty:Declaring Our Dependence

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." - Preamble to the United States Constitution

Today I’m reflecting on this nation which I’m blessed to call home. America has always opened her arms to the peoples of the world. We have always been generous, caring, and a true melting pot of ethnicity. Often we are not treated with fairness or justice by the world’s government leaders, in spite of our unfailing helpful response to our planet’s disasters and atrocities. It’s true at times our own citizens do not act with the highest of moral character. We are a nation of people that does not always do right -- enacting laws, then debating them; indulging in much too much excess, then frantically looking for solutions to cover our self-created problems. America is certainly not perfect. But, because Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is tightly woven into the core of our fabric, we remain free and blessed in so many ways that the rest of the world can only hunger after. Men and women making pilgrimage and establishing the colonies, representation drafting our Constitution and Bill of Rights -- it is to them we owe our thanks and respect for their keen foresight. But it is to God we will always owe honor and gratitude for His hand of blessing and love resting upon us for many generations. May we NEVER lose sight of the privileges, the responsibilities and the love that go along with His hand of blessing. May we ALWAYS want more of His wisdom and ways!

This is from one of my favorite devotional authors, and appropriate for today:

Dear Lord, I stand beneath a flag with fifty shining stars and stripes with memories of the small colonies that put You first in their lives. It was Your cause that brought them here. It was Your hand which guided theirs as they quilled names to the mighty Constitution, that You, no doubt, inspired them to write. My head is bowed in respect. My heart is filled with gratitude. And yet, Lord, I have a confession to make. Something inside of me rebels. As our forefathers resisted tyranny, I resist the voices that grow louder -- insisting on more autonomy. Muffle their shouts, dear Lord, before they become too forceful in cadence of anarchy.

I thank You for our nation’s independence, making us subjects of no monarch, but let us not forget that we are subjects of Your kingdom. And so it is that I thank You for my dependence too. Please hear my declaration.

I thank You for creating me from chaos -- as our Pilgrim Fathers created a working form of government from chaotic conditions surrounding them. I thank You for Your love, from which nothing can separate me. Though I stumble, fall or lose my way, You will seek me out and lift me up on the wings of eagles -- because I depend on You.

I thank You for the love of friends who laugh with me and cry with me, then hold me when I am too weak to do either -- lifting me high enough to reach Your hand. I am glad to be dependent upon them, Lord.

I thank You for those who spitefully use me. I must look to see if they are mirrors reflecting that within me which I must try to correct.

I thank You for the talents You gave me. I must depend upon You to help me channel them into ministries of Your love.

I thank You for the islands of trees and seas of grass and all the animals therein. I need their beauty. They need Your care. We depend upon You.

Dear Lord, I thank You for my independence -- and for my dependence too. - J.M. Bacher

"God-Faith", America!

A friend sent a comment after my earlier post. They pointed to Isaiah’s words. It is because of the faithfulness of Lord God Jehovah that we have our freedom -- personally and as a nation. On the eve of America’s liberty celebration -- how good for us to remember the wisdom spoken here!

Who has understood the mind of the Lord, or instructed him as his counselor? Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding? Isaiah 41:13-14

Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. Isaiah 41:21-23

"To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look to the heavens; Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Isaiah 41:25-26

God-Faith: Liberty to Free the Captive

Several of my friends are going through a stormy season. Not only are patience and endurance being tested, but all that one believes about God is on the line. The very essence of one's faith is being defined and refined. God's purpose is to line up what we say, with what He says. Knots and binding chains are coming off. There's a commotion in the heavens. It is God freeing any who would be freed from the tyranny of the Oppressor. As I think of times myself or others have gone through struggles, this is God's prescriptive remedy, which He willingly gives...

Finding out and walking in the will of God (not my own), using the same faith God used to create the promise in the first place, aligning my life's actions with His Word (the Word of his power), stomping out all temptation to doubt, waver, lose courage, or give up, believing His promise without a shred of physical evidence, as if life depends on it (it does). This is using the mandated authority God gives His children. He doesn't hope we will use it, He wills us to use it. This is true living by faith. Life decisions based on anything less than this God-kind of faith, is a watery, diluted mixture of weak hope in what man can do. And hope in man and the systems of man is the wagon-on-fire Satan wants to hitch us to.

