As I read the Word, God never fails to fascinate me. After reading Jude 1:20-21 this morning, I simply asked the Lord what it means for me to “build myself up” and felt led to follow the thread established through the concept of building. Our God loves to weave and the following is what he knit together for me…
Jude 1:20-21 “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.”
From the Old Testament we learn that building an altar was quite customary for generations. We have record of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, David and Solomon all building altars to the Lord. And as each altar was erected, there was specific intention in the builder’s heart to call on the name of the Lord, to demonstrate his dependence on God and to express his thankfulness to God. They sometimes even named the place where the altar was built in remembrance of Him.
Exodus 17:15 “Moses built an altar and named it The Lord is My Banner…”
As we follow the thread of building, we see Solomon building the “house of God” which clearly couldn’t accommodate Him.
1 Kings 8:27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built!”
I love this because it leads to the next idea that we are God’s building.
1 Corinthians 3:9 “…you are God’s field, God’s building.”
A dwelling place for the Most High God!
Ephesians 2:21-22 “…the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”
Amazingly, others participate in building us and are required to be careful in
how they put us together.
1 Corinthians 3:10 “According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it.”
It is also essential that we ourselves build wisely, according to His instruction.
Luke 6:47-49 “Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”
I love the fact that even though we have responsibility to build well, God is
ultimately, the Author and Finisher of our faith.
Hebrews 3:4 “For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.”
So, we are being built up as a spiritual house for a purpose; not to offer the
blood of calves, goats and bulls, but holy sacrifices that are pleasing to God.
1 Peter 2:5 “…you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
And what is most pleasing?
Mark 12:33 “…to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as himself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
So, we’ve come full circle from building altars to being an altar. How cool is
that?
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Our sorrows become His salve…
Isaiah 61:1-3 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
Afflicted, brokenhearted, captive prisoners...
Those are the ones I may be tempted to pass by due to what may be required of me in order to help them, but Jesus is literally drawn to them. He “is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalms 34:18) And He “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalms 147:3)
His desire is to bring healing, freedom, comfort and joy to His precious seedlings. So, He sends us, all wrapped up in His Spirit.
And we have the amazing privilege of watching Him “do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us” (Ephesians 3:20) in these treasured one’s lives. How utterly glorious it is to partner with Him!
Thankfully, we need not do it in our own strength. And our path does not need to be free of sorrow. He actually uses our sorrow to fortify our hearts.
Psalms 84:5-7 "How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion! Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring; the early rain also covers it with blessings. They go from strength to strength, every one of them appears before God in Zion."
Only when we walk in His strength and not our own, do we discover the hidden highways in our hearts that usher us directly into His presence. And learning to embrace our sorrows is crucial on the journey. We pass through times of “Baca” (which means weeping) but out of our innermost being flow “rivers of living water,” (John 7:38) and by discovering the blessing of tears we come to “know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” (Philippians 3:10) He uses it all…so amazing. Our sorrows become His salve.
And as we press on, He adds strength to what meager strength we have and establishes our “hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.” (1 Thessalonians 3:13)
Oh, to stand in His presence and hear “well done, good and faithful servant…”
Afflicted, brokenhearted, captive prisoners...
Those are the ones I may be tempted to pass by due to what may be required of me in order to help them, but Jesus is literally drawn to them. He “is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalms 34:18) And He “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalms 147:3)
His desire is to bring healing, freedom, comfort and joy to His precious seedlings. So, He sends us, all wrapped up in His Spirit.
And we have the amazing privilege of watching Him “do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us” (Ephesians 3:20) in these treasured one’s lives. How utterly glorious it is to partner with Him!
Thankfully, we need not do it in our own strength. And our path does not need to be free of sorrow. He actually uses our sorrow to fortify our hearts.
Psalms 84:5-7 "How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion! Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring; the early rain also covers it with blessings. They go from strength to strength, every one of them appears before God in Zion."
Only when we walk in His strength and not our own, do we discover the hidden highways in our hearts that usher us directly into His presence. And learning to embrace our sorrows is crucial on the journey. We pass through times of “Baca” (which means weeping) but out of our innermost being flow “rivers of living water,” (John 7:38) and by discovering the blessing of tears we come to “know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” (Philippians 3:10) He uses it all…so amazing. Our sorrows become His salve.
And as we press on, He adds strength to what meager strength we have and establishes our “hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.” (1 Thessalonians 3:13)
Oh, to stand in His presence and hear “well done, good and faithful servant…”
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Learning to lean…
Humanly speaking, we are usually – at the least – discouraged by our weaknesses. We apologize for not being stronger. We make up for where we’ve fallen short. We attempt to explain away our helplessness.
But the Lord knows. He sees…
Psalms 103:14 For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.
