Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. — Hebrews 12:2a

Because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” Exodus 17:7b

If you look at the story of the Israelites leaving Egypt in Exodus 16 and 17, the Israelites were in the desert, not very far from crossing the Red Sea.  Things looked bleak.  God had saved them from the Egyptians, but then they traveled for three days in the desert with no food or water.  Miraculously, God provided both.  First, He gave them water by turning bitter water into sweet, simply by throwing a piece of wood into it.  Then, God gave them food by sending quail to their camp in the evenings, and manna to their camp in the mornings.  Days later, they are again without water. Even after seeing God deliver them from the Egyptians by walking THROUGH the sea ON DRY GROUND, seeing God give them water and food, IN THE DESERT, the Isrealites came to another difficult situation, lacking water yet again.  Instead of relying on the God who has shown them His love and grace miraculously and repeatedly, they choose to grumble against them.  Why?

Because they looked at their difficult situation, instead of their big God.  They listened to the same words Eve did in the garden, when the deceiver said to her, “Did God really say….?”  And they believed that liar.  Hook line and sinker.

Do we do the same?  Do I?  Sad to say, sometimes I do.  And I begin to question the God who has shown me his grace time and time again.

This right here is why the writer of Hebrews tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus.  The Greek word for ‘fix’ is to look away from all else and fix your gaze upon.  When I begin to look at my desert situation, just like the Israelites, I begin to grumble against God, and question what He has spoken to my heart.  I am no longer in sync with Him.

Let us all turn our eyes upon Jesus.  Let us look away from our difficulties, our trials, our disappointments and our struggles.  Let us fix our gaze upon the One who knows our future and is trustworty enough to get us to it.  Friend, let us remember, unlike the Israelites, all He has done for us, so we can believe all He will do for us again.

Let us also encourage each other.  What miracles do you see God doing?  How is He moving for you, personally?

Psalm 19:14 “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

I was talking recently with my family about the importance of our words to each other.  I will be truthful and say that sometimes we do not speak very kindly to each other.  How can this be?!  Are we not the ones that care for each other more than anyone else?  That is the absolute truth.  However, we are also the ones that spend the most time with each other and that will definitely reveal our flaws and idiosyncracies, and irritations.  Once we see all of that, it is easy to focus on those negatives with each other and call them out, in the most unkind ways.

So what is the answer?  I propose that we purpose to speak life.

Proverbs 18:21 tells us that “The tongue has the power of life and death”.  We hold the power to bring life to those around us, or death to those around us, simply by how we talk to each other.  I agree with James when he says in James 3:9-10, that “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.”  Friends, this simply should not be!

One of my biggest goals in life is to be more and more like Jesus.  I want to think like Jesus, walk like Jesus, and talk like Jesus.  When my kids were little, there was a big movement in Christian circles that encouraged us to ask, “What would Jesus do?” My kids even had bracelets with the letters, “WWJD”, to remind them to think of how Jesus would respond in whatever situation they were in, and hopefully encourage them to live out their lives like He would inspire them to.  I suggest this is a valid exercise for all of us.  It is so easy to side with negativity, gossip, criticism, slander.  But God is clear that this is not how He expects us to represent Him, nor how we please Him.

A few years ago, I worked with a rather difficult person in my life.  His words and actions affected my daily ability to be an effective teacher, and I grew hurt and resentful.  I felt he took the joy out my job as well.  I noticed recently that when others started complaining about him, I jumped right in.  I justified it by telling myself that everything I said and everything everyone else was saying was the absolute truth.  I am only repeating truth.  But God would not let me live in that deception, and it was deception!  If God is calling me to bless others and not curse, to speak life and not death, was I really doing that?  Absolutely not.  I had to repent and ask God to make sure there was no guile in me toward this person.  Not only that, but God asked me to take it a step further and bless this person.  What?!  This person hurt me, how can God ask me to bless him?

I believe our words change the atmosphere.  God speaks things into existence that did not exist before.  Our words, similarly, speak things into existence.  Cursing anyone at any time brings death and destruction.  But our words of blessing also bring light and life.  This is true even if no other human being hears us.  God hears us.  So yes, I need to bless those that hurt me.

