True Love

Hey folks, I don't have a lot of time, but I wanted to share an excerpt from my D6 curriculum this week that I absolutely loved! Read on:

"...when God revealed Himself to the people in the days when the Old Testament was written, He chose to speak to His people and dwell among them--in the form of fire in a bush or in the tabernacle at the Israelite's camp. But this was not good enough for God; He wanted to be closer.

When Jesus came to earth as a man, God ate with us, hugged us, and wept with us. But this still wasn't good enough for God; He wanted to be closer. So, God sent His Holy Spirit to fill us--mind, body, and soul. He wants to be closer to us than our own breath!"

God wants to be close to us because He loves us! We are His children! Isn't that incredible? But it's true! Let that fact resonate in your soul this week.

HE LOVES US!

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!"

1 John 3:1

Measuring Our Love

Since I speak on the topic of obedience this week at Bible Study, I have been doing a little study on what obedience really means. Here are some tidbits:

• Obedience to God is the only way. The only reliable means of measuring our love for God is to examine whether we obey Him.
• If you are not keeping the commands of God, you cannot honestly claim to love Him.
• Actions speak louder than words.
• Each act of disobedience is a step away from God. Likewise, each act of obedience is a step back towards Him.
• "I was not born to be free. I was born to adore and to obey."--C.S. Lewis
• "Partial obedience, delayed obedience, and surface obedience to impress others are not acceptable to God. He is looking for men and women who will respond with instant, complete, wholehearted, and joyous obedience each time He speaks."--Del Fehsenfeld Jr.

O LORD, that I might be obedient, not just right now, when it is easy and things seem clear, but especially when I am threatened and my vision is foggy--especially when I feel wronged--for that is when I can show the sweetness of Jesus in my humble response. May it be so.

"We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands."

1 John 2:3

Don’t DIY

Today at church, Jeff talked about “remaining”. We have reached the place in 1 John were John is warning the church about “the antichrists” that will come and try to convince them that Jesus is not the only way to God. The antichrists will propose that there is a “substitute Jesus” that can save or they will say that Jesus is false and not the way to God.

John was afraid that his “dear children” would be drawn to these false teachers who gave them a more palatable teaching to follow—something smoother and easier. But John also said that his followers didn’t have to fear these con-men because they (the Church) knew the Truth and the Holy Spirit—God’s promised Counselor—was living in them. He said that if the Church would simply remain in Christ—abiding in His teachings, become increasingly familiar with His ways, trusting in his sovereignty—that they would be protected—no worries. John said, “…you know the Truth” (1 John 2:20), now stay in it!

These antichrists were preaching a sort of “Do it yourself” approach when it came to Jesus…

“You don’t like His Justice? Make Him a little more lenient.” “Unsatisfied with submission? Make Him follow the rules you make.” “You think you know better? Make your Jesus more like you!”

But you know what, dear children, YOU CAN’T MAKE A JESUS OF YOUR OWN. It doesn’t work like that. Either you walk in the light of His ways or you stumble in the darkness of the world. Either you remain in his love or you expose yourself to the fiery arrows of the evil one. The campaign these antichrists were supporting was just that-- anti-Christ; pro-you.

Jesus said in John 14:6-7,

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my father as well.

Jesus is the Way.

When we abide in Him and His Spirit lives in us we don’t have to have road signs to follow His path, we just have to follow Him.

Jesus is the Truth.

When false teachers appear, we don’t have to wonder if they have “secret inside knowledge.” They don’t. The Truth is contained in the simple gospel that you believed when you became a humble Christ-follower.

Jesus is the Life.

We don’t have to chase after the fantasies that the world runs after. True life is found in Jesus alone. If we really know—KNOW –God, and if we have familiarized ourselves with all of His ways, then we will know what is like Jesus and what is not.

Jeff talked about people that work with money and how they often can tell just by touch if the money is real or not. These people have become so familiar with the real thing that when counterfeit bills fall into their hands, they immediately know the money is not genuine. They don’t worry about becoming familiar with all the nuances of the “unreal”, they simply spend enough of their time with the “real” to totally disregard the fake.

