The Muslim community has just completed the season of Ramadan. It is a time where they sacrifice daily by doing without food or drink from sun up until sun down. The strictest Muslim will even refrain from swallowing their saliva. Their purpose is to show sacrifice to Allah and to ask him to give them dreams and visions. My heart breaks because their acts are ernest, but they are giving an empty sacrifice because it will never get them into right standing with God. It is no different than what we read in Micah 6:6 “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God.”
Jesus is the only sacrifice needed for our salvation. He alone could fulfill the obligation for our sin. We as believers fast and pray out of thanksgiving for what God did for us through the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. We practice walking in justice, loving kindness and love as an outward sign of what He did on the inside through forgiveness of sin. Our sacrifices are gifts of praise to the One who gave all for us. Oh that Israel would have humbled themselves before Him. Oh that men and women today would do the same. May we be willing to sacrifice not out of obligation or to earn our way to heaven, but as a supreme gift of praise to the One who gave all for us.
Isaiah 9-12 and Micah 1-4
Pay day came for Israel and the cost was very high. They were captured and taken into captivity by a ruthless people God used to discipline them. Jerusalem and Israel were destroyed and rubble was all that was left. Prophecies came to pass and the once great people of God were now reduced to a remnant. And Yet! God was still there and in His mercy He reminded them that they would one day return and build again.
12:1 You will say in that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.
2 “Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.”
3With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4And you will say in that day:
“Give thanks to the Lord,
call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples,
proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth.
6 Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”
May we as a nation not have to come to destruction before we look to our Salvation! May we even now turn to God our Hope!
REMOVING THE THORNS THAT BLOCK OUR PATH
The first physical project we took on with the house was finding the side door. It is not that the door wasn’t visible. It was, but you could not get to it because a rose bush had grown over the steps leading to it along with large stalk-type weeds that were almost six feet tall.
My mind went back to the fairy tale where the wicked witch placed a thorn bush around the castle to keep the prince out. Our rose bush wasn’t that bad, but it did prevent entry into the house at the side door. My prince armed with clippers and a weed-eater spent quite some time cutting thorns, vines, and weeds to make an access point.
This whole scene came back to me during Sunday School as we studied Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Jesus was telling the people to ask, seek, and knock. I wonder sometimes if we cease to hear God’s voice and receive blessings from Him because we have thorns of sin and disobedience blocking the path to the door of our relationship with Him. Is He waiting for us to realize and acknowledge that our relationship has been interrupted by our thorns of business, pleasure, or maybe even anger with Him because He did not answer our prior prayers?
Do you need to ask The Prince to use His divine clippers to cut away those thorns and forgive? Is He waiting for you to ask for forgiveness? Seek His will? Knock on the door that holds a clean pathway to Him? It is never too late; no matter how much has overgrown in your life. It may seem easier to just let the things that crowded in and blocked the passageway go, thinking you can make things right later. That is the enemy not wanting you to have a clear pathway with God. Daily confession and prayer are not just a good idea, but necessary. As my Sunday School teacher said, Romans 3:23 reminds us that we all have sin and need that forgiveness.
You never get too good or too holy not to need prayer and forgiveness.
The appraiser should come in the next week. Our purpose in clearing the pathway was for him to have access to the house. What a great reminder to me to keep a clean passage way for my relationship with God.
Lord Jesus, please clear the path of my heart from sin and selfishness. Please forgive me for wanting my way above Yours. Please cut away areas in my life that don’t please You. Please remove people and things that lead me down wrong paths. I long to hear Your voice and to be able to ask You for needs in my life. I want to know You more so help me as I seek You. Please open the doors You want me to walk through and guide my path. I submit to You.
Unless the Lord Builds the House
Psalm 127:1 “Unless The Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.”
We are beginning an adventure we have never tried before. About three months ago a friend called and said, “I’ve found it.” He knew we were thinking to move back to the Birmingham area and were looking for a great house with about 5 acres of land. We also wanted a pool but knew that would be the whipped cream with a cherry on top. The biggest struggle was going to be that we needed all of that at a really low price. Our friend said we may could get some of that but it would take time.
We were raising a questioning eye brow when a few days later his text appeared. We set an appointment to see the house. To say it was a diamond in the rough would be a gross understatement!