I am not saying this is easy or that it is something that can be done without God’s grace to carry us through it.  Sometimes we need to go through some serious healing in our souls before we can bless those who have persecuted and hurt us.  But the amazing thing is, we can travel through that healing successfully and come out the other side blessing others, no matter the circumstance.

Friends, I challenge you today to sprinkle every word you speak with grace.  Bless others with your words.  Speak life into the darkness.

John 16:33

³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

I recently came across a graphic explaining the real meaning of peace: destroy the authority attached to chaos.  Several questions and thoughts blossomed in my mind after reading this.

First, what does peace destroy?  Chaos?  No, my friends, read a little closer.  Peace destroys the authority that chaos holds.  This begs a new question: Does Chaos hold authority?  Apparently so.  We have an enemy, the devil, who thinks he holds authority over everything, and even though he does not, he pretends like he does.  He is like a peacock with fake tail feathers.  He plumes them out, then he struts around like he owns the place, but when a big wind blows, all his supposed glory just blows away like a puff of dust.  Satan, also appropriately called the Father of Lies, tries to give authority wherever he can to bring chaos and destruction.  John 10:10 clearly teaches us that his purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. With that as his goal, he will try to give what authority he thinks he has to anyone he can, including Chaos.

By the way, what is chaos?  It is utter confusion, disorder or unpredictability.  Have you ever felt confused, disordered or unpredictable?  I know I have.  More often than I would care to admit.

But there is Good News!  Jesus brings us Shalom.  Peace.  This means wholeness and health; all the essential parts being joined together; authority over Chaos.  This is how we come out from under the influence of Chaos.  We destroy its authority.  On this side of heaven, we will deal with Chaos all around us.  But the good news is we do not live under the rule of Chaos!

This brings me to my last question.  How do we destroy the authority of Chaos?  When we destroy something, we do not sit passively, waiting for it to just disappear.  No, we wage war with it; we go after it with vengeance.  We ruin the authority of Chaos and tear it to shreds.  We do this by simply looking to Jesus.  He faught the authorities and won, and now gives us the victory.  This is how we fight: we fix our eyes on Jesus.  This is how we destroy this authority: we stand in Jesus.

My Friend, are you walking in Shalom today?  Do you see Jesus, the One with all authority, standing in the midst of your Chaos and bringing wholeness, with all your parts joining together, rather than scattered here and there?  He is your Prince.  Your Prince of Peace, of Shalom.  He brings you that authority over chaos.  You have the victory as you walk in Jesus.

I bless you with Shalom today.  I bless you with Jesus.

My family and I like to do puzzles together.  We only do one or two a year, but when we do, it sits out on our kitchen table until we have it all finished.  As each of us comes and goes, we add a piece or two, or often-times, one of the kids or the hubs, will get an obsessive burst and sit with it for hours.  It usually takes us a week or two to get the puzzle completed, but what a sense of accomplishment we all have, having done it together, once it is finished.  And we all think it is a work of art that we had a part in.  Never mind that we did not actually snap the picture that is on the puzzle, all we did was put it together, piece by piece and we see it as our accomplishment.

As I have done these puzzles over the years, I have begun to get better at noticing colors and patterns in the tiniest of pieces.  It is this observation that helps one figure out where to put a particular piece.  But even more, I have noticed the importance of dark and light areas.  In order for the puzzle picture to be truly beautiful, there has to be shadings and areas of brightness and bursts of color.  What if all the pieces were black?  White?  Any one, monotone color?  Would we enjoy putting it together?  Could we put it together?

Is that not the picture of life?  Each day, every moment, is bursting with possibilities and colors to be discovered.  Sometimes, the colors are dark, difficult to define, challenging to see light or color in.  In the verses from Psalm 42, David’s soul is downcast: disturbed, disquieted, mourning.  It is a dark-puzzle-piece day/week/month for him.