God is not a man that He should lie. All His promises, purposes, plans, and ways are yes and amen in Christ Jesus. Dependence on Him and His promises, walking in God's faith, is the only true road to grace, peace, joy, rest and love, which leads to victory, which leads to being a life-overcomer. It is the road of walking in synchronized step with, right alongside, not behind our Lord. It's the only road of liberty to loose the knots and binding chains, bringing freedom from all that tries to depress, oppress, contain or control the life of God's chosen one. His child is His called out, separated one (ecclesia). He wills me to walk in the freedom He created and purchased for me!

Jesus said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it WILL move; and nothing will be impossible for you" (Matthew 17:20).

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do no let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1)

His Tattoo - My Healing and Liberty

"See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands..." Isaiah 49:16a

"If your God is Mighty enough to ignite the sun, could it be that He is mighty enough to light your path?

God is for you. Not "may be," not "has been," not "was," not "would be," but "God is!" He is for you. Today. At this hour. At this minute. As you read this sentence. No need to wait in line or come back tomorrow. He is with you. He could not be closer than he is at this second. His loyalty won't increase if you are better nor lessen if you are worse. He is for you.

God is for you. Turn to the sidelines; that's God cheering your run. Look past the finish line; that's God applauding your steps. Listen for him in the bleachers, shouting your name. Too tired to continue? He'll carry you. Too discouraged to fight? He's picking you up. God is for you.

God is for you. Had he a calendar, your birthday would be circled. If he drove a car, your name would be on his bumper. If there's a tree in heaven, he's carved your name in the bark. We know he has a tattoo, and we know what it says. "I have written your name on my hand," he declares." - God is For You, from Let the Journey Begin by Max Lucado

How glad I am for that tiny imprint of my name and face appearing in the scarred lines of His palms! Truly, this is what it means to be hidden in Christ. He purchased my healing and liberty with His precious blood. His tattoo lives on to tell the story. So knowing -- why do we ever doubt that He is for us? For all time and eternity -- GOD IS FOR US!

The Answer to Everything: JESUS!

There is no question so great, that the answer is not in Jesus!
There is no need too tiny, that the provision is not in Jesus!
There is no restrictive "knot" in my life, that Jesus cannot untie!
There is no hindrance blocking my progress, that Jesus cannot remove!

From my post the other day, Raw Disappointment, I was at a place of knowing that if God did not bring forth His mercy and grace, I was surely headed for utter defeat -- the place the enemy of my soul would love to box me into once and for all. However, the plans, purposes and ways of God will ALWAYS trump Satan’s pathetic poker hand. I have a friend whose by-line is, "GOD ROCKS!" She’s so right, He does.

This is from a devotional reading today called Reflections from Psalm 103.

"Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

The fact that Jesus came to earth where he suffered and died does not remove pain from our lives. But it does show that God did not sit idly by and watch us suffer in isolation. He became one of us. Thus, in Jesus, God gives us an up-close and personal look at his response to human suffering. All our questions about God and suffering should, in fact, be filtered through what we know about Jesus...

When Jesus himself faced suffering, he reacted much like any of us would. He recoiled from it, asking three times if there was any other way. There was no other way, and then Jesus experienced, perhaps for the first time, that most human sense of abandonment: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" In the gospel accounts of Jesus’ last night on earth, I detect a fierce struggle with fear, helplessness, and hope --- the same frontiers all of us confront in our suffering.

The record of Jesus’ life on earth should forever answer the question, How does God feel about our pain? In reply, God did not give us words or theories on the problem of pain. He gave us himself. A philosophy may explain difficult things, but has no power to change them. The gospel, the story of Jesus’ life, promises change. - Philip Yancey, Where Is God When It Hurts?

O LORD, renew our spirits and draw our hearts unto Yourself, that our work may not be as a burden but a delight. - Benjamin Jenks

Today, God laid this prayer on my heart for another dear friend...

"O GOD, our Father, Good beyond all that is good, Fair beyond all that is fair, in whom is calmness and peace: do thou make up the dissensions which divide us from each other, and bring us back into unity of love, which may bear some likeness to Thine divine nature. Grant us that we may be spiritually one, as well in ourselves as in each other, through that peace of Thine which maketh all things peaceful, and through the grace, mercy, and tenderness of Thine only Son. Amen." - St. Dionysius

Last night before sleep, the voice of the Lord spoke to my heart. He quoted Himself from His Written Word [as brought to my attention by the words of another friend, Kim Clement]...."About this time tomorrow, things are going to change!" Amen LORD, hallelujah, praise you Jesus!

