A Pre-fruit Tree/ Waking Up

(This is something I wrote a while back but I know it is pertinent right now!)

This peach trees looks dead but it isn't. It's in a dormant stage preparing for the coming season to bear fruit, perhaps more than the branches can even hold. Notice the broken branches, how gnarled and dead it looks. Actually the branches are not broken, they've been pruned, cut off. Jesus revealed that every vine (or fruit tree) that bears fruit will be pruned at one time or another so that it can bear more fruit than it already has.

Be careful not to become discouraged when you find yourself in a dormant state, or after having been pruned. You could even feel cold, like these snow frosted trees. One characteristic of those times is that you may look and feel your worst. But if you don't go through the process, you will never truly 'look your best'!

The theme of my blog is 'Waking Up'. That is exactly what fruit trees start doing just about this time of year. They can go from apparent barrenness to bearing maximum fruit in a very short time. Jeremiah had a very interesting and encouraging conversation with the Lord along these lines:

"Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Jeremiah, what do you see?" And I said, "I see a branch of an almond tree. Then the Lord said to me, "You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word" (Jeremiah 1:11-12).

At first glance the exchange between the prophet and the Lord doesn't seem to make much sense, until you realize that the Hebrew word for 'almond' and the word translated 'ready to perform', are similar in sound and spelling in the Hebrew. God is using a play on words to say that just as the almond (shaaqeed) awakens first in the spring, flowering in January, so is the Lord 'awake' (shoqeed) alert, on the lookout, over His promised word to perform it.

Our faith can stay awake because He is always awake to watch over us and fulfill his word. Remember His promises and trust that He is watching over them to fulfill each one for those who believe.

Disappointment

Three times after His resurrection Jesus appeared to very close friends who did not recognize Him. There may be more than one reason they couldn't , but, what is common to each of these situations? Disappointment!

In each of the three episodes the text either confirms or implies that disappointment played a significant role in those who met Jesus after His resurrection and yet did not readily recognize him . Luke 24 chronicles the story of Cleopas and his companions as they sadly trod the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Jesus intrudes into their narrative completely unrecognized and they are ‘sad and gloomy’. Jesus, as only he can, through questioning conversation and revelation eventually unravels their disappointment, they recognize him and he’s gone. Poof!

Mary,(Magadalene I think), returned to the empty tomb disappointed and broken hearted when two angels asked her why she was crying. (Even the angels see things differently than we do with our limited earthly viewpoint!?! They knew the time of heartache was over. Jesus was alive!) Mary’s lament was that she couldn't locate ‘the dead Jesus’ when behind her stood the ‘Live Jesus’, yet she too didn’t recognize Him. Once again, just as in Luke 24, Jesus asks questions until Mary’s illusion of the ‘still dead’ Jesus evaporates in the face of the Living One! Disappointment eradicated!

Simon Peter had the same experience with Jesus after his betrayal, disappointment, and seaside restoration recorded in John 21. Three times Jesus asked each person questions that dissipated their disappointment and confusion. Often Jesus doesn't settle our issues by answering our questions. He asks us His questions and gives us Himself!

Overcoming Hopelessness

          The Bible emphasizes faith, hope, and love as three essentials. Each is necessary for a vibrant faith, are different from each other but are related. They are like three sisters. Hope says ‘I know things will work out, I just don’t know how or when!’ Her sister Faith says, ‘Things have already worked out’, (even before they do in actual experience). Love says, ‘even if they don’t work out, even if I don’t understand what’s going on, nothing can separate me from the affection God has for me!’

          We should note that Paul states that of the 3 love is the greatest, because it has the capacity to generate the other two attributes. Faith works by love (See Gal 5:6), hope increases as we receive God's love which energizes our faith since faith is the substance of things hoped for! 

            Today let’s look at Hope. Hope securely built upon the ‘better promises’ of God, has fueled the fire of faith that has produced every major spiritual breakthrough down through the ages. It is so essential. Hope is defined as the confident expectation of good and is based on believing the promises of God. There is no consistent strong faith apart from having a living hope in our hearts for faith is the substance of things hoped for (Heb 11:1)!

            All of us have the capacity to be filled with hope and it is much closer to us than we often recognize: When we were born again we were translated into a brand new kingdom …into a ‘sphere of hope’.        