What do we do with those dark-puzzle-piece days?  My first inclination is to hide in a dark hole and keep it dark.  My soul does not want to see light on those days.  I don’t want anyone brightening me up or cheering me on.  I simply want to wallow in my sorrows.  But truly, if I stay there, my puzzle, my end result, would be completely dark and the patterns would be undefinable.

The picture above is of Mount Hermon, where David is downcast.  But hallelujah, David does not stay in the darkness, in the comfortable downheartedness of heart.  Instead, he climbs to the highest point in all of Israel – Mount Hermon, and he does what?  He remembers God.  

Friends, I don’t know about you, but when my soul is downcast, God is too often the last thing I remember.  Instead, I complain, grumble, whine, protest and wish life were easier.  But not David.  He remembers God.  Not only does he remember Him, but he puts his hope in Him and shouts his praises from literally the highest mountain he can find.  David remembers the Lord’s love and hears Him singing over him during the night.  These remembrances bring David back into the light.  It is not that David does not have dark places, but what I love about David is that he does not stay there.

At the end of my life, there will be dark pieces and light pieces of my life.  But God is putting my life together, piece by piece.  And it is beautiful.  The dark and the light together make beauty.  In God’s hands, I am a masterpiece!  During the periods of darkness, of living out the shaded pieces of the puzzle, may I remember that beauty that God is creating.  May I shout God’s praises for everyone around me to hear.  And may I always hear His songs over me as I pray to the God of my life. 

My friends, this is my prayer for you as well.

Romans 12:2a – “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

“Do caterpillars get claustrophobic?”

That is the question rolling around in my head recently.  Where do these thoughts come from?!

I don’t have an answer to that last question, but the first question got me thinking.  What if the caterpillar were afraid of the dark?  What if he feared closed spaces?  What if he just did not like being alone?  What if he simply refused to make his cocoon, spend that time away from his friends, away from everything he had ever known?  What if he refused to be transformed?  We would look at that caterpillar and tell him he was nuts!  Right off his rocker, crazy.

Here is how I imagine I would have a conversation with this dysfunctional caterpillar:

Me: “Hey Buddy, I hear you are having a difficult time making a major life decision here.”

Buddy: “Yeah, I really do not want to be all closed up in that tiny little space.  I have so many better things to do with my time!  You know, I have not yet crawled over to the other side of the street yet.  If I am all wrapped up, I won’t be able to go anywhere.”

Me: “Buddy, I realize this is a major life decision for you right now.  Let’s talk about what is on the other side of the cocoon for a moment.  If you were brave enough to be in that small space for only a few days, let’s talk about how you could FLY to the other side of the street!”

I see myself as that caterpillar all too often.  I get so short-sighted, that all I can see is the darkness of the cocoon and what I THINK I will be giving up, instead of what I would be gaining by soaring to celestial heights with the Holy Spirit.  Sometimes, when life closes in, all I can see are the problems, the people, the finances – whatever it is that is grabbing all of my attention at the moment, and taking me eyes off of glory.

You know how things are bigger when they are closer?  What does a blade of grass look like to the caterpillar, compared to what it looks like to a butterfly?  What do you think the butterfly thinks of his cocoon?

Friend, let us soar with Jesus.  Take our eyes off of the cocoon – the darkness, the fear, whatever it is that is holding you back from looking full-on at Jesus.  Let us go through those dark, alone times with the knowledge that they are transforming us into something more beautiful than we can ever imagine.  This is what will transform us, renew us.  To gaze intently at the One who restores my soul, the One who guards my heart, the One who tells me He loves me more than I can possibly imagine.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus and be made new.

John 10:3b – The sheep listen to his (Jesus’) voice.  He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

John 10:4b – His sheep follow him (Jesus) because they know his voice.

God likes to talk.  Way back in The Beginning, God started it all by speaking.  Genesis chapter 1, verse 3 begins with, “And God said.”  Verse 6, 9, 14, 20 and 24 all start the same way.  God apparently wanted a little variety because he started verse 11 with, “Then God said.”  What is amazing about God speaking here is that all these statements were followed with, “And it was so.”  What?!  God spoke, and His words alone created whatever He wanted.