I tell you, ask of Him anything that is on your heart. If you want to hear from Him, you will. He alone will be your strength to guide you through. When you come out on the other side, remember to give Him all glory and honor and praise forever!

Raw Disappointment

"As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he shows us his mercy." Psalm 123:2

For the last several months I’ve been meditating on God’s Word, and on an attitude and posture of peace and rest. But I haven’t been crying out for Him to save me from utter defeat -- the place the enemy of my soul would like to box me into.

Reading the Psalms, David did this at many times in his life. In doing so, he did not lose his trust and faith and hope in God. No! He believed God was the only one who could save him. In times of trouble, he trusted God more than ever to be his only source of salvation and strength.

That’s what I ask of You now, Abba. I have no other strength but You. If you don’t save me from the ploys of the enemy, if You don’t step in and act, no one will. I will be utterly defeated. Lord, I ask You not for what I want, I ask You to do what is right. I ask to visibly see Your hand of action perform the miracles that You have spoken of. I will not rest from crying out, from seeking, nor from my petitions until I see the awesome miracles You’ve promised! God, You have my heart, You have my trust, You have all there is of me. I’m growing deeper and higher in You because of Your Spirit’s faithful guidance and leading. But I cannot rest and will not stop asking until I see the glory that You have promised. Do not turn Your eye and Your heart away from Your daughter’s pleas. I want to see Your glory, Lord!

"The purposes, plans and ways of the Lord are Yes and Amen in Christ Jesus." That is what You told me one year ago. I believed You then and I believe You now....with the heart and faith of a child. My expectations and all that I am belong to You, Father. Amen.

This encouraging prayer came from a devotion by Angela Craig, Girlfriends in God...

"Lord, I pray for the incredible woman that comes before You today with a prayer of grief, fear, discouragement, or desperation. I partner with her in prayer, knowing You will deliver her, and bring her the resources that she needs to get out of the pit. We will believe together that all things are possible through You, Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. I pray encouragement, purpose, love, joy, and peace over her as she pours her heart out to You. Thank You for hearing and acting on her behalf."

"Behold the eye of the Lord is on those who hope for his loving-kindness." Psalm 33:18

Hope: A Spotless Bride!

A provoking question:

If someone asked you about your hope, what would be your first several statements in response?

In homework for a book study recently, I considered what my answer would be.

"the mystery which has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me." Colossians 1:26-29

The King of kings and Lord of lords will have His day of supreme glory!! That is the truest, most precious "blessed hope" of every Christ-follower. But, because of Christ, the Hope of Glory, living in me, I also live with these absolute, certain hopes:

• The eternal death weight of my sins having been washed away forever by His shed blood for me
• To reside for all eternity with the Trinity, and all the saints of the Kingdom in His Heavenly Glory
• He brought me forth from my mother’s womb, giving me life and a fully thought out and glorious plan and calling for my life. His plan is completely do-able, but ONLY by the dunamis power of His Holy Spirit, as I surrender my will, letting myself be led by Him, every day, in every way.

God has been my ultimate Provision from before the foundations of the earth, when He thought of and planned for me, through all my numbered days on earth, to complete His joy and glory, by taking me to live with Him in our Heavenly home forever. Hope can get no better than this!

History is moving rapidly -- not to cataclysm merely, but to consummation. Not the end of the age merely, for a campaign can come to an end with nothing achieved. Consummation means that the goal in view has been attained. - The Disciple’s Hope, from Spiritual Discipleship by J. Oswald Sanders

It’s obvious that things are shaping up for our present generation -- in the world and in the church -- as the Bible outlines. The preaching of the gospel of the Kingdom throughout the whole earth, great rebellion appearing and the man of lawlessness being revealed, the nations in chaos, anguish and perplexity, and the signs and events of the Jewish nation of Israel, all point to Jesus’ return in the not-so-distant future.

Most dynamic of all is this. God willingly set His plan as contingent upon the Bride making herself ready for the Bridegroom. His prophecy has thundered, and will be fulfilled. When He returns He will have His spotless Bride.

That shakes and compels me to think, speak and act only within His will, in order to live ready and in expectation. Amen!