Permission Granted

"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." 
Luke 22:31-32

Simon (Peter) had a bullseye on his back. Known as one of the disciples in Jesus' inner circle, he was a devout follower of Christ. Loyal. Trustworthy. Committed to the grave, or so he thought.

As much as Peter believed he was sold-out for Jesus and claimed in verse 33 he was ready to go with Him to prison and even death, he still had inner fears and doubts lurking about. Both Jesus and Satan recognized his lack of belief. Jesus knew that when tested, Peter would deny he ever knew Him. Not once. Not twice. Three times in a row.

What Jesus also knew, and Satan may not have, was that as a result of these trials Peter would repent and return to Him even more committed and determined than before. His faith would be redefined. We know this to be true from verse 32 where Jesus instructs Peter "when" you turn back, "strengthen your brothers". Not if you turn back, but when. He knew Peter was a man of faith and eventually, his faith would quench Satan's fiery darts. He would return strengthened in his faith, more solid in his beliefs, prepared for a higher calling and even greater ministry.

Merriam-Webster's defines sifting as this:

sift -- verb

1a: to put through a sieve  b: to separate

2: to go through especially to sort out what is useful or valuable

Satan has to ask God's permission to press on our lives. His purpose is to come against us with fiery trials and temptations to get us to turn our backs on God. But God has a greater purpose in the sifting. He uses it to sort out and remove unhealthy attitudes, fears, desires and agendas that are of no value or use to Him. To build unwavering faith into our character so that we completely trust in Him. To shape our hearts and lives in such a way as to make us willing and useful for His kingdom work. Such trials accelerate our spiritual growth when we turn to Him. They cause our trust in God's faithfulness and sovereignty to increase. They allow us to see aspects of God's character we might have never if things had always gone our way. And they bring about a process of pruning to make room for new spiritual fruit and growth. Sifting shifts our focus, our thinking, our loyalties, and makes us useful for God's greater purpose. 

Father God, I thank You for the nine years of sifting You have just allowed in my own life. I thank You for the spiritual growth, the testing and refining of my faith, the continued working out of ugly inner thoughts and selfish attitudes, the healing of my heart from things unthinkable, and the resolve to follow You and walk in obedience to Your call. I also thank You for Your abundant provision in the midst of terrible trials. You gave me a solid place to stand and eyes to see the blessing between the rocks and hard places. You placed me in a position to have immediate prayer support and encouragement when bad news came and tough situations came to a head. A place where I forged beautiful friendships, ministry opportunities abounded, and I managed to find my voice. Lord, You brought such increase to so many areas of my life. And where I was weak, You made me stronger. Though all of this was brought about as a result of some of the toughest trials in my life, I am forever grateful for the silver linings. I look forward to the new ministry opportunities that lie ahead and wait with great anticipation for the new season to begin! In Jesus' name I pray with much gratitude, amen.

Balancing the Scales

"Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, 

for as many years as we have seen trouble."

Psalm 90:15

It is believed that Moses was the author of Psalm 90, the oldest Psalm in the book. The days of affliction in Moses' life and those of his fellow Israelites in the wilderness had been many. They had endured trouble and captivity for seventy years. Here we find him pleading with the LORD to "balance the scales" so to speak. For as many days as there had been grief and misery he was asking for joyful days in return. For as many years as they had seen great sorrow, trials, affliction and unrest, he was pleading with God to repay them with peace and prosperity. He was asking for God's favor to rest upon them (v. 17). 

Having seen years of captivity, trouble and affliction in my own life I find such joy in this verse. Joy that hopes in the goodness of God. Even in the midst of extreme difficulties God has shown me the silver lining on more than one occasion. He has been my peace in the midst of deep pain, my strong tower in times of trouble. May His hand of favor rest upon my own future. May He bring an increase of peace and prosperity, increase in my marriage and ministry, increase in my faith and my friendships. 

As Charles Spurgeon expounds on this verse he says, "If we have fierce afflictions we may look for overflowing delights, and our faith may boldly ask for them. God who is great in justice when He chastens will not be little in mercy when He blesses, He will be great through and through: let us appeal to Him with unstaggering faith."

Father God, You are Faithful, Good, Able and True. Thank You for delivering me from the painful trials in my life. Thank You for Your faithfulness in affliction. God, I ask You to grant increased favor, peace and prosperity in return for all those years of trouble. May Your hand of favor rest upon me and my family. Balance the scales I pray. Establish the work of our hands that we might walk in obedience to You. Oh, that You would bless us in Jesus' name, amen.