But back to God liking to talk.  All throughout history God has been speaking.  He spoke to Moses in the burning bush, and again later face to face (Exodus 3 and 33).  God spoke to Abraham (Genesis 12 and 18), to Isaac (Genesis 26), to Jacob (Gen 31), to Joseph (Genesis 37), and the list goes on.  We can talk about how He spoke to Gideon, to Samuel, to David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and on and on.

In the New Testament, just looking at the gospels, Jesus was always talking.  We think His words were so important, we have made red-letter Bibles to highlight what He says to us, because we too want to hear His words.

In Acts 2, we see the Holy Spirit jump into the conversation by anointing the people to speak in other tongues and with special gifts.

As we look back at John 10, where Jesus says He is the Good Shepherd, He teaches us about Shepherding, and about how He sees us.  We are His sheep.  He keeps us close to Him.  When we wander, He searches after us.  He leads us.  In verse 14 He says He knows us and we know Him.  Friend, does that not warm your heart?  Let me say it again – He knows you!

What amazes me most of all in these verses, is that He says we listen to His voice (verse 3), and we know His voice (verse 4).  Do you hear His voice today?  What does it sound like?  Is it tender? Quiet?  Booming?  I can describe my husband’s voice (mellow, and very low, and quiet), but can I describe Jesus’ voice?  Do I, as one of Jesus’ sheep, know His voice so that He can lead me?  Am I listening?

Are you?

What is Jesus saying to you today?  How is He leading you?  Do you hear Him calling to you and speaking to you?  God, in His many forms as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, likes to talk, and He is talking to you today.  What is He saying to you?  Is He telling you how much you mean to Him?  How He sings and dances over you?  Is He guiding you to be bold and step out in faith?  Is He sending you encouragement because life is tough right now?

Listen to Jesus.  He is speaking.  Practice hearing His voice and see what He has to say to you today.

 

Proverbs 27:17 (Amp) – As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens [and influences] another [through discussion].

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so bossy.”

That was what my friend texted to me after asking several pointed questions about things going on in my life.

After informing another friend of a difficult decision I had recently made, that would drastically affect my family, this is what she wrote: “I want to have friends that challenge me when I do something different or something not expected.  I want to be that friend too.  I want to be the friend who loves and cares about you and your family so much that I dare to question you… May I ask you some questions about your decisions?”

In the book, “Hiding From Love”, Dr. John Townsend writes of our need for “separateness” as we mature.  This involves being able to disagree and ask questions of one another, and finding that we can still love and be loved.  He states that, “People who learn to ask questions learn not to idealize others, but to accept the good and the bad…  They don’t need people agreeing with everything they say, because they know that questions are a source of growth for them, also.”

When my friends might disagree or challenge me, how will I see that?  Will I welcome the insight they might have for me?  In both of the cases above, I told both of my friends that I love them.  I have opened my heart to them and will not be offended if they question me or challenge me.  It could very well be the Lord pointing me in a different direction that I had not seen before, speaking through people who love me.

I recently came across and acquaintance who, after announcing he was getting re-married only two months after the death of his wife, had a friend who questioned his decision.  This acquaintance of mine dumped the friend.  Told him where to go and never looked back.  A friendship spanning decades was suddenly null and void because my acquaintance did not feel he could or should be challenged in any way.

I have another good friend who is trying to decide the right thing to do in a situation.  If she made herself vulnerable to another person, she knew, way down deep in her bones know, she will get hurt.  I agree.  When we step out and love the way Jesus does, we will get hurt.  Jesus stepped out all the way to the cross and never once looked back at us and said, “All I have done for you and this is how you repay me?”  No, he did not try to protect His heart; instead, He let it be broken.  I reminded my friend of this – self-protection is not our job, but when you are obedient, and you do get hurt, Jesus will be there to bind up your wounds and Friend, I will throw you the biggest pity party you have ever seen.  This gave her pause.  She said she wanted to hang up the phone after that.

