Category: Power of God

Perfectly Imperfect

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I am a recovering perfectionist. This is not entirely true. This is not nearly true. I am only a perfectionist in some areas & in those areas I am perfectly content to stay a perfectionist….I am not in denial. However, though with certain things I can “claim” to be a perfectionist, I know fully that I am not perfect. This may come as somewhat of a shock to most of you, but it’s true that I am not even slightly perfect. Nothing that I have ever done or could hope to do would be considered perfect because who I am, inside & out is full of crud…sin. I was born this way…as were all of us I suppose. It is in our human nature & the only way to emerge from that imperfection is to come under the redeeming blood of Jesus. For it is His perfection that can make our imperfection perfect.

It’s true that no matter what we do, say or think, our being, our human flesh is corrupt….yet I trust that by the God who sent his only son, the one who shed his blood to cover that imperfection, that we can be cleaned & redeemed. It is this redemption that spurs me on to live a more holy life, striving for goodness in Christ & to be ever closer to him. I know I’ll never be able to attain this on my own & so my hope comes from Him that though I am not perfect, His grace has & will forgive me. I do not take this for granted, and hope that through His grace others may come to know Him through my life & other lives, because if God would save us…then He can surely save you. “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

It is good to know that God is not the same as us, fumbling about in a body that has urges one way or another, good & bad….He is perfectly good. Numbers 23:19 says “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”

“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” (1 Peter 1:18-20)

And the imperfection in us & in the world that causes us pain…..it is only temporary….and what’s more, is that in humbling ourselves to the power of His grace, we are covered by the power of The One who has already humbled himself as a lamb being led to slaughter, and through his grace He will reign forever and will take away that pain of imperfection….Revelation 7:17 “For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Grasshoppers

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We are not grasshoppers.

Maybe you think you are, but you’re not. I’m not just being silly….Keep reading.

Numbers 13 tells the story of the 12 spies scouting out the land that God had given to the Hebrews. They spent 40 days exploring the land, and at the end they came back with a report. Two of the spies (Caleb & Joshua) said “We should go up & take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” That’s a good encouraging report! Unfortunately, there were 10 other spies that replied “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are….The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size….We seemed like GRASSHOPPERS in our OWN eyes, and we looked the same to them.” The second report wasn’t so encouraging….it was rather deflating & discouraging.

Who really would want to do something like that, where your good friends & knowledgeable people came to tell you how little chance you’d have of accomplishment? I probably wouldn’t have wanted to go either…..but then again, who knows. I just heard a sermon on this passage, and it shocked me too to hear that they said how they “seemed like grasshoppers” in their OWN eyes. They had a view of themselves as little bugs…little annoying bugs that men can easily squash. Grasshoppers don’t have a lot of power…but they do seem to “whine” a lot, which is why I know we can crush them.

But what did Caleb & Joshua see that made them think so differently? They knew the power that they had with them. It was the power of the Holy Spirit, not their own power that they put trust in. I think the others must have known they had the Holy Spirit too, but didn’t trust in the POWER of it in them. The Holy Spirit’s power is in each of us who put our trust in God, and who truly believe that He is the One True God that saves us from our sinfulness. It is very easy to be discouraged when those around us, even people who love us, say… “you can’t do that,” or “I don’t know that that would be the best choice,” or “is that really where you think God is calling you?” You second guess yourself, and if you’re not completely confident in the power of the Lord, often you will give up that dream or desire.

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline (2 Tim. 1:7). We are each given the Holy Spirit, with the same power…missionaries in foreign lands don’t have a special power, pastors don’t have a special power…we ALL have this power & can overcome the things of this world that fight against us in the spiritual realms. Luke 10:19 reminds us of the authority we’ve been given….”I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions (two terms used to describe evil spirits visible in people of that day)…and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” Wow. That sounds powerful. AND WE HAVE THAT IN US! Right now! Wherever you are!

So why are we so afraid to step out in faith & do the things we know God wants us to do? Why are we so afraid to say what we want to say about our commitment to Christ? Why? Have you thought about it? Use that authority to overcome the words of other people, of the beliefs you hear, and to overcome even the words you put in your own mind to discourage you. You are given power through the Holy Spirit to go into the world & change lives…to set captives free! Be FREE in Christ, not captives in the world.

So remember the grasshopper….yes, you are small like him, and yes, we probably all whine like him too. BUT we are not able to be crushed like him.

Fading out…and in

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Is it odd when you suddenly realize that not so suddenly you’ve stopped doing things that are important to you? When you see your life in a perspective not seen for a while, or through a vision that you’ve lost sight of? What about when you remember the things you used to wait for, long for, savor moments of and you realize that you’re not waiting for those things any more.

I’m not the only one…a cupbearer of the Pharoah’s says what I feel like lately “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings….” (Genesis 41:9) When you keep going, and everything’s “fine” and then you get a little jolt. Ha…you thought everything was fine, but look once again. Did you forget about me? I feel like a gentile when Paul wrote “I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:14-16)

I don’t know what to compare a good reminder to….it’s like one of those really great things, that you know is good for you, but you forget how much it hurts at the same time…it’s like, ‘Oh yeah! Thanks for reminding me….but ouch, did I really go there?’

