Pieces of Peace - A Poem

I was working on my latest devotional to share with you all when I came across a poem I wrote back in 2009.  I felt led to share.  May you all know and rely upon the peace we can only get from Him.

 

Pieces of Peace

©2009

 Outside the world is searching

for the calm after the storm.

So many lives are torn apart,

so many spirits worn.

Within the midst of chaos

in a world that knows no peace

He will be a harbor

to offer hearts reprieve.

Governments can crumble

and riches disappear

but the arms of God are open,

His peace is always near.

Suffering and heartache

are never hard to find

as we suffer through the fires

emerging more refined.

We shoulder heavy burdens

that we aren’t meant to bear,

when God says He will carry

what we bring to Him in prayer.

 

Waiting in Faith

            Some of my clearest childhood memories are of Christmas Eve.  Baking goodies with Mom, family gatherings, my little brother thinking reindeer would fall through the roof into HIS bed while mine would be perfectly safe (right up until he was 11 years old), and who could forget the presents?  Each year they mysteriously appeared under our tree on Christmas Eve, seldom a day sooner.  You see my Mother is somewhat of a procrastinator in this area (sorry Mom), yet the gifts were always wrapped just in time for my day of torture.  That’s right, torture.   Boxes of green and red torture bound together with yards of beautiful, shiny, torturous ribbon. 

 

            Being a curious child I would immediately beg (and beg and beg) to open just one present.  Just one.  Naturally, my Mother would somehow manage to ignore my whiny requests until she finally looked me square in the eye and said “You’re just going to have to wait.”  

 

            Wait?  Wait!?!  What is that?  That word was so not in my vocabulary as a child.  Ok…so it’s still somewhat buried in the cobweb covered recesses of my adult dictionary as well.

 

            Today, I find that Jesus is much like my Mother on Christmas Eve and I am still much like that impatient child.  When I want something I want it yesterday.  I don’t want to acknowledge that I have the word ‘wait’ even hidden in my vocabulary, much less use it!   I often find myself trying to fix my problems only to have Jesus stop me dead in my tracks, look me square in the eye and say “You’re just going to have to wait.” 

           

I’ve learned many hard lessons by not waiting on God’s timing, as I know I should.  Because of this stubborn little streak I have, I didn’t receive the blessings I would have if I had only been strong enough in my faith to wait.  We have to be willing to be patient and look for God’s answers in many different ways in order to draw closer to Him.  Often we find ourselves at the end of our own efforts until we have no choice except to depend on Him.  Waiting involves trust in God. 

 

Webster’s dictionary defines trust as “placing confidence in something without fear or misgiving.”  Wait without fear?  That’s a tough pill to swallow in the midst of trials, but often the greatest growth we experience in our relationship with God stems from trials we face.  As tough as the trials are, the rewards are beyond measure.  When we act on our beliefs and humble ourselves before God, we find strength to wait.  When praying, don’t ask for patience, be faithful and ask for strength to wait on God.  Psalm 27:14 tells us “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart...”

 

            God has compassion for our pain because He loves us so dearly.  He will handle our situations and bless us in the process, but only if we have the strength to leave them with Him in faith and, yes, wait.  It’s not a question of will God take care of our problems, it’s a question of will we let Him?

The Sixth Sense of Christianity

It was recently brought to my attention that most people aren’t like me. I know, I know…no major news flash there, but the person was referring to how I perceive the supernatural realm. He pointed out to me that most people aren’t as fearless in their view of what’s going on around them. He reminded me that most people don’t comprehend the concept of legions of demonic entities stalking around us daily and most don’t want to.

It started my wheels turning.

He’s right.

Most people don’t really have a grasp of the spiritual warfare that encircles us at every moment of the day. We walk around in a perpetual fog. Don’t get me wrong; I do feel that most Christians are aware of spiritual warfare. After all, the Bible reveals to us that there is an unseen spiritual realm that affects the physical world. Satan and his demons are waging a vicious spiritual battle all around us, trying to prevent people from coming to a saving knowledge of God’s love and entering His kingdom. Their sole focus is to defeat God’s plans for our lives. As Christians, we needto know about this spiritual battle. 2 Corinthians 2:11 tells us that we need to be aware of the devil's schemes so that he doesn’t have the chance to overcome us. Without awareness, we cannot stand against the wickedness that we face, we cannot protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our ministries. God commands us to stand. He commands us to protect that which He has given us to protect. Ephesians 6:11-20 gives us that commandment when we are told to “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” If we are blind to the battle and unaware of what is going on around us simply because we cannot openly see it, then it becomes easy for Satan to deceive us in cunning, subtle ways and to prevent us from being effective at doing the work God intends for us.

