Don't Discount Ash and Dust

Then the Lord God took dust from the ground and formed a man from it. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nose, and the man became a living person.

Genesis 2:7 

Today is Ash Wednesday.  To some, that may be meaningless.  But consider that God took the dust of the ground, formed us, and breathed HIS OWN breath into us.  God also reminds us that, because we are dust and will return to dust, we should remember that God is God and loves us beyond our ability to perceive.

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent and is purposed to consider our sins as ashes before Christ, so that we may spend the next 40 days focusing on Our Savior.  This year, as I have in years past, I am not focusing on giving up anything for Lent,  rather I will be focusing on adding to my Season of Lent.  This year, I want to focus on clearing my heart of anger, hurt, frustration, and replace them with caring, love, forgiveness.  This quest became clear to me over the course of this year past.  How can I properly pray if I am holding onto anger, hurt, and frustration?

"Create in me a new, clean heart, O God, filled with clean thoughts and right desires." Psalm 51:10  This is my prayer.  Join me?

Oh Thorny

So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
2 Corinthians 12:7-9 

Did you know that the word used as "thorn" actually means "stake"?  This was no ordinary poke that Paul could brush off and move on.  Rather this was excruciatingly painful.  It was a constant reminder that God had allowed this thing into his life in order to keep him humble.  Now, we're not sure whether this "messenger from Satan" was a literal thorn or some situation or ailment or person or trait.  What we do know is that Paul didn't like having it and begged God THREE TIMES to remove it.

Now, you're not going to like this next part, but truth is truth:  Our Happiness Is NOT God's Chief Aim.  Read that again!  Now think about it, if God's chief aim and purpose was for us to be carefree and happy, we would already be in Paradise.  But we're not there yet.  God wants us to learn and grow and sometimes that is a painful process, but we must learn and grow in order that God's long-term plan for us can be fulfilled.

Now, consider that if we could do all of this by ourselves, without God, then WE would have good reason to be proud and boastful.  So, to prevent that, God allows thorns in our lives.  But, you see, when we have reached the end of our tolerance, THAT is when God reveals His strength by pouring Strength into us.  

When facing "old thorny" perhaps we would be wise to ask God to show us what we need to learn rather than asking Him to take it away. 

Don't Mind Me, Just Planting A Thought.

It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. 

What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.

1 Corinthians 3:7 

 

Each of us has our own idea of evangelism (yeah, I don't like that church word either).  For some, it comes through revival services.  For some, it comes through street preaching.  For some, it comes through being so serious that a smile would cause intense pain. For some, it means going from house to house, knocking on doors, handing out flyers.  And there are people who respond positively to these methods.  I'm just saying these methods have never appealed to me nor have I been receptive to them when they were applied to me.

 

Here's the thing that I learned from doing it wrong for so long.  I tried preaching to people.  I tried carrying my Bible with me so they could see that meant what I said.  I tried the "bait and switch" where I offer to help with your issue but only after you listen to my sermon. Why was I so stupid?  Because I was led to believe that I was the one who had to go out and "Win Souls For JEEZUS!"   And I admit it, I was wrong.

 

You see, it's not my job to convince you to believe.  That's not what God called me to do. God called me to be, of all things, a planter.  When we talk, I plant a thought or a perspective.  Then, it's God's job to grow that thought or perspective. You see, God created us to be in relationship with others, which means we become part of each others' lives.  This is where the thoughts and perspectives part comes it, because we can sit down together, enjoy each others company, are free to talk about anything.  It is through relationships that true seed planting takes place.

Nothing Can Stop You!

And after you suffer for a short time, God, 

who gives all grace, will make everything right. 

He will make you strong and support you and keep you from falling. 

He called you to share in his glory in Christ, a glory that will continue forever. 

1 Peter 5:10 

 

 

What have you faced in your life?  Financial stress?  Divorce?  Job Stress?  Just can't seem to catch a break?  All of the above?  

 

Here's something we tend to forget (and so do I), stress, anxiety, worry and fear are NOT Problem Solvers!  They make the problem worse in our minds.  You see, our minds have the nasty little habit of taking a situation, adding worry, stress, anxiety and fear to it, and making a debilitating soup that makes us, not only feel defeated, but makes self defeating people.

 

It's not bad enough that the issues we face are tough on us, add to that the fact that, while your supposed to be dealing with the issue you have to slap on the "happy face" for everyone else while your mind begins taking side trips down "Worst Possible Outcome" Lane.  And thus begins the spiral.  

