Take Hold

Philippians 3: 7-14

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ  and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law,but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.  I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,  and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

I hold so tightly to my own will sometimes that I have no way to grab "hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me".  It is really hard to hold on to two things at once.  That is the way that God's will works, you have to let go so that you can grab hold with everything that you have.  What is it that you loose when you let go?  Like Paul says, "I consider them garbage."

Fear of the Lord

Psalm 112

Praise the LORD.  Blessed are those who fear the LORD, who find great delight in his commands.  Their children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.  Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever.  Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.  Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice.  Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever.  They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD.  Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.  They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor, their righteousness endures forever; their horn will be lifted high in honor.  The wicked will see and be vexed, they will gnash their teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.  

I know that this subject is taboo.  We don't like to talk about fearing the Lord because it brings to mind images of this wrathful, fire breathing god high above us whose only interest in our lives is to punish us.  Psalm 112 tells us that those who fear the Lord are blessed.  I jump ahead in the psalm to verse 7 that tells us "They will have no fear of bad news."  This is what the fear of the Lord says to me.  When you put your fear where it is supposed to be, you don't fear the things of this world, the bad news that may come your way.  Too often we waist our times worrying about everything else but God.  If we would just worry about Him, turn our thoughts to Him, we would have nothing else to fear.

Finding Rest

Matthew 11:28-30

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

We all get overwhelmed by the loads that we are asked or expected to carry.  Each of us seems to deal with it in our own way.  I find, that for the most part, we do what we can in our own strength until we can't anymore and then seek rest in our own way.  Here, Jesus is offering us to rest in Him.  So many times we view Jesus and the church as just one more thing that we don't have time for.  Make no mistake, there is great work to be done but when Jesus is there to help carry the load, it becomes an easy yoke and a light burden.  He is so much stronger.  He is so capable.  I can do all things through him who gives me strength.  - Philippians 4:13

Lord, I ask you to help us to find rest in Jesus.  I pray that we lay our burdens before Him and only take what you call us to.  I pray that weights would be lifted.  Lord, help us to release the yoke that we carry on our own that we would no longer labor in vain. - Amen

Jewels in Heaven

Matthew 6:20-21

Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

I wondered today what Jesus meant when he talked about storing up treasures.  I have always thought about treasures as material goods.  How do you store up material goods in Heaven?  As I read on to verse 21, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also," I immediately thought about loved ones who have passed on before us and how my heart is with them.  They say that home is where the heart is and the bible tells us that this earth is not our home.  So how do we make sure that our heart is in Heaven?  I believe it is by ensuring that God's treasured people will reside with Him in that place.  We have a running joke in our family that my Grandmother used to call us her jewels.  It has never made more sense than it does to me today.  We need to make sure that all of our jewels are stored up in Heaven.

Lord, we all have loved ones, treasures, who are separated from you.  You know them each by name. You formed them in their mother's womb.  You have a plan and a purpose for their lives.  I am asking that you open hearts this year.  Provide opportunities that we may speak your life giving word into their lives.  I pray that they would come to know you and your mercy and grace and that they would experience all that your love and peace has to offer. - Amen

I trust You, Jesus

Isaiah 40:21-26

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.
No sooner are they planted,
    no sooner are they sown,
    no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
    and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

“To whom will you compare me?
    Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
    Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
    and calls forth each of them by name.

I just love when God makes himself obvious to me.  So often I find God using multiple sources communicating the same thing to me.  At that point I figure I better listen up.  There was tender simplicity today from God.  My new devotional challenged me to practice saying “I trust You, Jesus…”  What are you facing?  What challenges are before you?  What seems simply impossible?  I trust You, Jesus… in my finances, for my marriage, with my family, for my future, for my country.  Whatever it is, practice trusting Jesus.  I thought about what I have trouble trusting Jesus for and as I turned to my journal to write about it, the words “I TRUST” were watermarked on the page.  I hear you Lord.  To that I say, “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!” - Mark 9:24  In light of Isaiah 40 it seems silly to not trust Him.

Lord, thank you that your word tells us that we will be blessed when we trust in you.  You continually prove yourself worthy of our trust.  Help us to relinquish our doubts that we may fully rely on you and not on our own abilities.  You alone are worthy.

A New Year, A New Life in the Fast Lane

Psalm 27:13-14 I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

At the beginning of 2012 we started “Life In the Fast Lane”.  It started strong as most things do but as this fast life has a tendency to do, lost some momentum.  I will say that there were those who stuck with it faithfully throughout the year and because of that we are going again.  When I heard one participant ask if we were going to continue Life in the Fast Lane in 2013, I didn’t know what to say but as I listened to his enthusiasm and his desire to double the amount during the next year, I couldn’t say no.  Add to that the stories of the families who have received monetary benefit, it really has been a blessing from God.  I will say that there were days that I doubted.  I grew weary of waiting.  When it was all said and done, I saw the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Even amid tragedy and suffering that this world has to offer, His goodness is unfailing.  How can I doubt?  The waiting can so easily bread doubt.  The wait takes strength and it takes courage.  Too often I lack both of these.

Life In the Fast Lane started with me emailing each week an inspirational verse to encourage those on the journey.  This year, I have decided to make it a blog.  I will still attempt to post a verse and words of encouragement each week but I will concede now that it may not be at the same time each week.  I try to draw my encouragement from my quiet time with the word each week.  I am tracking through a devotional this year about drawing near to Jesus so I imagine there will be many posts that deal with my Savior.  I tried to be a little more general about God in my emails last year simply because this began with a group of people with differing beliefs.  I am not out to offend anyone but I can’t let the fear of offending anyone keep me from sharing the gospel.  This is really just a place for you to wait with me.  I hope that it can be a small encouragement as you wait on the Lord.  

Lord, you are good and your promises are true.  Doubts cloud our thoughts and steal our peace.  Give us confidence, give us strength, give us courage.  May your blessings be numerous in 2013 and your love overflow from within us.  To you be the glory, forever.