I challenged her, gave her an opportunity to be sharpened.  Sharpening can hurt, can cut, can feel like we are grating against iron, because we are.

So what will we choose?  Friends, we need to be sharpened.  Let’s discuss life and not take the easy, “I’m-too-afraid-to-offend-you” road and stay silent when we need to speak from our hearts in love.  Let’s find that we can disagree, or not, and still love each other.  Let’s not be dull, useless friends.  If you think I am going the wrong way, give me pause.  Love me enough to tell me.  And I hope that we are both friends enough that I can do the same for you.  Let’s be bossy with each other.

Prayer: Father in Heaven, You are the Author of relationships.  You made us to love and be loved.  You designed our hearts to want and need fellowship with our friends.  Sometimes this causes us to fear losing those dear to us if we speak from our hearts.  Father, I pray instead we listen, intent on hearing our friend’s heart, that we pray they are hearing You, and that we do not live in fear, but in love.  I pray we love enough to speak to each other and sharpen each other in the way You designed.  Thank you for my friends.  Amen.

Genesis 2:7 – Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

We breath.  In. Out.  In. Out.  We do it without thinking.  At least I have until recently.  Breathing has not been easy for me in recent weeks.  I finally got a diagnosis today that I have Pertussis, and this could last for several more weeks.  This has gotten me to thinking about breath, about breathing, about God’s breath in us.

God breathed into Adam’s nostrils.  Put His mouth right up to the dust that was not yet a man and gave him life.  Gave him God’s life.  It was God’s breath that made Adam a living being.  Without God’s breath in our lungs, we are dead; only dust.  But with God’s breath we are alive!

A great example of God’s breath bringing death to life is found in Ezekiel 37, when the Prophet Ezekiel declares the Word of the Lord to the Valley of Dry Bones:

Then He said to me,
Prophesy to these bones and say to them,
Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!
This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones,
I will make breath enter you,
And you will come alive.
So I prophesied as I was commanded.
As I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound,
And the bones came together, bone to bone.
And I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them,
And skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
Then He said to me,
Prophesy to the breath,
Prophesy, son of man, and say to it,
Come from the four winds of breath and breathe.

As with Adam, here is a valley of nothing.  Bones.  No muscle, no marrow, no skin.  No spirit in them, no soul.  No mind, no thoughts, no heart to feel with.  As good as dust.  Death.  But the very second God says to Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones, there is a great rattling and the bones came together with tendons, flesh and skin.  And Ezekiel breathed on them.  Did you catch that?  In case you missed it, let me say it again – all he did was breathe God’s breath – and they came to life.  And they were an army!  Those that were dead were now warriors for God because of God’s breath on them.

In the New Testament, God’s breath is synonymous with the Holy Spirit.  When Jesus appeared to His disciples after His death, but before His resurrection, He again breathed life.  John 20:21-22 – “Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Prayer: Breathe on me, Lord.  Breathe.  Give me your breath that gives life, that awakens my soul, that makes me part of a great army, living, moving, breathing for you.  Breath on me even more of your Holy Spirit.  Breathing in.  Breathing out.  Breath.  Just breath.

 

 

Ephesians 2:8, 9 – For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

The song goes, “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound.”  I often wonder, what was John Newton thinking when he penned those words?  Perhaps you are familiar with his story-behind-the-song.  He was a belligerent teenager, and a rebellious young man, who lived with moral abandon, “sinned with a high hand, and made it my study to tempt and seduce others.”  It is understandable how he saw God’s grace as his salvation from such destructive living, and was grateful to Him for rescuing him out of such depravity.  God did save a wretch like him.  However, what did God’s grace sound like?  My question is why did John Newton pen it that way in particular?  Why did he not say he has seen God’s great grace, or experienced His incredible, merciful salvation?  What did John Newton hear in God’s grace?

