Refreshment

The lazy days of summer are winding down and as we head into our normal business, I want to ”re-share” a Worship Moment I wrote a few years ago with you.

The other night as I sat outside with my daughter and enjoyed the cooler breeze, the dancing fireflies, and the playful light from the kerosene lantern, I couldn’t help but praise God in my heart for such a glorious moment!  I just didn’t want it to end!  Have you ever felt that way?  Do you wish you could put those experiences in a bottle so you can get them out to savor over and over again?  I completely embrace those times because they seem to be so rare.  I purposefully refuse to think about the paper work that needs to be done, the dirty dishes sitting on the counter, or the crickets that need to be caught for the lizard.  (What?  Are we the only ones that do that?)  I choose to immerse myself in the moment.  It’s one of those times where I am aware of God’s pleasure and his desire to fill me up with every good thing. I feel like every day God is creating special moments for us and we are so busy and focused with our own agendas that we miss out.  

I am reminded of the time when God provided manna when the Israelites were in the desert.  He provided all they needed, but they had to get out of the tent to retrieve and receive it.  God provides all sorts of “manna” for us but so often we are too self-absorbed to notice and receive it.  We refuse to get out of the tent. 

Today, give yourself permission to take the time to notice what God has created for you.  Get out of your tent!  Watch the bunnies chase each other in the yard.  Notice the spectacular colors of the sunset or sunrise.  Listen to the myriad of bird song in the trees.  Enjoy the sweet fragrance of fresh roses that some kind friend brought.  Ponder and reflect on God’s Word.  Don’t rush.  Don’t try to just get through.  Let this day be one of re-discovery.  Open your heart and mind to God’s refreshment so that when he beckons us to do his work throughout the day we are ready and filled up to overflowing.


 “… And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8 (NIV)

Worshiping with you today,

Lisa

The "Lettuce" Passage

Hey Fellow Worshipers! 

                “...let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies      washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:22-25 (NIV)

I call this portion in Hebrews 10 the “lettuce” passage.

Vs. 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings...

Vs. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Vs. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,...

Vs. 25 (let us) not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing...

Vs. 25 (let us) encourage one another... 

I encourage you today to draw near to God, hold unswervingly to our Hope, consider spurring someone on today, meet with a fellow believer, and find ways to encourage those around you for “we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved”. (vs. 39)

Worshiping with you today,

Lisa

That "Old Country Buffet" feeling!

Have you ever had that “Old Country Buffet” feeling?  That’s what our family calls it when we’ve eaten so much we almost feel sick.  The feeling we always got after eating at Old Country Buffet (or ANY buffet for that matter).  I know, you would think we would learn to restrain ourselves after the first time, but it’s a buffet!  You have to try everything and get your money’s worth, right?  Anyway, as we patted our bloated bellies and groaned at just the thought of food, we would always say we wouldn’t have to eat for a week.  Well, we all know that didn’t happen.  In spite of our gluttony the day before, we were hungry and needing nourishment the next day.  Just the memory of the feast before couldn’t control the hunger or give our bodies the needed energy for our minds and body to perform properly.  Yet, we expect that to happen in our spiritual life.  We go to church on Sunday for worship, fellowship, teaching, etc...a spiritual buffet.  We load up on spiritual things and expect it to last us the whole week.  Charles Ringma says, “In our busy serving we often attempt to live off of the memory of God’s presence and grace and not out of the present reality of God’s nurture and care.”  My prayer for us today is to live off of the present reality of God’s nurture and care”.  Just like our physical bodies, our spirit needs daily nourishment and the best part is that God will give us all we need (2 Peter 1:3, Phil. 4:19); we just need to go to Him.  Beth Moore said something to the fact that God supplies the manna.  We just need to get out of the tent to collect it. (My paraphrase)

Collecting manna with you today,

Lisa

What I learned from Ezekiel

I have been reading, “The Soul’s Quest for God” by R.C. Sproul.  In Chapter two, Sproul writes about the importance of God’s Word.  He used examples of Ezekiel’s life and God’s instructions to Him to emphasize his point.  This is what I learned I’ve learned from Ezekiel......

1.  I must make sure that I make time for personal preparation...

                “Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first.  Listen to them carefully                  for yourself.  Then go...” (Ezekiel 3:10-11a)

       

         Notice, God says to let His words penetrate.  Don’t just brush by them.  I found it interesting         that He emphasizes the fact the Word needed to penetrate Ezekiel’s heart FIRST, before God                released Him to prophesy to others.  Some of us are so quick to answer and speak before we                really know what we’re talking about.  I must make time for personal preparation. 

2.  Commitment to studying the word, allowing it to digest, and letting it become every part of me...

                “Son of man, eat what I am giving you-eat this scroll.  Then go...” (Ezekiel 3:1)

                What a great picture!  I’m not sure how many times in Ezekiel that God told him to eat the                  words or eat the scroll.  God even goes so far to tell him to digest it.  (NLT version) God                      made it plain that before Ezekiel was ready for service to God he had to completely absorb                 God’s words. They had to become a part of him.  It was only after Ezekiel “ate” the scrolls                   that God told him to go.  Again, I am reminded of patient preparation.  This is hard for a                     “storm the mountain” girl like me to take in!

3.  Obedience to God no matter the circumstances or the outcome...

                “Son of man, do not fear them or their words.  Don’t be afraid even though their threats                 surround you like nettles and briers and stinging scorpions.  Do not be dismayed by their                      dark scowls, even though they are rebels.  You must give them my messages whether they                    listen or not.” (Ezekiel 2:6-7)

                Wow!  I think of the Nike slogan, “Just Do It!”.  God is saying, “Do what I say no matter                    what the outcome.  Just be obedient to me.  I’ll take care of everything else.”  I don’t know                  how many   times I don’t do something I think God wants me to do because I don’t think it                  will matter, make change, or have a positive outcome.  However, I’ll jump at the chance to                  obey if it means something great will probably happen, or to be brutally honest, if it will                      make ME look good.