For we were saved in the sphere of hope. But hope that has been seen is not hope, for that which a person sees, why does he hope for it? But if that which we do not see, we hope for, through patience we expectantly wait for it. (Romans 8:24-25 Wuest Trans.)

            Hope is like a spiritual bubble or sphere. Abiding in that sphere creates attitudes of confidence. It becomes the inward spiritual environment that fortifies our patience and sustains the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Because Paul the apostle lived in that hope atmos-sphere he boldly proclaimed, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

            Let me give you an example of the power of hope from contemporary history. Dean Smith coached the University of North Carolina basketball team for 36 years. He

once owned the record for the most victories in NCAA history with 879. He was a highly innovative strategic thinker and had a reputation for being loyal to each of his players. He continued to send regular notes and encouragements to many of them years after they played for him. His positive hope filled attitude permeated every aspect of his life.

            Dean Smith’s hope was contagious and proved to be the deciding factor in great victories on the court. March 2, 1974, his fourth ranked Carolina Tar Heels trailed the Duke University Blue Devils by 8 points with 17 seconds left in the game. Coach Smith called time out, gathered his players around him, looked them in the eye and said, “We’re in great shape. We’ve got them right where we want them. Isn’t this fun!”

            With that kind of confidence Coach Smith sent his players back on the court into a seemingly impossible situation. Carolina picked up two quick points when Bobby Jones hit two foul shots. They scored on a steal and scored again on a turnover of a Duke inbound pass, shortening the gap to two points. After Carolina rebounded on a missed Duke foul shot Walter Davis hit a last second 30-foot bank shot to tie the game sending it into overtime. The Tar Heels claimed a 96-92 overtime victory that day. Carolina’s win is regarded by many as the greatest comeback victory in college basketball history, inspired by Dean Smith’s unshakeable hope. Hope fuels victory in the face of overwhelming odds and is a ‘devil’ conquering force!

Overcoming Hopelessness

            Hopelessness is a delusion, the consequence of an inaccurate belief system. For many in our generation it is an enormous enemy. But it is an imposter that is the result of believing a lie. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Truth is transformational. It has the power to make free! Lies have an opposite detrimental effect. How do you know that your perception of reality is inaccurate? How do you know that what you believe is not true? You are not free! It can be just that simple.

            The apostle Paul identified the relationship between what you believe and how it affects you. He wrote, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). Accurate believing produces joy and peace and an abundance of hope. Acknowledging the truth is not sufficient to bring freedom; the truth you believe is the only truth that liberates you. In some cases you may have your facts straight but still be bound because your understanding is inaccurate. Jesus warned, take heed how you hear (Luke 8:18). If you have drawn inaccurate conclusions, you ‘heard wrong.’ Allow the Holy Spirit to interpret reality for you.

Jeremiah’s dilemma

            Jeremiah, one of the greatest prophets in the Old Testament, walked close to the Lord and was one of His spokesmen in his generation to the nation of Israel. Yet the great prophet was prone to periods of hopelessness and depression. Jeremiah 15:18 details his complaint against the Lord. In dispair he questioned, “Why is my pain perpetual and my wound incurable, which refuses to be healed? Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream, as waters that fail?”

            Jeremiah accused the Lord of being unreliable, like waters that fail, meaning ‘waters that cannot be trusted’. God’s response is illuminated in The Amplified Translation:

Therefore thus says the Lord to Jeremiah: “If you return and give up this mistaken tone of distrust and despair, then I will give you again a settled place of quiet and safety, and you will be My minister; and if you separate the precious from the vile cleansing your own heart from unworthy and unwarranted suspicions concerning God’s faithfulness, you shall be My mouthpiece. . . for I am with you to save and deliver you, says the Lord. And I will deliver you out of the hands of the wicked, and I will redeem you out of the palms of the terrible and ruthless tyrants.” (Jeremiah 15:19-21)

            Jeremiah was affected by a common delusion that the Lord identified as a mistaken tone of distrust and despair. His solution was simple and profound: give it up! . . stop believing the lie, reconsider your conclusions and change your mind.