 

Meanwhile, we forget the most important part of this process.  You see, you're still here.  That proves you are stronger than you give yourself credit.  God has brought you through every breath of life so far and you are still here!  

Let me ask you the same questions I have had asked of me:

     *  How much money will all your worry, fear, anxiety, and stress put into your bank account?

     *   How much longer will all your worry, fear, anxiety, and stress extend your life?

     *   How much happier will all your worry, fear, anxiety, and stress add to your life?

 

God has not called us to be fearful.  He has called us to be afraid.  He has not called us to be stressed or worried.  God has called us to be His Children!  And as His children, HE takes care of us!  And we WILL come out stronger, in spite of what we face, because nothing and no one can change His plans for us!   

 

 

What Kind of Farmer Are You?

Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows, because the person who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 

Galatians 6:7-8

I have a confession to make, I do NOT enjoy gardening in the least.  If I were the only farmer left on earth, we'd starve....that's how much I do NOT enjoy gardening.  I know there are some who find it extremely relaxing to dig in the dirt, swat the gnats, mosquitoes, and whatever other annoying bugs decide to descend upon you, and I am glad for those....I applaud them.....I thank God for these people with every salad I eat!  

Here's a rule of thumb for those who like planting and all that goes with it: "If you want oranges, plant oranges; if you want weeds, do not plant anything."  While, on the surface, this is self explanatory, but if you look beyond the surface, you will see the true meaning: 

          *     Study = Good Grades

          *     Job = paycheck

          *     Teach children respect & boundaries = Respectful & Respectable Adults

          *     Teach children responsibility = responsible adults

You see, if we choose (and YES we do choose by our actions or inaction) to do nothing, should we be surprised when we have a generation who thinks everything is owed to them?

Honestly, I take umbrage with the Halo Orange advertisements that seem to encourage parents to fear their children, while it teaches the children that THEY, not their parents, are in charge.  We've seen it for years, children are smarter than parents.  Children know better than parents.  And parents are too busy, too tired, too career focused, or to apathetic to teach their children the way they should GO!

We get what we plant! And here's another consideration, it's never too late to clear your fields and replant your garden.  

  

A Little Dab Will Do You

 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”

~Matthew 17:20

Faith is not an easy concept to grasp, so let me try to explain it as best as I am able.  Every time you take a breath, you expect there to be oxygen for you to take in.  This is faith!  Every time you sit in a chair, you expect it to hold you (unless you are using doll furniture).  That is faith!  We have faith in a lot of daily happenings that we don't even give conscious thought about.  Our faith in these things is strong and we can rely on the routine of these things.

Now....when I was young, my elders (who shall remain nameless for now) thought the best method of teaching me to swim was the "sink or swim method" whereby I was heaved off a dock into water well over my head, and I would have to figure out pretty quickly how to keep breathing.  Not fun in the least, was that!  But I grew to have faith in the fact that water and my chubbiness would bring me close enough to the surface that I could manage to get my head above water long enough to gasp a breath.  After several times of doing this, I figured out that if I just relaxed, I would float.  I hated learning to swim and still don't enjoy the endeavor, but my faith in God's physics of floating fat has grown dramatically.

The same holds true as we we seek to grow our faith in God as He deals with us in our every day life!  Recently, I submitted my Timesheet at work and received a rather abrupt response that it had been rejected.  I tried again and several hours after they were due, I got another notice that it had been rejected again.  By this time, the deadline to submit my timesheet was past and, try as I might, I could not access my Timesheet to see what could be done.  And in the midst of the images of missing a paycheck and all the repercussions of the absence of funds I felt as though I was drowning, and I prayed for help. And, believe it or not, a peace settled on me and I in the quiet of my heart I heard "Trust Me."  The next morning, the most wonderful person in the world helped me make sense of the issue and helped me get it corrected. And my Faith Grew!

If you look at the photo, you will see a single mustard seed.  It is tiny!  Jesus said if our faith were even as big as that tiny seed, we could move mountains!  The giant plant you see the man standing in front of grew from a single tiny mustard seed.

Think about this, people go to the gym and lift weights until their muscles are huge and their veins look as though they will explode.  But they had to start small.  Just like our faith starts in the small things.  Imagine what we could accomplish if our faith grew like the muscles of the weightlifter.  Just imagine....is it time to start working out at the Faith Gym?