So how do we make so many aware who don’t want to be aware? Once again, God gives us the answer. He tells us in Ephesians 4:15 to“speak the truth in love.” Realistically every Christian, every person, isn’t going to grasp fully the reality of the supernatural battles raging in their lives. What they likely can grasp though is that Satan can, and does, attack us and influence our minds, our thoughts, our beliefs, and our actions. Hopefully they can comprehend that we are all involved in spiritual warfare, every one of us, whether we like it or not, whether we even realize it or not. And while you may be fully aware that Satan’s demons are the culprits behind these attacks, some are still not at a point to wrap their minds around that and that’s ok, so long as they are aware that Satan is on the attack.

To help them understand, here is an example that I heard and wrote down some time back.

Imagine a soldier on a battlefield. He can't see or hear any enemies and therefore he doesn't believe that an enemy is out there, so he wanders around without his weapons, not carrying out his assigned duties, completely defenseless and vulnerable, stumbling into the enemy's camp without even being aware of it. The enemy doesn't care that the soldier was ignorant to his presence or if he was unarmed and unaware. The enemy is going to take advantage of the unaware target and attack!!

We can all quickly realize that soldier wasn't going to last long, yet that is precisely the way that many of us live. We don't know that there is a war being fought in the spiritual domain, we don't understand that there is an enemy of pure evil out there and that we are God's soldiers in this spiritual battle. We don't understand that God has an assigned place for each and every Christian or that we have all been given spiritual gifts and spiritual weapons (defensive and offensive) for engaging in the battle in the heavenlies while we are here on earth.

As I mentioned earlier, so many of us walk around in a fog, but God wants us to have unclouded minds that see what goes on around us! In fact, our greatest strategy against Satan is clarity of mind, accuracy of perception and awareness!!! And all of these are available to us through God's word and prayer.

I was....Wrong

I was wrong.  Deep down I knew I was wrong...but I did it anyway.  And this wasn’t the first time...I’ve done it before. 

Justifications swirled around in my mind, muffling the little voice that was trying to remind me to do the right thing.  Man, those self-righteous justifications sure are loud...aren’t they? 

Have you ever wondered why the voice of reason - the voice of truth - never seems as loud as those arrogant, sanctimonious voices that often drown it out?  Have you ever wondered where that subtle voice comes from and why it doesn’t just shout at you:

“Hey...dummy...yeah, you... STOP THAT!” 

Why does that voice speak so quietly when so many other voices are barking loudly around you?  I have asked that question - many times.  Always after the fact, I hate to say.  The catch is, if I listen to the right voice I don’t have to ask myself that question afterwards.  Yet somehow I find myself asking it time and again.

Have you ever done something that you were pretty sure was wrong, but you justified your actions to yourself?  Hard to drown your own voice out, right?  I know you have.  We all have.  It goes with the territory of being human.  We make mistakes.  Sometimes big ones.  Sometimes we do things that we feel like God couldn’t possibly forgive us for.  But He will, He does, He has.  If we have truly gone before God in prayer and confessed our sins, asked Him to forgive them truly from the heart, then we are fully forgiven....no questions asked!!! 

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Don’t you wish it were that easy with people?

I know from personal experience that sometimes it doesn’t seem so simple to us.  We wrestle with those voices in our head that say God couldn’t possibly forgive us for something so horrible.  Those voices are liars!  Those voices are Satan-sent and want nothing more than to see you suffer and not TRUST GOD.  It’s at this point that I personally would like to say:

“Hey...dummy...yeah, you... STOP THAT!”   