            David the Psalmist declared: “I would have despaired, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Ps 27:13, NASU). David knew what destroys despair: having an accurate understanding that God is good, and a deep conviction that he would experience that goodness while he lived. Our human tendency is to allow how we feel to affect what we believe. True humility refuses to believe what we think or feel when it contradicts the truth and the revealed nature of God. Having a renewed mind is the key that brings this breakthrough.

            Circumstantial deliverance is often preceded by an internal heart attitude deliverance based on changing our beliefs. Jeremiah’s circumstantial freedom was contingent on first walking in an inner freedom. The Lord promised him a new settled place of quiet and safety on the other side of rejecting his mistaken tone. The term ‘mistaken tone’ reveals how easy it is to misinterpret reality. The prophet’s inaccurate thought process caused him to feel depressed and it distorted his understanding of the nature of God. The Lord also instructed Jeremiah to cleanse himself from suspicions of God’s motives. If Jeremiah made those two internal adjustments God promised to make him His mouthpiece and would not allow Jeremiah’s ever present enemies to prevail against him. God would deliver and redeem him.  

            This generation desperately needs to ‘give up’ our mistaken tones of distrust and despair and suspicions concerning God’s faithfulness.” Don’t let hopelessness steal your joy! Identify the lies that you believe. Replace them with the truth and send despair running for its life.

            Eventually Jeremiah changed his mind about what the Lord thinks. 15 chapters later Jeremiah discovered the redemptive thoughts of the Lord revealed in this prophetic statement: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope (Jer 29:10-11).

            What does God think of us? His thoughts toward us are thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give us a future and a hope. Hope is built into the DNA of the gospel. Though human hope may have died the day Jesus was crucified transcendent unconquerable hope emerged from the tomb in the person of the resurrected man, Christ Jesus. The empty tomb of the risen Jesus makes this bold proclamation: there is no hopeless situation. Let that hope arise in your hearts right now. It is already there ready to spring into living faith!

Delivered From Deserved Consequences

Until the good news of the grace of God seems too good to be true, we have not yet seen it in all its fullness. I once had an encounter with the Lord who showed me five wagons of spiritual blessing He wanted to release to the world. One wagon contained  “deliverance from deserved consequences” and truly seemed too good to be true. Will God deliver us from what we deserve? Yes. God forgives and restores. If He didn’t, no one would be redeemed and no one would make it to heaven.

            The Bible is clear: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23), and “the soul who sins shall die” (Ezek. 18:20). Jesus said, “I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!” (Luke 12:5). These sobering words testify that we all need deliverance from what we deserve. The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ Jesus provided the only way of deliverance from ultimate deserved consequences.

            True repentance is the key to experiencing this forgiveness. We must turn not only from whatever deserves His condemnation but also toward God and renew our minds completely. Without both aspects of repentance we will never fully experience both the depth of God’s mercy and the breadth of His redemption.

The Apostle Paul: Grace Enlarged

            Acts 7 introduces Saul of Tarsus as he approved the death of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Stephen, an original deacon, was full of the Holy Spirit and faith. He did great signs and wonders and incurred the wrath of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Acts 6:9). They could neither refute his wisdom nor withstand the Spirit by which he spoke, so they framed him, accused him of blasphemy, and brought him before the Jewish high council.

            Stephen defended himself before the high priest. He outlined God’s plan through a discourse of the history of His dealings with Israel, beginning with Abraham and ending with the promise of the Messiah. Stephen rebuked them for having rejected the prophets of old and for killing the Messiah Himself. The council ground their teeth in anger as they cast him out and stoned him to death. Saul of Tarsus stood by, consenting to Stephen’s death.

            Afterward, Saul began a focused attack on the believers in Jerusalem:

Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. (Acts 8:1, 3)

            Saul gained letters of authority from the high priest and with demonic ferocity continued his vicious attacks. Then, miraculously, Jesus intervened on the road to Damascus. “As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ Then the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads’” (Acts 9:3–5).

            Jesus’ intervention in Saul’s life reveals the marvelous depth of the mercy and kindness of God. Saul had done so much harm, not just to the disciples of the Lord but to the Lord Jesus Himself, who took Saul’s actions personally: “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. Isn’t It Hard for You?”

            I am shocked that Jesus appealed to Saul based on how difficult his life became as he persecuted the church. Jesus asked him, “Isn’t it hard for you to kick against the goads?” Isn’t it hard for you? How amazing is the heart of God for every person!

