Spider Waiting

"Wait patiently for the Lord, be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord." Psalm 27:14

It is 5:45 am.  The sun has begun to soak the field with its warmth.  I am sitting on the veranda watching as the grass turns a rich shade of green after the early morning grey has been washed away.  At 5:15 am the birds had started their singing and squawking so by now they are in full swing.  Nature is noisy in a quiet sort of way.  As I am looking out and contemplating the field, I notice a lump of black just a few yards from the steps of the veranda.  I lean forward in my chair.  Sure enough.  There is a big hairy tarantula sitting in the grass.  He is so big that I have no problem making out the shape of his body and the position of his many legs.  But he is just sitting there very still. 

 Oh well, I hear a flock of parrots passing overhead.  They are incredibly loud and not at all pretty in their, umm, I don’t think I can call it a song.  They just seem to like to let you know they are passing.  I can see their green heads and yellow beaks as the beat their wings and fly towards the river.  It is my time for devotions so I want to get back to my prayer time.  As I go to lower my head, my eye once again catches the spider.  He is in the same place and still not moving.  What is he doing there?  Why doesn’t he move?  He must have some place to go.  I find myself getting impatient for him.  Get going.  Move along.  What can be keeping him in that same spot?


And then I remember the verse I had just read.  Psalm 27:14 – “Wait patiently for the Lord, Be brave and courageous.  Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.”


A tarantula in the middle of the field with birds flying overhead…….waiting.  


A woman on the veranda with a crazy day ahead with so much to do and so many people depending on her………….waiting.  Thank you, Lord!

Stick To The Plan

"Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them. You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you." Exodus 25:8-9

When God spoke to Noah, he had a plan. His plan was to destroy the earth and every living thing. However, he saw that Noah was a righteous man. God told Noah that he would save him and his family. So he told Noah to build an ark. This is the important part: God told Noah exactly how to build this ark; type of wood, dimensions, the whole detailed plan. 

     

When God was talking to Moses, he told him that he had a plan. He wanted to be among the people, so he wanted Moses to build an ark. It would be the Ark of the Covenant. God’s presence would dwell there. The important part once again, is that God told Moses exactly how to build it. He even told him how much stuff he would need to build it. He told him exactly what to do for each part down to the petals on the lampstand and the rings for the poles to carry the ark. 

So we see that God always has a plan and with his plan he has instructions. God did not tell Noah, “Look, I want to save you and your family, so build yourself a boat and make sure that it floats and has plenty of room in it.” He didn’t tell Moses, “I want to be among my people, so come up with some kind of thing that will be carried around.” 

I think that we mostly realize that God has a plan that he is inviting us to be a part of, however, we act as though we are the ones who have to come up with the way to carry out his plan. We use our “brains” to come up with something that will carry out what God has planned. But who can think up the things that God can? Noah and Moses listened to the Lord and heard HIS PLAN and HIS DIRECTIONS . I realize that when God reveals to us what he is about to do, we need to sit and listen to him for the directions he has for the execution of his plan. And his plan is always a good one. God also told Moses to make sure that he stuck to the plan. Sometimes God will tell us to do things that may seem weird or a little crazy. When we have spent time in prayer and allowed the Lord to reveal his directions to us, we have to stick to the plan and see where he leads. 

The Purpose Of My Instruction

The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. 1 Timothy 1:5

No matter what we do in life, purpose is very important.  It also helps for our purpose to be clear.  Sometimes I get very confused when I am aiming for a sort of hazy looking purpose.  For instance, I am involved in children’s ministry.  So what is my purpose.  I can think of a lot of goals that I might have.  I hope to have the best Bible lesson I can.  I hope to teach the children a new song.  But that is not my purpose. 

1Timothy 1:5 “The purpose of my instruction(children’s ministry) is that all believers(children attending my ministry) would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart(right motives), a clear conscience(repentant), and genuine faith(obedient living).

This verse struck me as the purpose of my ministry.  What do I want to teach these children?  What am I hoping that they will learn? I need to teach them about a pure heart, what are their motives?  They need to learn to examine themselves each day.  Then I need to teach them to have a clear conscience.  They need to learn to come to the Lord and repent- to take responsibility for their choices and actions and then ask the Lord for forgiveness.  I have to teach them that genuine faith is acting in obedience to Jesus.  They have to learn to live out what they believe in their everyday life.  If I believe that Jesus will be with me, I have to be obedient and live the way he tells me to in the Bible.

These are the things that I need to be teaching the children I minister to.  This is my purpose – to make disciples. Then they will be filled with the love of Jesus to reach out to everyone around them.  

Reveal...Respond...Repent

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:7-10

What exactly does it mean to humble yourself before God?  As I was praying about this just this morning I felt that I got a good answer.  Humbling ourselves is when we ask the Lord to bring to light all the darkness in our hearts.  It is when we ask him to show us our true motives.  It is when we ask him to reveal the shadows with us.  This is a very humbling experience because the Lord will do it and he doesn’t miss anything that we have hidden within.  However, when we pray for this to happen, we must have the correct response.  In James 4:9 it says, “Let there be tears for what you have done.  Let there be sorrow and deep grief.  Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.”  That is what repentance should look like.  When the Lord reveals our hearts to us, there should be deep repentance.  Even though you may not think that the issues God has revealed are such a big deal, if God has brought it to light after your prayer than it is something you have to repent of and deal with.  Remember this is about being humble before God.  Do not rationalize or excuse or even justify.  Let humility rise up within you and repent.  The issue in question may have more to do with someone else and your obedience could make all the difference!  James 4:8 says, “Come close to God, and God will come close to you.  Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.”  Don’t let your loyalty be divided.  Choose humility, choose Jesus.