(ok...I really don’t think you’re a dummy...just trying to make a point)

No matter what you have done, no matter how horrid you think it is, no matter how repulsive it truly is...God has already forgiven it if you’ve already sincerely asked.  What you are dealing with now is guilt.  Guilt is a powerful weapon in Satan’s arsenal.  I should know...I’ve been attacked with it over and over.  But God’s forgiveness trumps any weapon Satan has - every time.  You only need to have faith in God’s forgiveness.

If you aren’t sure how to come humbly, yet boldly before God to ask for His forgiving grace...keep reading.  As always, He has already given us the instructions.

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

God wants us to approach His throne with boldness...boldness He bestowed in us when we became His children.

“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Guilt is nothing more than heavy chains Satan wants to keep draping around your neck as he pushes you closer and closer to the edge, hoping to push you over and watch you drown as they anchor you beneath the dark waters.  Matthew 11:28 tells us that God doesn’t want us to carry that weight around.  He wants our burden to be light.  He wants us to give that burden to Him.  Hand over the chains...they don’t belong to you anymore.

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” (Psalm 55:22)

Jesus has already shouldered the sin, He has already paid the price of forgiveness, He has already bore your guilt as His own...He has done all of this through the blood that He shed for all of us on Calvary.

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” (Ephesians 1:7)

We still have to make amends for our wrongs, we will still have to face the consequences of whatever our actions bring, but that doesn’t mean God will never bless us again.  It does mean we are forgiven and we can go on knowing that by His blood, we are forgiven, we are healed of our transgressions, we are new in the eyes of Christ, all of our sins are passed away and our slate is wiped clean.  

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14)

Are You WEAK Enough?

I can bench press 200 pounds.  I once punched out a guy with one shot.  I am a champion arm wrestler.  And my mind...my mind is sooo strong...I remember everything I see and hear

....as if!!! 

I’m sure you have already figured out...I am NONE of those things.  What I am...is a note taker.   I’d forget things if I weren’t.  The catch is...I often will stick my notes in places and then forget them.  Trust me; the irony isn’t lost on me.  Anyway, just this morning I was thumbing through the pages of my Bible when I found some notes stuck between them.  In the name of complete disclosure there are easily 30+ bulletins from church with as many notes as will fit scribbled on them stuck between the pages of my Bible.  So finding notes isn’t that difficult...but this page of notes was different.  It wasn’t a bulletin.  It was a small 4x6 sheet torn from a notebook.  There weren’t forty or more sentences penned to this piece of paper.  No, there were literally five sentences written below a Bible passage that I had to look up again.  What really struck me though was the following sentence.

The heart of prayer is weakness; strong people don’t tend to pray.

Ouch...now that’s a bit of a slap in the face.  I have always thought of myself as a strong person.  Not physically, like the things listed earlier, so much as mentally and emotionally.  In my life, I’ve been through a lot and mentally/emotionally I’d say I’m pretty strong.   But strength isn’t what God expects of us.  Because when we are strong...we try to do things ourselves.  We don’t rely on God for strength.   I’m fairly certain that’s what I must have been thinking when I wrote those words down.  Strong people don’t tend to pray.  

There have been many times in my life that turmoil raged and I tried to handle it myself.  Over and over I have learned that until I fall to my knees, broken before God, knowing that I can’t do it all myself...I won’t be able to do it at all.  I am weak.  My strength alone is not enough...ever.  God wants us to see that.  I Corinthians 1:27 tells us “...God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.”  That includes us...thinking we are mighty.  Thinking we can do it alone.  Then along comes God’s strength and puts our puny “might” to shame. 

Personally, I have recently been dealing with some health issues.  Something I have been fortunate enough in my life to never have to deal with.  And I tried to handle it myself.  I went to the doctor.  I tried homeopathic remedies (which I prefer)...neither worked.  Until one day, only a few days ago, I lost it!!!  I was alone at home and I fell to my knees by my bed crying.  I didn’t have to say a word aloud...God heard my heart crying out to him.  Now, here I am, merely five days later and a remedy I had been trying previously suddenly is working.  I gave it to God.  I wasn’t strong enough on my own.  Why didn’t I read II Corinthians 12:9-10 earlier?  