            Jesus had a profound destiny for this enemy of the gospel. He conscripted Ananias, a man of real faith, to rescue Saul. Ananias knew well Saul’s reputation. But he overcame his apprehension, obeyed the Lord, found Saul, and restored his sight:

And Ananias . . . laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus. Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. (Acts 9:17–20)

            Who more than Paul is the prototype of one delivered from deserved consequences? He was not just a sinner. He sought the destruction of believers in Jesus and the very faith Jesus suffered and died to establish. The apostle Paul constantly proclaimed this marvelous grace. He wrote: “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life” (1 Tim. 1:15–16).

            The salvation of Saul of Tarsus is a primary example of how far the mercy of God is willing to reach. His mercy still reaches at least that far for anyone today.

The Importance of Grace

            Grace has many manifestations but is most simply defined as “undeserved favor.” To qualify for it you cannot deserve it. Grace is the only basis of deliverance available to us. It only comes as a gift. We must trust God to experience the fullness of His grace. Jeremiah wrote about the significance of trusting God:

Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes [kjv: see good when it comes], but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit. (Jer. 17:5–8)

            Jeremiah concluded that to trust ourselves is to put ourselves under a curse. The effects of the curse is not that God stops helping us, but that when we trust anything other than the Lord we lose the capacity to receive the help He continues to freely provide for us! Trust the Lord for He will truly deliver us from deserved consequences!

Reconstructing Hope

Reconstructing Hope

The Lord wants to deliver people from what they deserve. That idea is central to the purpose of the gospel and embedded in the definition of grace. He wants to deliver people from deserved consequences. Who more than Paul is the prototype of one delivered from deserved consequences? He was not just a sinner. He sought the destruction of believers in Jesus and the very faith Jesus suffered and died to establish. The apostle Paul constantly proclaimed this marvelous grace. He wrote: "This is a faithful saying and worth of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life" (1 Tim. 1:15-16).

The salvation of Saul of Tarsus is a primary example of how far the mercy of God is willing to reach. His mercy still reaches at least that far for anyone today. Grace has many manifestations but is most simply defined as "undeserved favor". To qualify for it you cannot deserve it. Grace is the only basis of deliverance available to us. It only comes as a gift. We must trust God to experience the fullness of His grace. Jeremiah wrote about the significance of trusting God:

"Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strengtth, whose heart departs from   the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes [KJV: see good when it comes], but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit." (Jer. 17;5-8)

Jeremiah concluded that to trust ourselves is to put ourselves under a curse. The result is that we won't recognize good even when it comes. I have met people who first encountered Jesus and believed the gospel to the saving of their souls, but they turned from the grace of God to rely on their ability to keep the law for their justification. How tragic! It is a great deception to rely on obeying the Old Testament law to remain in fellowship with God. Paul the apostle confronted this heresy head-on:

"You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace... This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you." (Gal. 5:3-4, 8)

We must not let anything frustrate the Lord's prescribed way to deliver us from what we deserve. God is the God of grace and wants to reconstruct our hope in Him and the power of the gospel to deliver us from deserved consequences. He is a good God!

The Stable: Key to Stability in Our World

Humility, the remarkable characteristic of the God who has every reason and right not to be, is embedded in the details of the birth of Christ Jesus. He was born in a stable! Much of what C.S. Lewis communicated resonates with me. He wrote in The Last Battle, "In our world too, a stable once had something inside it that was bigger than our whole world". He also said of the Lord, "God is not proud...He will have us even though we have shown that we prefer everything else to Him." As I consider obscuree scripture not often read or considered but just as authoritative as John 3:16 I marvel at the God who would take up residence, not just visit, but take up residence in a burning desert thorn bush. Moses blessed the offspring of Joseph with these words in Deuteronomy 33:16:

"Blessed...with the precious things of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush. Let the blessing come on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers."