It had a firm foundation, but the roof leaked and had caused some of the ceiling to come down. It had not been lived in for about 2 years and the once manicured yard looked more like a snake breeding ground. The pool side area was overgrown with weeds, vines of poison ivy, small trees, and the pool brimmed with growing things, algae, and frogs. As if these challenges were not enough, the inside had at least 2 rooms with Chinese sheetrock. That was like speaking a foreign language to us. Upon further study we found this sheetrock was used during the housing boom in 2004 to 2008 when the supply of sheetrock here in the US was limited. Katrina had just hit and especially the southern states were desperate for sheetrock. In their haste to come up with product, companies began to purchase sheetrock made in China. Unknown to them the sheetrock had been produced next to a sulfur mine. The sheetrock absorbed trace amounts of the sulfur. When placed into a home or building it emitted sulfuric gas. It affects all wiring, corrodes any copper, and can make people very sick. The house had been foreclosed on and could not be sold for fair market price because of the Chinese drywall. Our friend suggested we offer a low bid and see if the bank would take it. That would allow us to make the needed renovations and still stay within our budget. We went home praying and decided to make the offer. We knew that in order to get the house we would need to sell our home in Louisville, Kentucky so we made an appointment with a realtor. We place our house on the market and the next day it sold for much more than our asking price. Wow!!! We felt like that was God reminding us He had this! A month later we moved…well actually we packed all of our possessions and stored them to be retrieved when the house was ready. We expected God to act quickly since the house sold with haste, but that is were our story took some turns!
We have set up our house keeping at the home of our friend Cindy. She has been gracious to let us use her garage and a bed for when we are not traveling. God has been so good to keep us busy during our Meanwhile. For more than a month the bank gave no answer telling us they were moving forward, but with no decision. After two months and a few days we finally got a contract!!!!! The next step was financing and can I just say that is a MAZE OF CHAOS!!! It is all about having the right forms completed, having all the information and documentation. Because the bank had takes so long our first approval was no longer applicable so we had to complete the process again. It has certainly been a test of perseverance! But… the good news is this week we were approved and now we wait for a closing date.
God had already taught us so much during this process. Here are some of our lessons:
God has taught us to pray with open hands
Instead of holding on to this specific house we have prayed asking God, “If this is not the house you want us to have, we want Your Will more than this house.” Just because we want something doesn’t always make it His will. We knew if it wasn’t the right one, another would come along. Praying with our hands open instead of clinging to our wants, plans, and ways allowed us to receive God’s best for us.
God’s timing is perfect
Because we had to wait, interest rates had fallen!!! The company who will end of up financing the house allowed us to borrow the money for the house but also the improvements that will be made. That was huge!!! God has been so good!
God taught us to praise Him no matter what
The best lesson was to praise Him no matter what. The temptation through this process has been to worry. There are so many challenges and concerns that try to captivate our minds. In
2 Chronicles 20 God told His people to march out in praise because the battle was His. They saw a mighty route of an enemy army that day as they marched in obedience. We too marched in praise. We thanked God for what would be. Les even marched around the house seven times as he prayed and ended with a shout. He will have to write more about that. We have believed and praised God for who He is, His concern for us and our well being. Our praises have gone from the smallest thing to the largest. As we praised, the practice taught us that He was the treasure and in the end, if this house come to be ours it would be the bonus.
I have gotten long and we will write more about these later. Thank you for joining this journey. He is building so much more than a physical house. He is building us into a place for His glory to rest!
Hosea 1-5:
Just plain sad! That is my feelings toward what is going on in the book of Hosea but also in our world today. Israel was bought back by God. He had mercy on them. He made them His people again after they had gone after other gods. He loved them deeply. For a while they returned but only for a while and then they left again to pursue their own desires and what they thought provided for them. Oh America is that not us. We know the truth of God’s word and how He loves us and yet we are like Israel, strong willed, weak of flesh, running toward emptiness. Return! That is the message of Hosea. Return to the One who truly loves you. He alone fills your empty places. Truth and rest are found in Him alone. Don’t turn to pleasures or liquor to fill your emptiness. No relationship or physical pleasure will do. It is only when you find deep forgiveness and contentment that you will have the peace you so long for. May we all pray for a return of His people to their God. May our prayers be that God’s people here in America will know the need they have to return to a pure relationship with God, not one tainted with our own traditions or religion but pure worship and sacrifice of ourselves to Him. On this our nations birthday weekend I pray for a return to our God.