Set Apart

"On that night I will pass though Egypt and strike down every firstborn -- both men and animals -- and I will bring judgement on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt." Exodus 12:12-13

Camping out on verse 13 about the blood, I take in the rich symbolism. God had asked the Israelites to choose a lamb, one per family, to be used for Passover. The lamb was to be a "year-old male without defect," either a sheep or a goat (v. 5). After a period of four days if it was proven to be without blemish it could be used. This represents the testing of Christ that proved His holiness. The lamb, once proven, would be killed representing Christ's death on the cross. 

Then we come to the blood. It was to be applied to "the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs" (v. 7). This represents the choice we have to by faith, "apply" the blood of Christ to our lives for the redemption of sin (salvation), and therefore rules out the belief that everyone will be restored to God, otherwise known as universalism. I like the footnote in my NIV Bible on this that implies the blood and the blood alone, nothing added to it, "constituted a perfect protection from judgement". It was a sign that those who dwelled in that home belonged to the Lord and the house should be passed over. As the old hymn "Rock of Ages" goes, "Nothing in my hand I bring, Simoly to thy cross I cling." The cross and blood are enough.

Hebrews 10:14 elaborates on this stating "by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy". Those "being made holy" are those who have chosen to turn from sin, accept Christ's sacrifice, and put their faith in Him.

The natural outcome of putting one's faith in Christ is to start looking less and less like the world and more and more like Him. We are called to be "set apart". "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the LORD" (2 Corinthians 6:17). And when we live "set apart" as unto the Lord, delighting ourselves in Him, we have a divine protection. Charles Spurgeon speaks to the "one condition" of this verse as it relates to God's protection. Speaking of Christ he says, "Where I see the blood I will pass over you. What a blessed condition! It does not say when you see the blood but when I see it." Nothing but the blood of Christ can save. He is the one that must see we have applied it to our lives. It is His blood that covers over our sin and makes us acceptable in God's sight. Trials will come. His Word promises that. But for the one in Christ, the sting may be less. Healing will come. Glorious healing whether this side of heaven or that. In Christ is the safest place to be. 

On a practical level I consider myself and my own home. Am I living as one set apart for God's good works? Is my home set apart for His work and our refuge, free from filth and idols? If judgement came upon my neighborhood today would my house be "passed over" and see less destruction, less of a sting, than one not set apart for Christ? Food for thought...

Father God, fill me up with Your Holy Spirit today. Empower me to do Your will. Help me as I strive, and my family strives, to live lives set apart from the world for Your purposes and Your glory. In Jesus' name, amen.

Given Over to Darkness

"So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days... Yet all the Israelites had light in the places they lived." Exodus 10:22, 23b

Time after time, judgement after judgement, Pharoh's heart remained hard toward the requests of God. Every time he agreed to let the Israelites go he reneged on his promise. He was not a man of his word. So God continued with attempts to get his attention. In this passage it is through utter darkness. The kind of dark you'd experience deep in a cave. Like touring the Florida Caverns and having the tour guide cut the lights. The kind of dark where you can't see your hand in front of your face. Like the utter darkness of hell. That kind of dark.

Yet the Israelites, God's people, had light where they lived. And oddly enough their light did not pierce the darkness that was paralyzingly the Egyptians. Their light was a reflection of God's favor and the darkness, God's wrath. 

This judgement symbolizes the darkness of the hard-hearted souls that refuse to turn from their wicked ways. I think of the destruction brought upon Sodom, a people bent on perversion and depravity who refused to turn from their wicked ways. I reflect on Romans 1:21-25 where Paul warns that those who persist in sin will eventually be given over to it. 

"For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen."

...given over to sin and depraved minds. Such sin and immorality are places of blinding darkness.

"Spiritual darkness is spiritual bondage. Those who rebel against the light of God's Word are punished with darkness, for they loved it and chose it. Let us dread the consequences of sin; if three days' darkness was so dreadful, what will everlasting darkness be?" (paraphrased from Matthew Henry's Commentary)

Though the ones ensnared may be surrounded by believers, just as the Egyptians were in community with the Israelites, they are seemingly not affected or pierced by the Light within them. They are ignorant to the truth because they are bent on sin. And those bent on sin have their backs to God. They might put up a good front in the presence of believing friends because such sin is often kept secret. The one stuck in sin is not always blatant about it. But no one can serve two masters. Our God is a jealous God and He will not compete. He will bring judgement.

So judgement came in response to Pharoh's hardened heart. "When God made this difference between the Israelites and the Egyptians, who would not have preferred the poorest cottage of an Israelite to the finest palace of an Egyptian? There is still a real difference, though not so discernible a one, between the house of the wicked, which is under a curse, and the habitation of the just, which is blessed.