'Dwelt' does not mean to visit temporarily, but is defined in just the opposite way -'to lodge', 'to reside or permanently stay'. You may think that God got to the bush 15 minutes before Moses did that day, but that is not the case. He dwelt there! All of us want, yea even need, the favor of God, but how many of us are willing to receive the 'favor of Him who dwelt in the bush'? That kind of favor helped deliver 2,000,000 Jews from terrible bondage under the control of the most ruthless despot of their generation. But that kind of favor comes in the context of foolishness and humility. A talking bush? A burning talking bush who claims to be the uncreated God? Try explaining that kind of blessing to those who are so tied to the realm of the earth, so tied to their own reason and religious concepts that they would consider such an encounter as coming from 'the dark side'.

Jesus was born in a stable which was likely just a cave, a room carved into the side of a hill. Animals lived there. It was dirty. The bible records it this way,

"And she brought forth her first-born Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn" (Luke 2:7).

You could translate this verse another way,

"And she brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in rags and used a feed trough for his bed, because there was no room for them anywhere else".

The Christmas story has been so gilded with religious sentiment that sometimes it is difficult to grasp the profundity of what happened. The One who created everything became a man and was born in a dirty place and spent his first night sleeping in a trough from which animals fed. The most stable person in the universe was born in a stable...this play on words has within it a wonderful truth. True stability in life comes from true humility. But many shy away from the kind of foolishness that can deposit that kind of true humility. That is another one of God's paradoxes. He uses foolish even unstable situations to create stability within us and to impart His glory to us. God is serious about revealing His glory and imparting His glory, but how many of us will embrace the odd way in which God does so?

The world needs another 'Bush Administration', not a presidential one that finds its roots in Texas but one that originates from heaven, one like Moses knew. God still resides in a burning bush. That means that even until this day our God reveals Himself in unusual ways, ways easy to disregard, ways that may offend our religious sensibilities, ways that we might never choose. Why? God is humble. Men are proud. He does it to help us change. We need to.

The Test

     For twenty years I worked as a salesman, spending many hours in the car traveling from client to client and from city to city. Often I would listen to Bible teachers on the radio as I drove. One morning while listening to J. Vernon McGee, I stopped at a traffic light behind a dirty transfer truck. I noticed someone had written the word “test” in the dust on its pull down door. As I read the word, I had that inner sense the Lord was speaking to me. I knew a test was imminent and the Lord was alerting me so I could pass it. At that very moment, J. Vernon quoted Isaiah 46:1-4 and then followed it with his own commentary. This is what he said:

            “Bel bows down, Nebo stoops; their idols were on the beasts and on the cattle. Your carriages were heavily loaded, a burden to the weary beast.

            They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but have themselves gone into captivity.

            Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been upheld by Me from birth, who have been carried from the womb:

           Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.”

            Then J. Vernon said, “Many people try to carry and support God. The heathen carry their idols and are greatly burdened by them just as the prophet Isaiah reports. But the true God wants to carry us even to our old age, to our gray hairs. Yes, He wants to carry us. Will we let Him? This is the test!”

            At this time my wife, Donna, was pregnant with our fourth child. In the third month of pregnancy her water broke in the middle of the night. Realizing this could be the beginning of a miscarriage, we began to ask the Lord for His help. Donna went to her doctor the next morning, and although the tests indicated she had lost amniotic fluid in the night, measurements showed that her uterus was the correct size for this stage of her pregnancy. Having no medical explanation, the perplexed physician suggested that perhaps she had wet the bed!?! We knew better. This was our fourth pregnancy and Donna knew the difference between urinating and her water breaking. Miraculously the child’s protective sack was still intact.

            From time to time during the remainder of the pregnancy, Donna and I dealt with nagging thoughts concerning the welfare of this unborn child. The enemy tried to use a very positive experience I had with the Lord several years before to fuel that anxiety. In 1973, the Lord prophetically revealed to me that I would have three sons. While on a ministry trip abroad He simultaneously dropped into my heart two different Bible references; 1 Chronicles 2:27 and Genesis 29:34. The content of both verses was unfamiliar so I looked them up immediately. Here is what they said:

            “The sons of Ram, the firstborn of Jerahmeel, were Maaz, Jamin, and Eker” (1 Chronicles 2:27). 

            “She conceived again and bore a son, and said, ‘Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.’ Therefore his name was called Levi” (Genesis 29:3-4).

