Welcome to Celebrating Truth!
It is my hope that we can discover together that Jesus does listen to our prayers and does respond when we call.

Monday, August 22, 2011

so where is the hope?

Looking at the news and the circumstances of our lives can be overwhelming and devastating. But the news or our circumstances is not where our hope lies. Our hope comes from the Lord, the maker of Heaven and earth. We must look to scripture and the Lord Jesus Christ or we miss finding peace and hope in a dismissal world.

This world is like a storm twirling out of control and never ending. It’s one thing after another with no end in sight. We can become hopeless in our helplessness or we can bury our heads in the sand or try to focus on our own lives especially, if our circumstances are currently manageable and maybe even good. Eventually, the circumstances of current events will affect you and your head will have to come out of the sand…what will you do? Where will your hope come from?

Our only hope rests with Jesus and the scripture He has given us and the Spirit He has provided to lead us to the hope we so desperately need and seek.

What does scripture say...

"nothing can separate (the children) of God from the love of God" Romans 8:35-39

"I will never leave you or abandon you" Hebrews 13:5

"I can endure all things through the power of the one who gives my strength." Philippians 4:13

We may never understand why the Lord allows tragedies and trials in our lives but we can be assured that in the midst of them He is always with us; and through Him and in Him there is always hope and love.

Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

He is our hope and miraculously we can also have joy and peace in the midst of our storms/trials. He promises this for us. We just have to choose to believe. But what if we cannot believe? What then?

You ask for help. The father in the New Testament went to Jesus when his son was sick. He had heard that Jesus could help and had helped others but he had doubts. He asked Jesus to heal his son and then he asked Jesus to help his unbelief. What happened? His son was healed. (Mark 9:24)

What can we take away from this? Will Jesus always heal our sick loved ones? Not always but belief is needed when asking Jesus for help, but even in our unbelief and doubting, Jesus meets us there. (the father mentioned earlier and even Thomas after the resurrection was not rejected but met by Jesus with love and understanding, NOT shame.)

Christ and His Word is our only hope in these times and the times to come. Seek Him and His scriptures, you will find it.

Deuteronomy 4:29 “you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

So where does that leave us?

Will you believe the scriptures?

Will you trust in the Lord?

In the midst of our storms both personal and social, He can bring hope; not the hope that things will change, necessarily, but the hope that He will be there with each of us in the midst of it - loving us and giving us the strength we need to get through it. In that strength and hope, we find peace and joy.

Joy is in the Lord Jesus Christ and who He is.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Does mercy expire?

How long do the mercies of our Lord last before giving way to disciple and justice?

He is the Lord God Almighty, who is and was and is to come. He is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega. He deserves our respect, our reverence and our love – John 14 tells us to love Him is to obey Him. It is not enough to simply say,

“Yeah, I believe in God, a higher power.”

“Yes, I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins
and I accept His gift of salvation.”

He calls us to more than that. Yes, believing in a higher power can lead to a knowing of Jesus and eventually a belief that He is the only way to heaven and that He died on the cross for our sins to save us from sin. This is a foundational belief of evangelical Christians and the message of the Word of God. But as you read on in the Bible and grow in your knowledge of God and who He is and what His Word says, that belief is only the beginning. His character, who He is, demands respect, love and obedience.
Thank God there is mercy and grace to save us from our treacherous hearts that deceive us into disobedience against our Lord. Thank You, Lord, for the blood of Jesus that covers all of our sins forever more. What a truth to hold unto but….

How long will the mercies and grace of the Lord last before He determines that judgment and discipline are needed? He is the Almighty God and He does not tolerate disobedience. He tells us over and over again that to love Him is to obey Him. He speaks of it in the histories of the Bible. We are reminded of it in the songs of the book of Psalms. We see the justice and discipline of the Lord in the prophetic books of the Bible and Jesus Himself teaches us this in the New Testament Gospels and then the apostles themselves remind us over and over again, that our proclaimed love for Jesus must lead us to obedience – an acting out of our faith.
How long can we as a nation, as a people, as a world ignore the messages of Truth that the Lord has for so long been telling us? He loves us. He planned to send His Son to die for us while we were yet marinating in our sin. Jesus Himself tells us that following noble laws and a good way of life is not enough we must believe in Him and be willing to sacrifice our precious things to Him. He requires that He be number one in our lives and all else comes after Him and our love and obedience to Him. Have we done this? Can we do this?