4. Recognize the Holy Spirit’s role in my life...

                “Then the Spirit lifted me...” (Ezekiel Chapter 2:2, 3:12, 14, 24,...)

                Ezekiel says it over and over again.  In Chapter 1 verse 28 Ezekiel was so astounded by                        what God was showing him that he fell face down on the ground.  A voice told him to get                    up.  Ezekiel says     the Spirit came into him and set him on his feet.  Ezekiel was                                  powerless.  The Spirit had to help him obey.  I had to ask myself, first of all, how many                       times am I so astounded by God that I am left helpless on the ground? I’m ashamed to say,                   not enough.  Then I had to ask, how many times do I first make sure I am aware of the Holy                 Spirit doing all of the work?  Or am I just getting in the way? Again, I tend to take all the                     credit. (I am realizing that this reflection time is NOT making me feel very good about                         myself!)

I don’t know if any of you struggle with these same issues.  Lack of personal preparation; lack of fully absorbing God’s Words, not being obedient in ALL things, and trying to do it all on my own without the Spirit’s help or even acknowledging it on those good days that I’m aware of it!  

However, in spite of my impulsive nature, childish behavior, and ego I’m so thankful that God has chosen to make me his daughter and allows me to help Him in His Kingdom work.  What an awesome God we have!  The Great I AM!  

Worshiping with you today,

Lisa

PS. Check out the song, “Great I Am”, by New Life Worship

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5CWGi82N7k

Pulled from the stage!

“…he cares for the humble but keeps his distance from the proud.” Psalm 138:6 (NLT)

I read this verse today and it brought to mind an uncomfortable memory.  You see, there have been times when I have gotten a little happy with myself, o.k. let’s call it what it is and say it, “proud”.  I’ve noticed when that happens, my relationship with God is distant and forced.  There are other times, however, when instead of keeping his distance, He disciplines me in a way that I will never forget it AND should keep me from making the same mistake twice.  Should, being the key word here…

I debated much heatedly with God in regards to sharing that uncomfortable memory with you today.  What is even more frustrating is that we were having this debate in the ladies room.  We do this all the time.  Can we not have a decent conversation someplace normal?  Anyway, I digress…

This little incident happened at one of the Gospel sings at Hamakua Place.  You might have been there.  However, you would never have known that God used that night to teach me a very valuable lesson about pride.  And if God shows his love to us through correction, then I learned very clearly that I was EXTREMELY loved!

I had prepared long and hard for my one song that I was going to sing.  I had labored on it so I would be as comfortable as I could be on the stage and just be able to worship.  When I got there, one of the organizers, I’ll call him “Joe”, found out I was only doing one song and asked if I could do a couple more.  I quickly ran home to get more music while the first band played their set.  They played for at least a half an hour.  Most of the time was spent stopping to re-tune, re-start the song, or talk amongst themselves as to what song they wanted to play next, while we all watched and waited.  When they did play, they did O.K., but just didn’t seem very prepared.  Another band played after them and it was basically the same scenario and about a half hour long.  Then, it was my turn; my moment to show them how it was done.  My first song went off without a hitch and I got a great response.  I did my second at the piano and got an even bigger positive response.  I was pumped and couldn’t wait to get back on that stage! I started to go up to do my last song, and “Joe” came up to me and told me that there wasn’t enough time for me to do another song and proceeded to go on stage with his band.  They played for forty-five minutes.  Yep, forty-five minutes! I was furious.  I left as soon as it was over and ranted and raved to my family how unfair it was.  How better prepared I was.  How the other groups were out of tune and stumbled over their chords.  I mentioned they weren’t very professional.  That they probably had never even practiced together before that night. I couldn’t understand how “Joe” could pull ME from the show after getting a better response than any of the other groups.  Yep, I was mad and I was proud.  It was bad; VERY bad.  Thankfully, my husband lovingly told me to reflect on what I was saying and really listen to myself.  Then I was ashamed; VERY ashamed.  Mortified is really the better word. I realized after looking back on the evening, that the whole time I was listening to the other bands, I was sitting there critiquing and comparing myself to the others and obviously giving myself a better score.  God saw my heart and motivations before I did and it was HIM that pulled me from the show.  Not “Joe”.

I was extremely (and still am) ashamed of myself and my actions, but I’m so thankful that my Father loved me so much that he wanted to correct me, keep our relationship strong, and help me to be the best I can be.  I have learned how important it is to examine my heart and motivations especially in regards to those things I love and feel confident in.  I know that God doesn’t need me to help Him in His work.  But He knows it brings me absolute joy and pleasure and every time I try to give myself credit, I lose. Never again do I want God to have to pull me from the action and miss out on what he plans to do. 

I share this with you because I want you to know that God loves you so much that he wants you to be the best you can be and he’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.  Sometimes that might mean letting us stew in our own thoughts and not give us the answers we want when we want them, or it might mean literally pulling us off whatever stage we’re on until our heart is right and our minds off of ourselves.  

Dear Lord, thank you for loving us so much.  We pray that you would examine our heart and motivations and let us know if there is anything that needs to be re-adjusted and brought back into line with your heart.  We thank you for gifting us to serve alongside you and may you always get the credit.  We desire to be our best for you and are so grateful that you are faithfully helping us along.  In Your Name, Amen.

I hope you never have to go through what I did, but if you do, please remember it’s because you are loved beyond measure by an amazing Father.

Humbled by His love,

Lisa