            Both scriptures record the birth of three sons. The first one stated that these three sons were born to a man named Ram. My initials are R.A.M. and so I concluded that in a most unusual way, the Lord used these two scriptures to reveal to me that I too would have three sons. There is also some Biblical support for this interpretation. In Genesis 41:32 Joseph understood that having the same dream repeated twice (or in my case the same revelation) indicated that “…the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.” At the time of the revelation I was single, but in September of 1976 I married Miss Donna Wilson, and by July of 1983 our third son was born. It took seven years for this word to be fulfilled.

            Since the Lord had not spoken to me about this fourth child, the enemy tried to convince me this baby would not make it. After the night the water broke, my wife and I committed our unborn child to the Lord and continued to pray for her welfare. We were in the test. Then on July 17, 1985 the Lord spoke to me prophetically. He encouraged me about some particular business problems and then ended with these words, “…and as you rest and trust in Me so shall your child be born without a hitch.”

            On August 11, 1985 Mary Kathryn McMillan was born in perfect condition. The Lord promised to carry us even to our old age. Not only had He carried us through this test, but He enabled Donna to carry Katy full term. Yes, our God wants to carry us!

Navigating in the Fog

Once a man sitting in a car complained loudly about how foggy it was. He had hoped for a bright cheerful sunshiny day but alas...fog. Then he realized that the fog was not outside the car but inside it and the more he complained the more his breath fogged up the windows.

The un-renewed mind is like that. When we aren't thinking accurately we project a false reality but think we are discerning it. The un-renewed mind can affect us much like the  condition pilots experience called spatial disorientation. In poor weather conditions with no visibility pilots lose an accurate sense of direction. Their plane can actually be upside down and they don't know it. The only safe way to navigate in those conditions is by instrument panel. 80% of the pilots in the U.S. don't have an instrument rating and aren't allowed to fly in bad conditions. Pilots flying in bad visibility without an instrument rating cause 40% of all plane crashes. A friend of mine who is an excellent pilot and skilled in flying by instruments told me that 100% of all pilots crash when under spatial disorientation and are navigating by feel. 

To make a spiritual application we must realize our un-renewed minds are not our friends. At times we can't depend on how we feel or what we may think, particularly when what we feel and believe is contrary to our instrument panel -the Bible. 

Paul the apostle wrote to the believers in Rome: "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:2) In this same vein of thought Jesus said, "If you continue in My word, then are you My disciples indeed; And you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." (John 8:31-31) If you aren't free you aren't believing the truth! It is that simple.

A friend of mine recently prayed, "Lord, I would like to know your opinion about something." The Lord responded, "I don't have opinions, I have truth!" Yes there are many opinions that float around in the world we live in. Many of them float through our minds even when we don't invite them. Psalm 91:4b says "His truth shall be your shield and buckler". His truth. Living life from God's viewpoint produces joy and happiness for Jesus came to give us life and life more abundantly. 

One last thought from the pen of the apostle Paul: "For to be carnally minded (un-renewed mind)  is death but to be spiritually minded (renewed mind) is life and peace." (Romans 8:6) 

It is time to think like Jesus. We need to fly by the instruments.

Grapes and Raisins, Promises and Fulfillments

Over the years I have accumulated a number of unfulfilled personal promises from the Lord. Recently I mentioned to Him that I didn't understand why He had not yet fulfilled them. Its not that I'm unusually impatient nor extraordinarily patient, but some of these promises are over 30 years old. 

As I questioned the Lord I saw a picture in my mind of a scoop in heaven pouring out raisins. At first I disregarded what I saw. It seemed foolish and of no consequence. However I couldn't shake it and so began to inquire of the Lord about it. 

Grapes are the clearest old testament prophetic image representing a promise. When the twelve spies returned from spying out the 'promised land' they brought back grapes as proof of its great fruitfulness. The grapes of Eschol were so large that it took two men to carry back one bunch on a long stick between them. Grapes became synonymous with the promised land and are the prototypical picture of a promise. 

Now, raisins. Raisins are grapes dried up. They don't look near as good as plump juicy grapes but they fulfill a different purpose. In the ancient world they sustained soldiers in times of war or people traveling distances who need nutritious food that would not perish. Grapes only last a short time but raisins have the ability to sustain people in dry difficult circumstances over the long haul.