Slowly fading in & out….up & down…..one shade to another and back again. I love what it tells us in Hebrews 10:32 “Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering.” This is exactly what I need to do. and as I ponder, “I remember your ancient laws, O Lord, and I find comfort in them.” (Psalm 119:52)

Remind me Lord, of your great glory, your power, love & omnipotence. Remind me of your faithfulness, and how you satisfy my thirst. You are my Light….”Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.” (Eccl. 11:7)

Expectation

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For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men. (2 Corinthians 8:21)

Lately, the thoughts of expectations have been clouding my mind….bubbling over into frustration & questioning. This person expects this of me…..the other expecting something else, one more expecting me to go here or do this, act this way or say this one thing. It’s frustrating. It bothers me when I feel that people expect much out of me….one way or another. Expectations of people can be good, challenging them to live up to things greater than their own self imaginings. It can also be a weight, dragging a person into continuous performance mode in which they are always doing what other people expect and not looking at who they really would be if they did their own thing. It seems that I also am one of those people who expects much out of the people who surround me. I expect that leaders will be good examples, I expect that teachers are knowledgeable, I expect that students are curious, I expect many things…..and yet because of that, I somehow believe that those same expectations are reflected back onto my life, and probably accurately so to some extent. It is then that I feel pressure, sinking into my soul, to ….be this way, know this thing, return this faster…. And being a person who really does not like to “be who everyone expects me to be,” I sometimes do things that are opposite of what I want to do, because they’re exactly what you EXPECT me to do. In high school, I was the pastor’s kid….people had certain expectations about me because of that, and I never thought that was fair because it wasn’t MY choice to be the child of a minister. So, in defiance to the “expectations,” I would say certain things, act certain ways that I really didn’t WANT to do, but I did it anyway to say “see, I’m really not that good,” or “there’s more to me than you think.” When really deep down, I probably WAS a lot of what people assumed about me, but wasn’t confident enough in it to stand up for myself. Lately, it feels that this type of thing is beginning to cycle around….people expect certain things and because I don’t feel “worthy” or “capable” or “motivated,” I choose to do the opposite. Take longer on an answer, show up late to an event, cancel on a close friend for no good reason. It’s kinda like the passage in Romans, chapter 7:15-25 that says “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

So can we change this ourselves? The expectation would be yes….we are powerful, strong, confident people who have the ability to change how we act. Yet, that is a worldly expectation that gives US power that should be God’s to yield where He chooses. Therefore, think about the following & pray with me as we struggle to be confident dependents on Christ: I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

"Seeing"–a Miracle

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Last night, I was blessed to be able to see & hear from missionary friends who are visiting the States to share their ministry! I was so inspired by one of their stories that I wanted to share it here in the hopes that you too will be inspired to see how BIG God is, and how he pulls out all stops when He wants to show His power. Okay, so enough pre-story, here is the meat of it! Alright, so Doug & Roberta Moore, live with the thought “There will never be enough time, money, staff, etc. So we just have to do what we can with what we have & the Lord will provide more when we need it.” (So humbling & inspiring.) One night, visiting a small Romanian church, a lady got up to share a scripture with the church (this is a normal part of the service where attenders are able to share a song or scripture or thought to the congregation, without any notice)…the older lady borrowed her friend’s glasses, read the scripture, sat back down & gave back the glasses. Roberta sees this & happens to have a donated pair of glasses in her purse! She passed the pair down to the lady & by God’s grace, it matched the lady’s vision needs! Of course after the service, Roberta was surrounded by people asking if they had a pair for them too! She & Doug immediately “saw” the need for more glasses & went about collecting donations. They setup a day at this church when people could come & find glasses from the almost 300 that were donated. Doug & Roberta know nothing about prescriptions, so for all the people that came, they simply handed them pair after pair of glasses, asking “does this help? how about this one?” until they found a pair that worked for them! At the end of the day, ALL the people who had stopped by had left with glasses! All that was left were two pairs of glasses & a bag of “spare parts.” Doug & Roberta praised God that all those people had been blessed with sight & that God has so miraculously provided it to ALL the people! They began packing up when suddenly, the front door opened & two more ladies walked in looking for glasses. Doug said “well, we only have two pairs left” but the ladies wanted to try. They put the first pair on one of the ladies, and it amazingly was just the right prescription!! To the second lady, they said…”I’m sorry, but this second pair only has one lens,” and after trying it on, even the one lens didn’t seem to help. They felt terrible to see this lady walk away, the only one without glasses! Then they remembered the bag of spare parts. They called the woman back and after some crafty work & piecing together, they were able to make a pair of glasses that not only fit, but helped her see!! PRAISE GOD! Again, Doug & Roberta were amazed that God was able to help ALL the people & have just a little left over. Again, as they were packing up, the door opened. This time, a man walked through, apologizing for being late, but that he couldn’t come sooner because of work. They told him “I’m sorry, the only pair we have left is this pair with only one lens!” To that, he responded —-“THAT’S OKAY, I ONLY HAVE ONE EYE!”—-God is amazing, not only did he provide for all the people, but he provided WELL for them, knowing just what prescriptions to be brought in to Doug & Roberta, for the exact people who would walk through that church door. If you don’t believe in this God, it’s sad, because of how much Joy he brings & how powerful He is. This is simply breathtaking….don’t you want to love this God?