We have seen and heard of tornados, tsunamis, earthquakes, fires, draughts, ripping winds, volcano eruptions, mud slides, floods, hurricanes, famine and disease plaguing our countries and our world. In the past we read that God used these disasters to get our attention to get us to return to Him, to obey and love Him as HE asks and as HE DESERVES. How long will we go on our merry way depending on His mercy and grace and thinking that these warnings aren’t for us?

In Revelations we hear from John that Jesus spits out the church that is lukewarm in its existence. We cannot amble by in life just believing in Jesus and not obeying and loving Him as HE deserves. Discipline will come. God tells us in Hebrews that the discipline comes to those that God loves. Those who believe in Jesus and His gift of salvation are called the children of God. What does the Bible teach us that God does for His children? HE never gives up on them. HE continually calls them to Himself and protects them, lavishes love and blessings on them in ways we can never imagine BUT He does not tolerate disobedience and disrespect of Himself. He will warn us and will call us back to Himself through prophets (speakers of the Word of the God), teachers of the Word of God and messages from His Spirit that lives inside the hearts of His children and hovers over the earth guiding people to Himself. If we continually ignore His messages and choose to live lives apart from Him and following Him in obedience. Justice and discipline will come. Mercy and grace is not gone, they can’t be gone because they are a part of His character but they will be set aside for a time while justice and discipline come to those who ignore Him and His ways. And after justice and discipline have had their time, mercy and grace return and we again have an opportunity to run to Him and be bathed in His love and once again feel the joy of His blessing and provision.

Children of God do not test His love and patience. Listen to the Words He is calling to you. Obey Him as He deserves. Mighty is our God and mighty is His love but He deserves our complete love and obedience and reverence.
Will you lay down your idols – those things that keep you or distract you from loving Him well, obeying Him as He requires? The greatest commandment according to Jesus is to love the Lord your God will ALL your heart, with ALL your soul, with ALL your mind and with ALL your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. Are you doing this? Am I doing this? This is what He requires.

So where is the hope? How can this be done? Might as well just give up after that impossible admonition…NEVER!!!

We do NOT live this life in our own strength.

What God requires He also PROVIDES.

We call upon the Name of the Lord and the power of His Spirit to help us in this path of obedience and love and

HE WILL PROVIDE!

We, the children of God have the same power in us through the Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead (Ephesians 1:19-20). Much is required of the children of God but much is waiting to be given to us as well. Rise up precious daughters and sons of the Holy God. Use the power that lives within you and that cannot be taken from you and love the Lord your God with everything you have and the strength that is given to you by the Sprit of Jesus that dwells in you. Our God is the God of the impossible, ask and watch the impossible lived out in your life.

Friday, June 10, 2011

NEXT!

“Yes, I can forgive you. Your sin isn’t so bad. NEXT!”

“Hmmm…yes, your sin is forgiven,” as He eyes another person down the line with a long stare. “NEXT!”

“Well, you…I remember you…hmmm…your sin is a tough one…” more long and thoughtful stares and contemplation. “Yes, your sin is forgiven. But it was close. NEXT!”

“Oh…,” big sigh, a long look at me, as He sizes me up and thinks hard. “Yes, yes, yes. You. I have been waiting for you…mmmm. What do I do about you? Your sin is a doozy! I’m just not sure about your sin.” More sighs as He says, “Well, well, well…I’ll get back to you… NEXT!”

Thankfully this is not the picture of how God hands out forgiveness! Jesus’ blood covers it all, past present and future sins. None is too great or horrible to cover. It’s done. The forgiveness has been issued. We just have to believe and receive. And our sin is covered forever from the moment we believe and receive the gift of forgiveness made possible by His death on the cross.

It’s like God has created this great coat that is already made perfectly and hanging on a hanger for each person to receive. This coat is awesome because it changes colors and designs based on our needs. It is light and insulated at different times depending on our location and need. This is the last coat you will ever need and suits you perfectly but not everyone believes in its value or knows it’s there. On the day that each person hears that it is available; they chose whether they will walk away with it. Some quickly take it realizing its value. Some contemplate its worth and choose to decide later. Some look at the coat they are already wearing or know they have one in their closet and think, “I’m doing fine. I don’t really need this.” Others think, “This coat is ugly or useless,” and turn their backs and never think about it again.

Nothing changes about the coat, itself. Once it was created, it was offered and will continue to be offered for a very long time; not indefinitely but nearly. It will always meet your need. It’s waiting; you just need to take it.

When Christ died on the cross, our sin was taken care of. Forgiveness was available and complete, no matter when the sin or what the sin. It was finished. The only thing remaining is your choice to take what is being offered.

Have you? Will you?

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not die but have everlasting life.”

Romans 10:9 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Saturday, June 4, 2011

OUCH!