Jeremiah once said, "I found your word and ate it and it became the joy and rejoicing of my heart..." Thats what we must do to inherit the promises of God. We must eat them, chew on them, meditate upon them, consume them and make them ours. Promises come like grapes but are fulfilled like raisins. Over time our personal promises seem to dry up and wither just like a grape that becomes a raisin, but if we will eat them they shall sustain us until their time of fulfillment arrives. 

REMEMBER: PROMISES COME LIKE GRAPES BUT ARE FULFILLED LIKE RAISINS. 

God Wants to Know You!

The Lord isn’t satisfied with knowing about us. He wants to really know us. The following verses have captured my attention in a new way:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’

“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21-23)

The Lord makes a distinction between those who know Him and move in His power and those He knows personally. We need to be in both categories. It is important that we move in the power of the Holy Spirit so people can be set free and know the Lord. But, we can’t let that expression of knowing Him substitute for Him knowing us.

There is a difference in God knowing everything about us and God knowing us personally.  Hebrews 4:13 says that “…there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” God knows everything about us, but does He experientially know us?. He obviously distinguishes between knowing facts about us, even the secrets we have, from actually knowing us in an intimate way.  The word intimacy has been loosely translated ‘into me see’. He wants to have personal experiences and communications with us. We need to let Him see into us in that we communicate to Him who we are on ever increasing levels.

Consider the account of the Lord visiting Abraham and His concern about Sodom and Gomorrah.

“And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,

 “I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” (Genesis 18:20-21)

Even though the Lord knew the condition of Sodom and Gomorrah He wanted to know in a more personal way, so He went to experience it Himself.  It is not enough for our God to know about things. He wants to have relationships with people in every area of life so that He can know them personally.

Jesus is our access point into the Kingdom of God. Could it be that we are the personal access points, the doors if you will, of God’s access points into the world. He is our door up and we are His door down into the very affairs of life! A property owner may rent a house to someone. By so doing he limits his access to the property by virtue of the terms of the lease.  Though he owns the property He can’t barge in at will. I know that God owns everything by virtue of creation, but He has chosen to limit His access to all things human by the authority He gave humans.

Verses in Song of Solomon 2:14 reveal the Lord’s profound desire to know His people intimately:

   “… Let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.”

We are most clearly identified by our voice and our face. Your face speaks of letting the Lord really ‘see’ who you are. Your voice has the ability to tell the Lord who you are. He says that your face is lovely. Let Him see it. He says your voice is sweet. Let Him hear it. Tell Him who you are.

Have You Told Him

 What if the Lord only knew you to the degree you intentionally and audibly told him about yourself. How well would He know you? Have you ever intentionally told Him who you are? One reason we don’t is that we allow the truth that ‘He knows everything’ keep us from letting Him know us in a deep way.

I have known the Lord over 45 years. Recently my personal relationship has blossomed in a way I have always wanted. It is happening as I have chosen to tell Him who I am as though He knows nothing about me. The remarkable result is that He has begun to speak into my life in ways I didn’t expect. I realize that as I open up to Him in that way I am giving Him a more specific context to communicate with me.

I have said things like, “I was born on January 10th, 1951 in Anderson, SC. while my dad was the football coach at Erskine College…”. At one point in this new relational process I began to tell the Lord about parts of my past that I had been ashamed of. Then I said, “But then you’ve never felt ashamed because you’ve never done anything to be ashamed of!” He responded to me, “That’s not true Robin. I felt ashamed on the cross!” His response startled me but then I remembered the verse in Hebrews Heb 12:2:

 “…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

I understood the concept from my years of reading these verses and could quote it verbatim but it never really struck me that Jesus truly felt ashamed. Then the Lord told me that He needed to feel ashamed so that He could profoundly sympathize with those who felt ashamed. Who could not love this Jesus! Then He told me that in the cross He did something so wonderful that if a person fully understood what He had done for them they would never need to feel ashamed again. He put everyone’s shame to death in Himself as He died on the cross. He paid that price too.

Now It’s Your Turn

I know so many people who have suffered terribly destructive things in this life. Perhaps you are one of them. Many have asked Him for help and deliverance, but how many have actually toldHim what happened? Tell Him your story. Open up your heart and your mouth and tell Him who you are. If you do He may very well comfort you in ways you never expected. Let Him see your face. Let Him hear your voice. For He says, “Your face is lovely and your voice is sweet.”