And He is not shocked or dismayed. Our powerlessness is an invitation for Him to reveal His great Love and deep desire to work in and through us.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Surrender comes more easily when we recognize our frailty, and I’m becoming more and more convinced that surrender is one of the most formidable things we can do. It establishes the Truth within us, that apart from Him we can do nothing. We’ve got to abide and remain dependent upon Him.
John 15:4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.”
Then, and only then, we discover His amazing Power and learn that our ultimate goal is learning how to lean.
Song of Solomon 8:5 “Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved?”
But the Lord knows. He sees…
Psalms 103:14 For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.
And He is not shocked or dismayed. Our powerlessness is an invitation for Him to reveal His great Love and deep desire to work in and through us.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Surrender comes more easily when we recognize our frailty, and I’m becoming more and more convinced that surrender is one of the most formidable things we can do. It establishes the Truth within us, that apart from Him we can do nothing. We’ve got to abide and remain dependent upon Him.
John 15:4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.”
Then, and only then, we discover His amazing Power and learn that our ultimate goal is learning how to lean.
Song of Solomon 8:5 “Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved?”
Friday, October 2, 2009
Mountain moving faith…
Whenever I find myself in this place of concern over our finances, I realize it’s a definite area of weakness in me. I’d have to admit that it’s connected to my disappointment with our house not selling. I mean, if God is able to provide in my current situation, why wouldn’t He have supplied a buyer for our place by now? My question remains unanswered, yet I am compelled to move forward in faith.
Philippians 4:19 "And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
This is the truth. He is Jehovah Jirah and I must learn to trust Him to provide for me, even when I don’t know how or when He’s going to bring the provision I need. This requires more than just hopeful thoughts; it demands faith. And faith is not something I can muster up.
Hebrews 12:2 "…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
So He does the work of establishing faith within my heart as I fix my eyes upon Him. Just as I become familiar with the facial features of those I spend a lot of time with, as I look to Jesus, my confidence in His unchanging character grows and I am persuaded that His love for me is unrelenting. My mustard seed faith is watered and begins to take root.
Mark 11:22-24 And Jesus answered saying to them, "Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.”
I cannot rely on the experiences of my life to establish the kind of faith He plans for me to walk in. No, faith to move mountains doesn’t require previous mountain moving…it rather perceives the insignificance of the mountain in light of God’s greatness.
Jeremiah 32:17 “Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You!”
Philippians 4:19 "And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
This is the truth. He is Jehovah Jirah and I must learn to trust Him to provide for me, even when I don’t know how or when He’s going to bring the provision I need. This requires more than just hopeful thoughts; it demands faith. And faith is not something I can muster up.
Hebrews 12:2 "…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
So He does the work of establishing faith within my heart as I fix my eyes upon Him. Just as I become familiar with the facial features of those I spend a lot of time with, as I look to Jesus, my confidence in His unchanging character grows and I am persuaded that His love for me is unrelenting. My mustard seed faith is watered and begins to take root.
Mark 11:22-24 And Jesus answered saying to them, "Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.”
I cannot rely on the experiences of my life to establish the kind of faith He plans for me to walk in. No, faith to move mountains doesn’t require previous mountain moving…it rather perceives the insignificance of the mountain in light of God’s greatness.
Jeremiah 32:17 “Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You!”
Thursday, September 17, 2009
The fire of His presence…
Exodus 3:4-5 "When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, 'Moses, Moses!' And he said, 'Here I am.' Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground."
As Moses approached the burning bush with shoes removed, he hid his face, because “he was afraid to look at God.” He was completely aware of his frailty and utter sinfulness. It reminds me of Peter when he witnessed the supernatural catch of the day which broke their nets and almost caused their boat to sink.
Luke 5:8 "When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, 'Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.'"
Knees buckling beneath him, he had a momentary revelation of the absolute “otherness” of Jesus. I would imagine that taste of His Holiness lingered within Peter’s spirit for some time.
Isaiah 6:5 "Then I said, 'Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.'"
Have you ever felt the Spirit of God or experienced His presence in such a powerful way that you were literally undone? In addition to all the biblical accounts of encounters with God, I've heard countless testimonies of God revealing His Reality to many, many people.
Revelation 1:17-18 "When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, 'Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.'"
As I consider the times that I have actually tasted the holiness of God, my overwhelming sense has been that I know in that moment that I am entirely loved. I can honestly say that I have felt His hand upon my head, calming me in His presence, assuring me of His tender mercy. Oh, the glory of being near to Him...
As Moses approached the burning bush with shoes removed, he hid his face, because “he was afraid to look at God.” He was completely aware of his frailty and utter sinfulness. It reminds me of Peter when he witnessed the supernatural catch of the day which broke their nets and almost caused their boat to sink.
Luke 5:8 "When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, 'Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.'"
Knees buckling beneath him, he had a momentary revelation of the absolute “otherness” of Jesus. I would imagine that taste of His Holiness lingered within Peter’s spirit for some time.