'The LORD's curse is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the home of the righteous.' 

Proverbs 3:33

We should believe in that difference, and govern ourselves accordingly." (M. Henry)

Father God, on more than one occasion in my lifetime I have seen you turn the proud over to their sin. You desire that our hearts be set on You and things above, not the idols and sin and filth this world has to offer. You will not stand for a divided heart. You will have Your way with or without the one bent on sin. For those who may be on the fence or those hiding in secret sin, I pray they would seek You. In Your strength, I pray they would hasten to turn away from the darkness and turn to a life pleasing to You, before You turn them over to the sinful desires of their heart. May they turn away from the darkness once and for all. Give them a deep desire to follow You. To any who have been turned over, who have realized the error of their ways, though it may seem impossible, show them the way out. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Blessing Others on Her Birthday: 14 Random Acts of Kindness

Last week we celebrated Emily's birthday. In lieu of a party with friends we decided to do something different in honor of our daughter's 14th year. I had read about people doing random acts of kindness on their birthdays. One act of kindness for every year old they are. After proposing this idea, Emily thought about it for a day or two and then came back to me saying she wanted to do it. She had a few acts of kindness in mind already. The thing that blessed my heart most were the words, "My birthday doesn't need to be all about me."

So a week in advance we made a list of the "Random Acts" we felt led to do and began to gather the necessary supplies. We pulled out gift bags and tissue, New Testaments and tracts.  We purchased bubbles, stickers and sidewalk chalk; chicken salad, candy and cookie mix. In all we prepared 14 kinds of gifts.

Giddy with excitement we set out bright and early on the morning of her birthday to bless others, showing God's love in practical ways.

1. Emily delivered gift bags to our neighbors that contained homemade cookies and a New Testament. We affectionately call these kinds of gifts "food for the stomach, food for the soul". (My kids and I have used this concept for years to share a little snack and God's love with the homeless, giving snack cracker packs and a tract.)

2. She left a gift of bubbles, sidewalk chalk and candy for our neighbor's little girl to come home to as and after school treat.

3. Before leaving the neighborhood, Emily placed a bag of cookies and a tract in the mailbox and to bless the mailman.

4. Having made Emily an appointment for a much needed haircut, we took that opportunity to bless our friend and favorite hairdresser. We baked her some special muffins and picked up a glass of her favorite tea.

5. Wanting to include some very special kid missionary friends in our day, we packaged stickers in an envelope and took them to the post office for an international stamp and mailed them to the U.K. When the mail lady asked if we wanted a passport application to go with our order so we could go visit them, we were able to say we'd already been there and share that they're there to plant a church in Glasgow.

6. Emily lit up at the idea of blessing a sweet widow we've befriended. We took her a little package of cookies as well. Unfortunately we missed seeing her and had to leave them on the doorstep.

7. Next we met up with a young lady whom we love that will be relocating to Haiti next month to devote her life to missions. Emily cleaned out her closet and came up with a bag of gently used donations for the girls she will serve in an orphanage there.

8. We lovingly prepared a picnic style lunch basket with chicken salad, croissants, apples, kettle corn and sweet orange tea. It was delivered to a very special first time mommy with a one week old bundle of joy!

9. Our next stop was the All Children's Park where Emily had fun handing out ice cream cone shaped bottles of bubbles to parents for their little ones. Those we encountered were pleasantly surprised by this gesture and wished her a happy birthday.

10. We drove to the pediatricians office where Emily donated a bag full of new and gently used books and magazines for the waiting room. The office manager that received them kept saying how much she "loved" her idea and hoped it would spur their staff on to pay it forward.

11. At a laundromat down the street we asked to hang bags on the washers to bless incoming customers. Each bag contained a R.A.O.K. Card, detergent pods and a copy of the instructions from the bag.

In the early afternoon we took a drive to have lunch with our son Cory, so Emily would get to see her brother on her birthday.  Then he patiently hung out with us at the mall while she did some birthday shopping.

12. Along the way, Emily handed out little boxes of candy she had prepared to bless the clerks and wait staff we would encounter throughout the day. She stretched them out so last one would be given to our waitress that evening.

13. As we headed back to town we made a b-line for Target. Having a tender heart for our human trafficking ministry, she wanted to look at the registry available for a nearby safe home opening soon and buy an item on the list with her birthday money. The registry items are helping to accessorize the home so girls rescued from child sex trafficking will have a beautiful place to live while they heal.

14. Finally, before meeting family for dinner we took little bags with quarters in them to the kiddie ride area at the mall. We taped some to the empty rides for future customers to find, and gave one in person to a mom and her little one so he could ride the race car he had his eye on.