“ And He said to me (“me” being Paul), ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’  Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Therefore I take pleasure in my infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Paul was actually thankful for his persecution.  Even though he had prayed God would remove his “thorn in the flesh” but God did not.  He simple told Paul “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”  

I thank God for my weakness.  Without it, I would still be suffering in my own “strength.”  It isn’t just about physical strength and weakness though.  We suffer in hundreds of ways every day, ways that could be unbearable without God. 

Hebrews 11:32-34   “And what more shall I say?  For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Sampson and Jepthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdues kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant on battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens”

So ask yourself...are you weak enough to let go and let God?  For in weakness...we become strong.  It isn’t until we recognize our own weakness that accompanies this flesh that we are able to find our strength in Christ.

Brownie Mix & God

Proverbs 13:13
He who scorns instruction will pay for it, but he who respects a command is rewarded.

I just finished putting a pan of brownies in the oven for my not-so-grown-up 19 year old son who batted his eyes and said “please Mommy.”  He’s not a dumb child...he knows precisely which of my buttons to push.  He knows the ingredients to getting a situation to turn out the way he wants when Mom is involved.   

Puppy dawg eyes...check. 

Pouting bottom lip...check.

Hug for Mom...check. 

“Plllleeeaaassseee Mommy” (in that sweet 5 year old way that clearly still works at 19)...double check. 

A simple list of ingredients and viola!  Success.  So, back to the brownies.  I was adding the ingredients called for on the package (because let’s face it...there’s no way I’m making brownies from scratch) and something hit me.  Not literally...mentally.  The ingredients were: 1 egg (normal enough), 1/3 cup of oil (no surprise there), and 2 tablespoons of water.  Wait...what?  Only TWO tablespoons?  What difference is two tablespoons of water going to make?  Really?  But there is was.  It did get me to wondering though.  I mean, two tablespoons of water doesn’t seem like much and doesn’t appear that it would make much difference in one batch of brownie mix, but is that how we see the small things in God’s Word?  As though they are insignificant in the big scheme of things?

God’s Word is likely the same way for many of us.   We have all the ingredients at our fingertips, yet we choose to not put some of them in because they seem insignificant.  (Maybe BIBLE actually could stand for Basic Ingredients Before Leaving Earth...nahh...Instructions is probably better.)  Just like Betty Crocker, God has His reasons for the two small tablespoons.  We may never truly know the reason they are needed...but they are needed all the same.

I won’t lie...it crossed my mind not to put them in out of pure mocking curiosity.  But I already had the measuring spoons out...so, why mock what is tried and true?  As Christians, it’s hard sometimes to follow the list and add in everything we need.  We tend to think we can get by without this or that.  But in the end, if we leave out the things God intended to be in the mix, the results may be good enough to put on the plate, but the flavor will be lacking.  Trust that God knows what He’s doing.  He’s the Master Chef.  We are merely the Assistants here to learn from the Master.

And for good measure (get it...measure, it’s a pun...haha.  Ok, nevermind), anyway...here are a few other verses about following the instructions.  Feel free to quote them to your kids.  Enjoy!

1 Thessalonians 4:7-8
For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

Proverbs 13:1
A wise son heeds his father's instruction, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke.

Job 22:22
Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart.

What's so good about Good Friday?

Have mercy on me, God, in your goodness; in your abundant compassion blot out my offense. Wash away all my guilt; from my sin cleanse me. For I know my offense; my sin is always before me. Psalm 51:3-5 

Happy Good Friday!!!  Who’s hiding Easter eggs this weekend?  I thought about it...but since my kids are “too old” for that, I’m not really sure if my memory is bad enough yet to forget where I put them and try to find them myself.  Oh well.

I admit though...I’m pretty excited about Easter.  It’s not about getting to go dress shopping (though I did find this awesome cobalt blue number on sale), it’s not about the Easter baskets overflowing with scrumptious chocolate candies or Easter egg hunts...no.  It’s about Jesus - the man who gave His life so I could get excited about all these things and so much more.

He gave His LIFE!!!  Not just a few weekends here and there.  Not a week in a remote village to help build a few houses.  His LIFE!!!

And He didn’t want to.  Nope.  The Bible tells us that He agonized over it, He knew the pain He was about to suffer through.  He even prayed that God would find another way.  Does that sound familiar?  We do it every time we are faced with difficulty. 