Isaiah 6:5 "Then I said, 'Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.'"
Have you ever felt the Spirit of God or experienced His presence in such a powerful way that you were literally undone? In addition to all the biblical accounts of encounters with God, I've heard countless testimonies of God revealing His Reality to many, many people.
Revelation 1:17-18 "When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, 'Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.'"
As I consider the times that I have actually tasted the holiness of God, my overwhelming sense has been that I know in that moment that I am entirely loved. I can honestly say that I have felt His hand upon my head, calming me in His presence, assuring me of His tender mercy. Oh, the glory of being near to Him...
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Can you hear His hush?
Psalms 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God…”
“Come away, my beloved!” is His invitation. And He calls us into Stillness with a whisper.
Just as a mother speaks in a soft voice in an effort to settle her little one so he will listen more attentively, so His hushed call compels us to pay close attention to what He is saying.
He whispers because stillness requires quietness, and to accomplish that we must refrain from forming sentences – verbally and non-verbally. We all know that simply thinking can be outrageously loud when our objective is to quiet ourselves. God knows we distract ourselves with our own ranting!
Psalms 81:13 “Oh that My people would listen to Me…”
Ultimately, He wants to quiet us. We definitely listen better when we are not talking.
Zephaniah 3:17 “…He will be quiet in His love…”
That word “quiet” in Hebrew actually means to stop speaking. I wonder if sometimes that’s how He gets our attention. We suddenly become aware that He has become silent and we gain renewed determination to seek His face.
Psalms 81:10 “I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide and I will fill it.”
He has rescued us from our own “Egypt” to fill us with good things. To receive what He has to give us, we must open up fully to Him.
If we are brave enough to enter into His Stillness, we inevitably emerge with something of Him deposited in us. Perhaps, it is out of that Stillness we speak peace into the world around us…
“Come away, my beloved!” is His invitation. And He calls us into Stillness with a whisper.
Just as a mother speaks in a soft voice in an effort to settle her little one so he will listen more attentively, so His hushed call compels us to pay close attention to what He is saying.
He whispers because stillness requires quietness, and to accomplish that we must refrain from forming sentences – verbally and non-verbally. We all know that simply thinking can be outrageously loud when our objective is to quiet ourselves. God knows we distract ourselves with our own ranting!
Psalms 81:13 “Oh that My people would listen to Me…”
Ultimately, He wants to quiet us. We definitely listen better when we are not talking.
Zephaniah 3:17 “…He will be quiet in His love…”
That word “quiet” in Hebrew actually means to stop speaking. I wonder if sometimes that’s how He gets our attention. We suddenly become aware that He has become silent and we gain renewed determination to seek His face.
Psalms 81:10 “I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide and I will fill it.”
He has rescued us from our own “Egypt” to fill us with good things. To receive what He has to give us, we must open up fully to Him.
If we are brave enough to enter into His Stillness, we inevitably emerge with something of Him deposited in us. Perhaps, it is out of that Stillness we speak peace into the world around us…
Monday, September 7, 2009
By faith, not by sight…
Isaiah 42:16 "I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, in paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them and rugged places into plains. These are the things I will do, and I will not leave them undone."
We walk by faith and not by sight. Consequently, we’re blind when it comes to the unseen world. As we move forward with Christ, we have to admit that we would not necessarily always choose the pathways we travel, but with hindsight discover the wisdom of His guiding Hand. Difficulties are transformed into smooth steppingstones that lead us effortlessly into our destiny. He doesn’t miss any details.
Jeremiah 31:9 "With weeping they will come, And by supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk by streams of waters, On a straight path in which they will not stumble; for I am a father..."
And though the times of great challenge bring us to our knees and cause us to pour out our hearts like water, the presence of the Lord never leaves us. And as we learn the way of leaning on our Beloved, he faithfully leads us to streams of Living Water and keeps our feet from stumbling.
Oh! How I love the prophets! And oh! How I love my Heavenly Father!
We walk by faith and not by sight. Consequently, we’re blind when it comes to the unseen world. As we move forward with Christ, we have to admit that we would not necessarily always choose the pathways we travel, but with hindsight discover the wisdom of His guiding Hand. Difficulties are transformed into smooth steppingstones that lead us effortlessly into our destiny. He doesn’t miss any details.
Jeremiah 31:9 "With weeping they will come, And by supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk by streams of waters, On a straight path in which they will not stumble; for I am a father..."
And though the times of great challenge bring us to our knees and cause us to pour out our hearts like water, the presence of the Lord never leaves us. And as we learn the way of leaning on our Beloved, he faithfully leads us to streams of Living Water and keeps our feet from stumbling.
Oh! How I love the prophets! And oh! How I love my Heavenly Father!
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