I believe John heard incredible things once he opened his heart to God’s kingdom.  For example, contrast his life as a sailor, working in the slave trade.  One can only imagine the language of the sailors as they cursed and spewed hatred across the oceans.  What did he hear once he experienced the deep, healing love of God?  Words of tenderness, the enjoyment of a child’s laughter, the music of a meaningful song?  Perhaps he heard God’s still small voice speaking words of affection, healing and faithfulness.  Whatever it was John Newton experienced at his marvelous transformation, it was amazing to him, and he heard it.  He did not just see or experience it, he opened his ears and heard God’s grace reaching down to him, rescuing him from the dark, deadly kingdom of darkness.  And he called it amazing.

How do you hear God’s grace reaching out to you today?  How has His grace changed the way you hear the world?  John Newton wrote a hymn; how can you tell God how much you appreciate His grace?

What is in a name?  Is it randomly chosen by those who birthed us and brought us into life on this Terra Firma?  How much thought do they put into what we will be called and labeled from birth until death?

My given name is Debra.  It seems simple enough.  As I grew up, I was often told the story that my parents wanted to give me this name, but disagreed over how to spell it.  Should it be the biblical spelling of Deborah, or the simpler, perhaps a little more graceful, Debra?  The story goes that my dad told my mom that if they were going to use the long, drawn-out Deborah, they might as well call me Gertrude.  So Debra it is.

As a child, I was called Debbie.  The neighborhood boys changed it to Debbie Webbie.  That was when I learned that sticks and stones break your bones and name calling hurts.  Unfortunately, being called derogatory names did not end with childhood bullying.  I was abused for 20 years, most of those by one who promised to love me until death parted us.  He could not or would not show me kindness, patience, or any of the other attributes God says characterize true love.  One of the names he called me was my given nick name of Debbie.  When he and I were no longer, I could not keep that name.  Something in me knew I was no longer a Debbie.  I was no longer a victim and that name meant ‘victim’ to me.  He also called me a lot of other names that I cannot put into print.  Sensitive hearts cannot even imagine the ugly in those names.  So when he and I parted ways, I became Deb.  I changed my home town, got a new job and changed my name to a simple, three-letter, easy-going Deb.

I went through a transformation into a new me then.  I knew God was changing my name. I came across this song that became my mantra for a few years:

I Will Change Your Name by D. J. Butler

I will change your name
You shall no longer be called
Wounded, outcast, lonely or afraid
I will change your name
Your new name shall be
Confidence, joyfulness, overcoming one
Faithfulness, friend of God
One who seeks My face

© 1987 Mercy/Vineyard Publishing

This was the new me!  Confident, joyful, overcoming one, faithful, friend of God and one who seeks His face.

I began to think of others whose names God has changed.  Abram to Abraham (the father of many nations).  Sarai was changed to Sarah (mother of many nations).  Jacob (the deceiver) was changed to Israel (someone who prevails with the Eternal).  In the New Testament, Simon was changed to Peter (rock) and Saul became Paul.  God is in the business of transformation.

Even in nature things are changed.  Tadpoles become bullfrogs and caterpillars become butterflies.  Seeds become trees and flowers and all kinds of beautiful.

I looked up the meaning of my name today.  What does “Debra/Deborah” really mean? As a biblical name, in the Old Testament Hebrew, it literally means “bee.”  What?!  I am a bee?  An insect?  What really does that mean?  Well, you dig a little deeper and all of a sudden I am so grateful to Mom and Dad.

Bees produce honey – the only sweetener available during OT times.  Bees are organized and keep a house.  They communicate (speak a language) with others and are productive, are hard workers. Bees also care for their offspring and are armed.  Armed!  I am armed for battle.  The best part for me?  Bees look for beauty and reproduce it.  Did you just read that, dear reader, because I truly want that name – one who looks for beauty and reproduces it.

What is the grace of a name?  Who knew?  God, in His infinite grace calls me a bee – a seeker of beauty.  And the most beautiful thing I see?  The face of God.  He called me.  He named me.  He loves me, adores me, celebrates me and extends His unending grace to me.  I am one who used to be unmentionable names.  No longer.  I am His and I gaze continually on the beauty of His face.  May I reflect that beauty and find ways to (re)produce it as I touch others and show the grace that only He can give.

The grace of a name.