These 14 Random Acts of Kindness made for an amazing day. When asked, Emily couldn't begin to say which one was her favorite because she had too many special moments. As we drove between stops she said she wished we'd started doing this on our birthdays a long time ago. She declared it should definitely be a tradition going forward.

Showing God's love in practical ways is a wonderful way to spend a birthday. Happy Birthday to our girl who's beautiful inside and out! Now to make my list of 40-something acts of kindness so I'll be ready when my turn rolls around...

Resurrecting Hope

"Then I thought, 'To this I will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High.' I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember Your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all Your works and consider Your mighty deeds." Psalm 77:10-12

We find here a theme that is all too familiar in the book of Psalms. Asaph the psalmist is crying out to God in despair. He feels forgotten. Overlooked. Faint in spirit. Rejected. Disregarded. Anxious and unable to sleep. His hopes dashed. 

Considering the psalmist's stressed state of mind, we see his despair rooted in wrong thinking. In verses 1-9 his mind is fixed on the discouraging circumstances that surround him. Such stressors might come from delayed or unanswered prayer, marital or financial struggles, wayward children, strained relationships, health concerns, shattered dreams, death of a loved one, or countless other trials. His mind was focused on the things he could account for: the facts and the things he saw or felt. But Asaph's view is limited. And feelings are not trustworthy. His finite view was never meant to be his source of hope. In limiting his faith only to what he could discern in the situation, he limited his view of God. A small view of God made his circumstances feel overwhelming.

But in verse 10, after wallowing in his despair, he has a thought. A thought no doubt placed by the Holy Spirit. He decides to shift his focus and console himself by remembering the goodness of God. 

The miracles.

His power and might.

Redemption.

His leadership.

God's faithfulness.

He focuses on the power and authority represented by "the right hand of the Most High". In so doing, he becomes intentional about fixing his mind on the truth of God's character vs. the lies and doubt he had so easily succumb to. 

Some circumstances in life are meant for the testing of our faith. Others are "our cross to bear" so to speak, meant to bring God glory and accomplish His divine purposes. Either way, when we fix our mind on the problem, our view of God becomes small. We are easily overwhelmed, frustrated, depressed or angry. But when we shift our focus to "the right hand of the Most High," putting God in His proper place in our lives, our circumstances pale in comparison. We remember His ability to redeem them. Or to do something in us through them. Consoling one's heart and mind (or inner self) with remembrances of God's faithfulness, meditating on His goodness, and reflecting on His abilities is good therapy. It's preaching the gospel to yourself. For the discouraged and despairing it causes a shift in mindset. 

It lightens the heavy load. 
It lifts our downtrodden spirit.
It resurrects hope. 

Lord Jesus, You are Almighty, All-Powerful, All-Knowing, and You sit at the right hand of the Father. Whatever our circumstance,You want our eyes fixed on You because You are Able. Able to bring peace. Able to bring joy. Able to bring hope. Able to make us content. Able to make a way. For Your ways are higher than ours. You see the big picture. You have a grand, master plan. Help us not to get wrapped up in our finite view that leads to despair. Rather, help us to fix our eyes on You and Your abilities, and rest in the fact that You have our best interest at heart. Father God, You always know best. May our hope and peace be in You alone. In Jesus' name, amen.

Desperate or Deliberate?

"If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” 

Luke 11:13

In this passage about prayer Jesus is sharing through parables some instruction on how to pray. These parables are in response to one of His disciples saying to Him back in verse 1, "Lord, teach us how to pray..."

In Luke 11:6 I read about the persistent friend. This friend goes to his neighbor at midnight and knocks asking for some bread saying, "...a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him."

As I think on this in relation to prayer, I realize this is how prayer so often goes. We are presented with a question or a situation and we don't know how to respond. Our friend pours their heart out on an issue and we have no idea what to say or how to encourage them. In turn, our lack creates a need. In that need we go desperately to the Father in prayer. We run to the Lord and ask for help. We know He is our "ever present help in time of need" (Psalm 46:1). We need the Holy Spirit to intervene and help us, or show us what to do...so we ask for Him.

(pause there for a moment while I share my heart)

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I've been in a long season of spiritual growth in the Lord and at the same time, in a 'not so fun' place with Him. My God has been allowing the sinful nature that is in my heart to surface. Once He showed me one thing, He'd move on to another. And another. Sometimes He made things abundantly clear by showing me multiple examples of a sin or wrong attitude coming out of me. I can't even begin to tell you how heartbreaking and sobering this private process has been. I strive to live a life that is pleasing to my Lord, so to have Him show me all the depravity that was still in my heart... Well, that hurt. It hurt because I knew it grieved Him. Sin in my life defames His name. When everything else drained out the ugliness remained. Like a sifting. There it was. All of it. With everything else removed I could really see what was in my heart. For the most part I'd say it was just God showing me. And me being frustrated with myself. No one else needed to know. Only God and I could do anything about it.