Lay It Before the Lord- for His Glory

Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: "O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God. 

"It is true, O Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone, fashioned by men's hands. Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God." 2 Kings 19:14-19 

Hezekiah received a letter.  It was a threat to him and his kingdom, but more than that, it was an insult to the living God.  Hezekiah took the letter and then spread it before the Lord.  Then Hezekiah prayed. 

He didn't say, "Lord, save me, I don't want to die."  He didn't reason out all the good things he had done so that God would spare him.  Hezekiah merely pointed out to God that all the boasting in the letter was meaningless, because the gods that the Assyrians had destroyed were not gods at all but wood and stone fashioned by the hands of mere men.

And then Hezekiah prayed, "Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God."

I can't help but feel a little guilty.  Do I pray like that in the face of trouble?  Hezekiah didn't pray for a victory for himself.  He didn't even make a plea for his people.  Hezekiah was concerned only for the glory of the Lord and the establishing of God as the living God among all the nations.

Are we seeking and praying for God's glory to be revealed or are we only concerned with our own welfare or the welfare of our ministry or family.  When trouble comes, do we lay it before the Lord and name it for what it is, the hollow threat of the enemy, and then pray that God will answer to bring his glory before everyone?  We all must face our Sennacherib from time to time.  Instead of giving in to desperation, we need to recognize the deception.  Sennacherib boasted of destroying gods, but Hezekiah recognized that they were only man-made idols. After we see the truth of the situation we must ask the Lord to bring glory to himself in the midst of our situation.  

Sennacherib's threat came to nothing that very night while Hezekiah slept in his bed!

Just Like A Tree

 “But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.  They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season.  Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.”  Psalm 1:2-3

Trees are amazing.  They live many years.  They grow in all different sizes reaching up to the sunlight while sending roots below the ground to find nourishment.  Trees offer shade from the heat and then shelter from the rain.  They produce leaves and flowers, fruit and wood.  They can be a home for a squirrel or offer a branch for a robin’s nest.  When I was young I found great delight in climbing to the top of the tree in our yard.  My brother and I spent many hours in the tree house we had built in a big old tree in the woods across the street.  What peace there to sit beneath a sturdy oak to read a book or take a nap.

Trees are amazing.  They live through the seasons, changing..changing..changing again and again.  They are stark and lonely in the winter.  Spring awakens the buds that bloom and flower throughout the summer.  At last the trees burst forth into an amazing collage of color that stirs a song in my heart.

The Psalmist David says that when we delight in God’s word we are like these trees.  How wonderful to be a tree that is planted by the Lord so that we can be strong and sturdy, a shade and a shelter, bring joy and peace and stir a song in the heart of others.  All of this we are meant to be!

Search Me

"When you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent." Psalm 4:4b
"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast
spirit within me." Psalm 51:10

As the day wears on, I find myself running low on energy - and
steadfastness. I make compromises and I let things slide by. I find
myself becoming more focused on myself and my own needs rather than the
needs of others. This also happens in our Christian walk. We start off
with a heart that is just wanting to please God and to do His will.
However, as the time goes on we begin to lose some of our
steadfastness. There is a compromise here and we let something slide by
there and all of a sudden we are more focused on ourselves than we are
on what the Lord is doing. We start thinking about our own needs and
rights rather than the Lord. Our attitude is no longer humble and our
motivation smacks of selfishness.
How did I end up here? This is the question we ask only when we are far
from where we started. Sometimes we don't even ask the question because
we don't see where we are. But the Bible provides us with good advice
to keep us from this condition.
Psalm 4:4 says, When you are on your beds, search your hearts and be
silent." There are three important steps to be taken here:
1. When you are on your beds - this implies that this is the time at the
end of the day when you have stopped working and are resting. You are
not busy.
2. Search your heart - the word used here is SEARCH- don't just skim
over the information. This is looking for something, an intentional effort.
3. And be silent - NO EXCUSES, NO RATIONALIZATIONS. Search your heart
and then accept responsibility for what you find there.
What are you looking for? We are looking at our attitudes and
motivations . God says in 1 Samuel that he is not interested in the
outward appearance, but rather he is looking at the heart. It should be
the same for our actions. God is not so concerned with what we do as he
is concerned with why we do it. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the
real attitudes and motivations that are in your heart. It may surprise
you to realize the truth about some of the things you believe or do.
But after we have searched and taken responsibility for what we find,
what then? Do we beat ourselves up for our wrong attitudes or selfish
motivation? Psalm 51:10 should be the cry of our heart after a night of
searching. "Create in me a pure heart, O Lord, and renew a steadfast
spirit within me." Each morning we need a new heart. Not just a band
aid on the heart of yesterday, but a whole new one, created and designed
for a new day. We need a heart that is free from the distractions or
the compromises of yesterday. Along with that, we need a renewed
steadfastness to stay the course and run the race! I recommend trying
this every day and you will experience the joy of a heart that is in
tune with God and his true purposes.