It’s the same with Christians. We should not spend all of our time learning about how to recognize the antichrist—or anything else that opposes God. We should not be paranoid that these imposters are going to “trick” us into believing a lie. We should simply “remain” in Christ and in the Light of His Truth.When we spend time at the feet of Jesus, abiding in His love, learning to love His truths, studying His character, we will learn what the Father looks like. We will know what is real. And our familiarity with the real will help us recognize the false when it slithers quietly in.

So, we don’t have to be anxious about a “take-over” of our minds and our hearts. We don’t have to fear “the antichrists”, we just have to relax and remain in the one whose Spirit leads us.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.”

John 10:27

Great Expectations

So I ran a marathon last Sunday and I was feeling pretty decent until mile 18 or so but by mile 21, my body didn’t want to run anymore. And I felt like crying…and I did start to cry a little bit, but I was afraid of doing the whole hyperventilation thing, so I slowed to a walk, ate a few skittles, and said to myself, “You cannot cry. You cannot cry.” Then, trying to use positive thinking, I thought, “Come on…it’s only 5 miles. Five miles is nothing.”

But you know what? Five miles is something when you are out of fuel . And five miles is something when you really want to give up. And five miles is something when all you really want to do is sit down and cry.

So I kept going. I visited the extremely disgusting port-a-potty, I ate a few more skittles (after I got out of the port-a-potty), and I walked to the next water station where I got a cup of Gatorade and a cup of water. Then I drank some of the water, mixed the rest of it with the too-sweet Gatorade and I drank that too. Hoping for a “kick” from my sugar ingestion, I decided to run to the next mile marker.

Receiving no “kick”, but pushing on with heavy legs, I saw the big yellow balloon and a sign that said Mile 22. “Only a little more than a 5K now,” I thought, and I allowed myself to walk again. This time I sidled up to another walking runner and made small talk to pass the time. After a few minutes of this distraction, the other runner told me in no uncertain terms that she always ran alone and she really didn’t want to have a conversation with me. Ummmm…. “OK” I said cheerily, and I again began to run—aided by the little bit of adrenaline that my embarrassment had provided. Weird.

Mile 23 and 24 came and went, and the yellow balloons bobbed tauntingly in the wind, saying “You’re a slacker. You’re too slow!”, but I just ignored their cruel teasing and trudged on. I heard a man behind me wheeze, “25 is enough!” and I agreed.

Then I passed mile 25 and I was almost done. My skittles and my little pieces of peanut butter chocolate chip granola bar were of no use to me now, so I took the little snack bag (which had been tucked in my shorts the last 24.99 miles) out of its hiding place and threw it in the trash. I started counting the street signs because I knew that the finish line was on 4th Street. Then I willed myself to go to the next one…and then the next one…and then the next one…until I could see the long awaited sign that said “FINISH”. I ran slowly, slowly, slowly until my feet crossed the orange mat and I heard my name being announced over the loudspeaker. The end had finally come. My 3rd marathon was finished.

Someone at the finish ran up to me with a camera and said, “Congratulations! What an accomplishment! Let me take your picture so you can remember this day!” And I said, “You can take it, but I am not going to buy it.” I was discouraged and didn’t feel like I had done my best. I certainly did not want to commemorate that feeling.

I had trained for weeks for this and now I felt deflated—like I wished I could have pushed myself harder and farther. Sometimes, though, as I tell my kids, you just have a bad run. You never know when the “bad run” might occur or why it is “bad”. It just is and that’s that. I had a bad run. Period.

But I finished didn’t I? And in under 5 hours. Why couldn't I just be happy with that? Why did I care what others thought? And why couldn’t I just congratulate myself for pushing through?
Because I expected something different. I expected to have a “good run.” I expected NOT to struggle. And this is where the tension lies. My performance didn’t match my expectations and so I began to sulk. And I felt mad at myself and weak...and cheated.