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22:42

He bore the weight of ALL sin...past, present and future.  How excruciating that must have been.

I used to struggle with the idea that we call the day Jesus was crucified GOOD Friday.  I mean...how is it good that we literally murdered Jesus?  By we I mean every one of us.  Think about it, had you and I been alive on that day, would we have tried to stop it?  Doubtful.  Even Peter denied Him three times.  Let’s face it...we did it. 

We conspired against Jesus.

We drug Jesus into that court.

We beat Jesus.

We called Him names.

We nailed Jesus to a cross.

We treated Him as though He was evil!

We killed Jesus.

He didn’t want to die like that..but He did.  God didn’t want Him to die like that...but He allowed it.  For us.  Jesus obediently walked those streets, felt the nails pierce His skin, and died on that cross...for us.

Looking at if from that perspective...how can we call this day good?  Really?  I can see Dark Friday.  Black Friday (I’d say this is more important and would trump the biggest shopping day of the year). Maybe Sin Friday or Execution Friday.  I think the German’s have a better grasp of the concept with Karfreitag, which means “Suffering Friday.” 

Such pain and despair.  But that’s how much God loves us.  That’s how much He loves YOU.  He sacrificed his own Son in our place, because everyone of us deserved to hang on that cross.  But now we have eternal life if we believe and claim Jesus as our Savior. 

THAT is why this is called Good Friday. 

He didn’t stop there, though.  Three days later...He walked away from the cold grip of death and left the tomb empty.  What a beautiful day.  Easter Day!!

So color those eggs, eat that chocolate and remember why today is such a good day!!

May God’s blessings fall on each of you this Easter.

Genuine, Childlike Faith

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

When I was pregnant with my second child people would often want to know if I was having a boy or a girl.  Since I wanted it to be a surprise I never asked the doctors to tell me.  However, my four year old son, Patrick, was certain that he knew.  Whenever someone would ask if I knew, my faithful little boy would pipe in boldly saying, “It’s a boy.   I know because I prayed and asked God for a brother.”  He was confident that he was going to get a little brother. He believed God for his promise that if we ask, we shall receive (John 16:24).   He had an attitude of faith that his request had already been granted even though he could not yet “see” this physically. James 4:2 states, “You have not, because you ask not…” Patrick asked and, low and behold, his little brother arrived.   Granted, we do have to be careful what we ask for sometimes.   There have been moments when I heard Patrick mumble “what was I thinking?” and other times, when Patrick is rather annoyed with Dade, the little brother he so faithfully awaited, I hear Dade quickly remind him “well, YOU prayed for me!”  (There’s nothing like brotherly love, is there?)

This childlike faith is required for us to receive the blessings that the Lord longs to give us.   When we pray and make a request of God we shouldn’t murmur to ourselves “I hope this works out.”  We should have the confidence in God that little children have. We should believe that our prayer has already been answered and wait patiently for God to bring it to us in HIS time.  At four years old, Patrick had no concept of the amount of time he would have to wait for his little brother, though he did often ask “how much longer?”  He simply believed that God would send him his request.  Never once did he question God.  I can’t lie, I found myself wondering how I would explain it to him in the event that his little brother turned out to be a little sister instead. My faith was not as genuine as Patrick’s was. Thankfully God took care of that one for me.

Looking back I realize that I simply lacked confidence in God.  And who am I to question the dependability of God? He has always been there for me.  Genuine faith is not professing that you believe… genuine faith is actually believing what you profess.   It is having confidence in the dependability of God...and who is more dependable than He is? 

Our Christian lives begin because of our faith in Jesus Christ, they are lived by faith and they end in faith.  Our faith is strengthened by spending time in God’s word, if we do this... it is guaranteed that our faith will grow and we will have more childlike confidence to ask the Lord for the blessings we long for…even the ones we think may be too much to ask.  Maybe it’s time that we stopped insisting our children grow up and start thinking about learning to be a little more like them...childlike in our own faith.

          Hebrews 11:1 is a well known verse.  Many Christians can quote it fluently, but quoting it isn’t enough...do you live it?  Do you truly have faith in God for the things you are hoping for, but cannot yet see?  How childlike is your faith?