A dear friend responded to my last post “OUCH! Thanks for the reminder!”

That’s a bit how I felt when writing that post and reading that portion of my Bible study – Discerning the Voice of God. I don’t remember all I have written over the last year and half but it is pretty safe to say that what I have posted has been messages I felt God was teaching me at the same time I was writing them. I too felt an "ouch" when first thinking of that last post. But ouches can be good. Sometimes we need something prickly to get us out of our rut of habits and misdirection.

I opened up my Bible study again this morning and read a quote by Jim Cymbala, pastor at Brooklyn Tabernacle of New York:
"Our spiritual ear will never be sensitive to His voice if we have a personal agenda to which we are already committed. God leads and speaks to the humble who have surrendered their plans and want to do His will. With an ‘open heaven’ and a surrendered will, we will be able to clearly hear God’s voice in our hearts.”

According to Pastor Cymbala's quote, to hear the voice of God in our hearts we must be more dedicated to God's plans in our lives and live a life surrendered to Him.

A verse has been popping up in my head for the last week or more and even more since writing that post. James 5:16 “the prayers of a righteous man availeth much.” A reminder of righteous living from Beth Moore, a righteous person does not willing or purposefully sin against God. We cannot ever call ourselves sinless but we can be living in such a way we where we are not purposely ignoring the leading and directions of Jesus, His Word and His Spirit.

I have also been praying for quite sometime to “hear” Jesus’ voice as I once did and to be able to pray effectively for others as I once did. These are some of the answers I have been getting: hear My voice, obey My voice immediately and listen some more. Basically it comes back to John 14:23
“…if anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching…”

I say I love Him, I must obey like I’m supposed to – immediately and completely. I want to hear Jesus' voice, so I must live a life surrendered to Him and His plans. I want my prayers to be effective and powerful for Jesus and His people, so I must live a righteous life.

What about you? Do you want to recognize the voice of Jesus in your life? Do you want your prayers to avail much?

“We must trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus.” (A quote from an old hymn.)

Thanks for being on this journey with me!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

I said, “Do it NOW!”

Wow does that phrase bring back some memories…cringes…sassiness….LOL! It also brings back some memories of what I have had to say to my own children now that I’m the parent. Quite a phrase huh?

Although, I believe Jesus does not speak to us in this way and definitely has more patience with us than I do with my kids, I wonder if sometimes He knows my stubborn heart so well, this exclamation is required to get my attention; just as my parents did.

I have been doing a Bible study by Priscilla Shirer titled Discerning the Voice of God. This week’s study is about responding to God’s voice and today was about responding immediately. She shares a story of being in a relationship in college and seminary that God had clearly told both to end. Neither wanted the relationship to end despite God’s clear direction. The gentleman in the relationship eventually listened to God’s leading and ended the relationship. Priscilla shares how much heartache she suffered by not obeying God immediately and how much regret she had when she realized that the man she is now married to was going to her church while she was resisting God in her previous relationship. She potentially lost precious time with her husband because of her unwillingness to obey God immediately.

She followed up this story with an example from the Bible (Abraham and Isaac – Genesis 22:2-3) and a question for her readers: Has the Lord given you instructions this week to which you have taken too much time to respond? Let’s just say that my instructions were not this week and I had a couple that I could have listed. But the one I thought of almost immediately was this blog.

Last week I received a comment on my email from someone who had read my last blog. It was posted so long ago I’m not sure of the date off the top of my head. The comment was positive and this anonymous reader had been sent to my blog by a friend. I had also received a comment on the same blog post maybe two or three weeks ago. These comments pleasantly surprised me and encouraged me. Maybe I shouldn’t have stop posting.... I had allowed my schedule to keep me from posting regularly and then allowed some discouragement about lack of comments and visits to my blog to keep me from doing what I know God wanted me to do. I had not responded immediately like He wanted three weeks ago and not last week, so when reading this chapter in my study I decided that it required immediate attention. Hopefully by being so honest with you, my readers and those trying to be or thinking about being in relationship with Jesus, I will be held accountable to posting like God has asked me to do. We don’t know the plans He has for us, nor do we always know the plans He has for our required obedience. I have to remember that my obedience or disobedience effects more than just me. Selfishness…maybe a topic for another post, I guess I don’t realize how selfish I can be with my time and my decisions.

Priscilla made another very good point that actually prompted me to write this blog. “God speaks with perfect timing. Our response should be immediate obedience.” (pg 114)

As we complain and cry over God and His plans and awful timing, could it be that the poor timing is due to our poor response time? Something to think about...

Has the Lord given you instructions this week to which you have taken too much time to respond?