Isn’t life like that, though? We expect God to provide us with the life we “deserve”. We expect that our life will be a “good run”. But sometimes it’s not. Sometimes, for no reason that anyone can find, our “run”, our situation, our circumstances turn out badly—not what we expected. And we sulk and we want to cry because the “running” has become so hard. And then, because the outcome doesn’t match the picture we have in our heads, we decide that everything is bad—that we got the short stick—that we deserve so much more because we “trained” so hard and did everything right.

But God always knows best and He always does right by us. When our outcomes don’t meet our expectations, it’s not God who needs to change, it’s us. It’s not our glory we’re here for; It is His.

So, next time I feel like giving up, I am going to try to change my paradigm. Rather than be distracted by my pain, and my inwardness, and my “heaviness”, I will remember His name and tell myself, “It’s not about me. It’s not about me. It’s not about me.” It’s all about Him. It’s all about Him. It’s all about Him. Then maybe my “bad runs” can be opportunities to run to Him.

“…but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Isaiah 40:31

Nil

Please don't stop reading because I haven't been posting much. I have been very, very busy and very, very tired, and at the end of the day, I feel like my creativity quotient is just about nil.

Nil is a word, by the way, that means "nothing", "nada", "none". I know this because it is a word my mother used to use. She used to say things like "your chances for getting to go there...or do that...or get that...are just about nil." She didn't say these things because she was a sourpuss, she said "nil" to me because I was an irresponsible teenager who often could not be trusted with important information or events--and sometimes my behavior didn't earn me a lot of points--if you know what I mean. So I learned that "nil" pretty much meant--"It's not gonna happen."

But...I don't want nil to mean that now--the "not gonna happen" part. I want nil to spur me on to write more and better entries. I want nil to come peeking over my shoulder and say, "So, what are you thinkin' about tonight? What can you share that will help others?" Rather than discourage me when my mind is feeling empty, I want nil to push me to greater creativity--writing, when I think I have nothing to write--wondering, when my spirit feels like vegging. I want this "nothing" to become an opportunity for me to create "something" when I am not necessarily inspired. I want to go beyond myself and what I think I can do. May "nil" be my muse of spontaneity rather than my excuse to go to bed.

So...now that I have thoroughly confused most of you, I will quit. Now, I will go to bed. Because nil has kept me awake. Nil has inspired me to sit down and write. And now I am done with my task. Thanks nil!

Adios!

"He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who cherishes understanding prospers."

Proverbs 19:8

Extravagant Redemption

A few months ago, I decided to pray daily for my wayward brother-in-law.

Then, about a week ago, God said, "Tori, I want you to pray that Chuck feels my love for him--that he would be drawn by my cords of loving kindness."

"I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness."  (Jer. 31:3)

And I said, "God, I don't want to." But God said "That's OK, do it anyway. It's what I want."

So I did. Every day.

Today, as I was preparing my D6 Kindergarten lesson about Joseph, God spoke again. His words were so powerful that I sobbed when I heard them.

The lesson said, "God not only redeemed Joseph out of these situations, He redeemed him extravagantly."

EXTRAVAGANTLY.

God said, "Tori, now I want you to pray that I will redeem Chuck extravagantly; that he would feel my extravagant, undeserved, unconditional love for him because I am a God of extravagant redemption."

And I cried. And then I said, "God, I don't want to." But God said "That's OK, do it anyway. It's what I want."

So I did. Right there. Today. And I will do it again tomorrow and the next day. I will keep on praying for Chuck's extravagant redemption until God tells me to pray something else.

God's plans trump all. What he wants to happen will. What I want to happen might not.

So, when he wants me to pray loving prayers for someone unlovely, I can do that for Him. He did that for me.

"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)

God is faithful.

He is faithful to redeem our lives in ways that are more wonderful than we can imagine.

He sees the bigger picture.

I will trust Him.

I will obey even when I don't agree.