Amos 6-9
6:1″Woe to you who live at ease”, 6:4″4 “Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory
and stretch themselves out on their couches,
and eat lambs from the flock
and calves from the midst of the stall,
5 who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,
6 who drink wine in bowls
and anoint themselves with the finest oils,
but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
7 Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile,”
When I read these verses I wondered if it might not just describe the church today? We are so driven by our comfort. We will come to worship as long as it is not too hot, not too cold, at a time that is convenient, has my kind of music, isn’t too long, people treat me right, don’t ask for money, pastor doesn’t get too personal about things I think are okay to do, isn’t too loud, the pastor wears a suit and tie, they thank me when I serve… the list could go on and on. We want God and church on our comfort levels. God was not about making Israel happy and conforming to their desires and He isn’t about making us happy. We need God. He doesn’t need us. He loves us, desires for us to follow him, longs to have a relationship, but He is not at our beck and command.
The cost for Israel was heavy, but through their captivity and even through the silence of God they were humbled and once again sought God. What will it take us church to get it? Oh Father, please forgive us and help us to choose humility and selflessness before it is too late.
Amos 1-5
A few years back many fatal tornados blew through Alabama. As we went to help our neighbors put their lives back together we walked through streets where there would be pieces of their lives all over. Furniture was splintered. Homes were blown apart. Everywhere you looked was destruction. As I read Amos today my mind pictured the destruction. 4:12 “Thus says the Lord: “As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part of a bed. ” God was telling Israel He was going to tear them apart because of their disobedience.
I cringed when I read that because God has been so gracious to our nation for so long. I wonder how long will He tarry. I fear that too quickly His long suffering heart will get enough and He will allow us to be torn apart as well. I fear He will start with the Church, His people. May we humble ourselves before that day comes and confess our sin so that we can find refuge in Him.
1 Kings 8, 2 Chronicles 21-22:
Today’s reading followed the lives of a couple of bad kings. You know they are bad when it says, 21:19 “In the course of time, at the end of two years, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great agony. His people made no fire in his honor, like the fires made for his fathers.” This is so sad and yet again a life wasted that knew better. We choose the path we tread but the results and consequences of our choice are determined by God and the eventual calamity of sin.
May today be filled with good choices and God honoring life!
1 Kings 17-19
I have been perplexed by why it seems more and more these days people of the church are doing what Elijah described in 18:21″And Elijah came near to all the people and said, ‘How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.’ And the people did not answer him a word.” Elijah was dealing with a people who knew God and knew His ways and what His commands were. They knew they were to be lovers of God with all their hearts and yet they had backed away from their commitment to the Lord and loved the gods around them more. Maybe it was because it was more popular. Maybe it was because their political leaders were pushing it. I am sure there were many reasons, but God had not changed and His desire for His people had not changed. It is the same today. God’s people are to put away the things of this earth. Drunkenness, ungodly speech, anger, gossip, divisiveness, seem to be where so many have decided was okay as long as they go to church or do the church thing every other week. God must just want to throw up! We are just playing games when the end result is eternal. I know I am way too heavy for some, but my heart has been broken as I have seen some who I have known to at one time be super devoted in their relationship with Jesus standing on a fence with one foot in the world and one in the church. Really not sure what to say next other than, I want to be holy, set apart, a woman whose heart is so devoted to her Master that He and only He is seen in me. I want to know how to love my brothers and sisters in Christ in such a way that they long again to be running toward God with all of their might. I am praying today for them and for all who have allowed their love for their Master to take a back seat to their love for the things of this world. He longs for us all to return!
1 Kings 15:1-14, 2 Chronicles 13-16
Do you serve God with a whole heart? In our day of mediocrity where doing just enough to get by is the norm, it is very difficult for people to pour themselves into serving someone or something else with their whole heart. Maybe it is because we have been burned by others including the church and we equate God with the church. Bad mistake on our part. God isn’t the church, religious organizations or what we see on television. He is Creator of everything and He holds everything together. In our reading today when the kings trusted God will all their heart and served Him they saw God defeat armies twice the size their armies were. They saw even through trials and tribulations that God took care of them. No the journey wasn’t without challenges, but they prevailed with God’s help. Last night as I was preparing for bed I got a text from someone I care deeply for. They said, “please pray, ugly things going on.” For the next couple of hours I prayed. The song God kept reminding me of as I prayed was Learning to Lean. The words go:
Learning to lean,
Learning to lean, I’m learning to lean on Jesus.
Finding more power than I ever dreamed,
I’m learning to lean on Jesus.
I believe that is what it looks like to have a whole heart dependency on Jesus. Trusting Him to hold you up and rescue you when hard times come. Most of the kings in today’s reading found leaning on God to be their salvation. When they turned to trust other men their kingdom fell. What a great reminder to all of us. (I got a call later on last night that though rocky things worked out. My advice to my friend was Lean on Jesus!) Maybe that is the advice you need today as well. I know I do.