Meanwhile, during this process, my pastor had been encouraging our church staff to pray daily and ask the Lord to fill us with the Holy Spirit. To pray before we even get out of bed something along the lines of, "Lord, please fill me with the Holy Spirit. Empower me to do Your will today." I began doing this rather sporadic at first, then gradually with more consistency. Mostly because I had some questions in my mind.

Then a couple weeks ago, I came to Luke 11:13 in my Bible reading. I've been camped there ever since.

"If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” 

Marinating in this passage I realized how often I was willing to give myself up and let the Holy Spirit take over when I was desperate. Desperate for an answer on an issue. Desperate like the friend asking his neighbor at midnight for some bread. Desperate when I lacked confidence to do something I was called to do. But in recent months after those promptings by my pastor, and the evidence of such fleshly attitudes in my life, I did start asking the Holy Spirit to fill me up before I started my day. I was doing it but wrestling with it at the same time, trusting the Lord to show me the answer to my question which was, "If I already have the Holy Spirit, and trust that He is present in my life, why do I need to keep asking for Him?" I knew, that I knew, that I knew, that I was sealed with the Holy Spirit the day I trusted Jesus with my life. Ephesians 4:30 assures me when Paul says, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." So in my heart I really wrestled with why I needed to ask for something I already had. I was sure it was biblical, I just needed to understand it in my head and my heart.

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With that in mind, this passage sort of stopped me in my tracks. It was the phrase "the Holy Spirit" that got my attention. I'm not sure I had ever really taken note of the difference between this verse and it's parallel in Matthew 7:11. The verse in Matthew was the one more committed to my memory. Take note:

Matthew 7:11 --
"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

Luke 11:13 --
"If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” 

In studying this passage at length, I have learned that the change in the phrase from "good gifts" to "Holy Spirit" is known as a metonymy of the cause. The first verse here is stating the effect. The second, the cause.

METONYMY (Mesa + onoma = a change of name)
One word is used in place of another to portray some actual relationship between the things signified.

All "good things" come through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the evidence of good things in our lives found in Matthew, can be replaced with the ultimate source of the good things, the providential work of the Holy Spirit, as found in Luke.

So to answer my own question, I believe this is one of those mysteries in the Bible where the answer is "both/and". I am sealed with the Holy Spirit -- therefore He is "with" me -- because I have placed my faith in Christ. The Spirit is also "in" me giving victory over the flesh, developing Christian character, healing infirmities, inspiring me when I pray, cleansing me, sanctifying me, comforting me, and interceding on my behalf. As I yield myself day by day making more and more room for the power of the Spirit, He acts and works within me and I operate less and less in the flesh. The Bible also implies that the Spirit can be "on" me, anointing me to do some special service for God. I am both sealed with the Spirit and I can have more of the Spirit.

(Ref: The Scofield Study Bible, New International Version, 1984, "The Holy Spirit in the New Testament, Summary" on page 1431.)

As I have been praying this prayer, I am realizing that more than being filled daily, it's a yielding to the Spirit that is already there willing to act and work in and through me -- when I let Him. It's asking Him to guide me in His ways and intentionally laying mine aside. It's seeking the Spirit deliberately, not out of desperation. In doing so, I find that I am calling on the Spirit more and more throughout the day. Instead of asking for help after things happen or when I get fearful, anxious, desperate, etc. I am now asking for the Spirit to take over in the mundane. Before I speak. Or respond. Or react. Just to take over period. I'm tired of doing part of the day in the spirit and part of it in my own strength. I want the Spirit to just lead so that my responses and reactions are not selfish or in the flesh, but instead reflect the fruits of the Spirit. Responding and relating with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. God's Word says, "There is no law against behaving in any of these ways" in Galatians 5:23 (CEV). I just want to be covered with His grace. More than anything, I want the Holy Spirit infusing my life day by day, hour by hour. In accordance with God's Word I can ask for that! The Amplified version says He gives "to those who ask AND continue to ask Him!" I see it as a conscious, constant yielding of myself to the Spirit. In other words, surrendering my all, moment by moment, for His best.

Father God, I thank You for Your patience with me when I don't fully grasp or understand Your Word. I thank You for answering when I ask for clarity. I ask that You fill me to overflowing with the Spirit so that I can act and think and do according to Your will. Keep working in and through me I pray. Help me to keep dying to the flesh so I look more and more like You. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.