"For while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom 5:8)

And I will expect Him to act.

"I waited patiently for the LORD; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD."

Psalm 40:1-3

Extravagant Redemption

A few months ago, I decided to pray daily for my wayward brother-in-law.

Then, about a week ago, God said, "Tori, I want you to pray that Chuck feels my love for him--that he would be drawn by my cords of loving kindness."

"I have loved you with an everlasting love;

I have drawn you with loving-kindness. "(Jer. 31:3)

And I said, "God, I don't want to." But God said "That's OK, do it anyway. It's what I want."

So I did. Every day.

Today, as I was preparing my D6 Kindergarten lesson about Joseph, God spoke again. His words were so powerful that I sobbed when I heard them.

The lesson said, "God not only redeemed Joseph out of these situations, He redeemed him extravagantly."

EXTRAVAGANTLY.

God said, "Tori, now I want you to pray that I will redeem Chuck extravagantly; that he would feel my extravagant, undeserved, unconditional love for him because I am a God of extravagant redemption."

And I cried. And then I said, "God, I don't want to." But God said "That's OK, do it anyway. It's what I want."

So I did. Right there. Today. And I will do it again tomorrow and the next day. I will keep on praying for Chuck's extravagant redemption until God tells me to pray something else.

God's plans trump all. What he wants to happen will. What I want to happen might not.

So, when he wants me to pray loving prayers for someone unlovely, I can do that for Him. He did that for me.

"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)

God is faithful.

He is faithful to redeem our lives in ways that are more wonderful than we can imagine.

He sees the bigger picture.

I will trust Him.

I will obey even when I don't agree.

"For while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom 5:8)

And I will expect Him to act.

"I waited patiently for the LORD; He turned to me and heard my cry

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;

he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD."

Psalm 40:1-3

Time-less

" How completely satisfying to turn from our limitations to a God who has none. Eternal years lie in His heart. For Him time does not pass, it remains; and those who are in Christ share with Him all the riches of limitless time and endless years. God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which He must work. Only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves. For those out of Christ, time is a devouring beast; before the sons of the new creation, time crouches and purrs and licks their hands." ~ A.W. Tozer

I have just finished the chapter called "God's Infinitude" in A.W. Tozer's book, The Knowledge of the Holy. And though the concept of infinitude, or limitlessness, is difficult to grasp, I found the above passage greatly comforting. Though it is impossible for the limited mind to grasp the Unlimited, we can appreciate what we do not understand. Being "unlimited" is wholly unlike anything that we have known in our world filled with time, space and matter.

However, the reason that I contemplate this unmeasurable attribute of my Abba is simple--He fascinates me and I want to learn everything about Him--I desire to know Him more and more.

As humans, time is often our enemy--stealing opportunities and energy and making memories of moments that we wish would last forever. We race against time. We try not to waste time. Sometimes we lose track of time.

In some instances, we resent time--wishing it to heal our hearts faster or unite us with loved ones sooner. Time plods along when we anxiously await for "that happy day".

God does not exist in time. He is not limited by "his list". He does not race to complete his purposes. He never hurries because he is boundless and free from the restraints of time.

I think He sees all of life--from creation to His return as one long glance--kind of like a panoramic photograph. Nothing takes Him by surprise. He knows what will happen next--because next is not next for Him for He is not limited by time. There is no past, present, and future for our Lord. He sees it all the same. Chance and change are not words that describe Him for He always--and will always--remain the same. Time cannot change Him for the better or for the worse like it can us, because He is perfect and continues to be that way.

As Christ-followers, these unfathomable truths should bring us peace. If God is not worried, then I can be confident. If God knows what is going to happen to me, then I can be secure. If God never changes, then I can believe in His faithfulness.

God is controlling time. He is not controlled by it. God is controlling us, so in Him, we are time-less. If we hide in Him and He lives through us, our lives can be that of a carefree child.

And time will be like Sasha, purring in my arms.

" Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable his judgments,

and his paths beyond tracing out!"

Romans 11:33

Glimpses of Heaven

As I walked my invalid dog on one of his 10 minute exercise walks today, God allowed me to feel profound joy. Everything was right. I walked along the golden corn and praised God for it's upcoming harvest. I walked in the cool green grass past a pile of old rocks that the children had played with summers ago, and happy memories replayed in my head. I walked between two excellent climbing trees and past the old swing set and through some sweet smelling bedsheets drying in the wind. The birds were chirping happily. The breeze was blowing softly. And I felt so blessed because God gave all of this to me! And it was perfect. And I was part of it.

Occasionally God allows me this feeling of overflowing joy. It bubbles up from the depth of my being and I feel like a carefree child--secure, content, complete. Sometimes I wonder if this is what God felt as He walked through His beautiful garden, admiring all of His handiwork. Maybe He also had a sense of profound satisfaction as He pronounced everything "Very Good".

I remember having this feeling often as a child and now as an adult, occasionally, but I can not replicate it by my own will. I wish I could, as it is wonderful, and I love when it appears; it makes me appreciate such simple pleasures--like warm sunshine and the delicious sound of Sasha purring in my arms. When this joy appears, I am truly full; thank-full, grace-full, plenty-full.

Sometimes I think God gives me these joy-full times to give me little glimpses of Heaven.

You know He's preparing it for us right now!

And that is VERY GOOD!

" You have made know to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."

Psalm 16:11

Clean Like Him

My goal was to write in my blog four times a week. That was my goal. This, however, is reality: I have been very busy and have chosen to put other important, necessary things before my blog. And I have chosen to sleep at night rather than staying up in the quiet hours to write.

I love the late, quiet, night hours. My inspiration comes pouring in as the evening stills and the bugs chirp. Night time is my favorite time to be alone, to be introspective, to reflect. Lately, my days have been so full that I haven't taken the time to really think and really wonder. But tonight, I wanted to post one short clothesline conversation that God and I had earlier this week.

Listen closely.

This week, while doing my necessary weekly housecleaning, I learned a little about why God allows unpleasant things in our lives. Because I was feeling rather Laura Ingalls Wilder-like, I took all my household rugs outside and draped them over the clothesline. My invalid (I mean invalid as in "recovering from surgery" as opposed to invalid as in "the case of the Florida voter ballots in the 2000 presidential election") dog has been spending much time inside lately and I felt like these rugs needed a good, thorough cleaning. So, after they had been hanging for awhile in the sanitizing sun, I ran inside and got my red broom out of the pantry, held it like a baseball bat, and beat the living daylights out of those rugs. It was fun! And I felt very domestic.

But you know what? Those rugs had a whole lot of dust and dirt in them. And I had to beat them long and hard to get them clean. Every time I whacked them with my broom, dust flew everywhere. Then God stopped me and said, "Sometimes, I have to do that with you."

Let me interpret: Sometimes we are just living our lives, speeding right along, and something terrible and painful happens. We don't know why it happens and we don't like it very much. Usually, though, it is these times when we are feeling "beaten" that God is really "cleaning" us. He uses trials, bumps and bruises to show us that we need Him. He allows hardship so that we will run to Him. Sometimes, our hardships are self-inflicted (the younger brother from the Prodigal Son story), sometimes they are allowed by God for reasons we don't understand (Job), and sometimes things just fall flat for no other reason than sin exists in this world. Whatever the reason, though, these "beatings" often have a way of cleansing us and making us a more clear reflection of Jesus.

So...if it is in the beating that I become clean, shouldn't I see these painful times as an opportunity to grow under the tutelage of the Savior? Probably. But that is oh so hard to remember when the going gets tough--which is why it is so important for me to spend time at His feet now--gathering confidence in His character and in His control. Believing that He is Good all the time. Believing that He is God all the time. And believing that He loves me with a love I cannot fathom.

May God teach me to trust Him more and more. I want to be clean like Him.

"Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed."

1 Peter 4:12-13