"A Penny for Your Thoughts"

I was sitting here reading about how vital the knowledge of the Word of God is to our Christian lives and growth, and I thought about the old phrase, "A Penny for Your Thoughts". When I say that to someone, I'm not asking that I somehow gain a special ability to "see" what they are thinking...I am asking that person to speak to me, to put in words what they are thinking. And I thought, "That is exactly what God has done; the Bible is a written record of the Words of God, a special revelation to us of what has been and continues to be on the mind of God!" God did not leave us with only the knowledge of Him that can be gained by what we call "general revelation"; in other words, everyone has the opportunity to look around and see the visible evidence of a Creator. Romans tells us that evidence is "plain" for all to see. But we also know that as fallen as we all are, we do not always "see" things as we should, so God went so much further than general revelation and gave us His Word! It is amazing that Almighty God, Creator of the Universe, desired to communicate with His creation! Apart from His initiation, His pursuit of us, His revelation, we would never come, we would never know Him! Oh, thank you Lord, for drawing us!

"Saint of the Little Ways"

It all started the other morning with an email from a friend....you know, one of those "chain" things that you cannot break, and I was told "to open it only when you have the time to respond". So, I opened it, and it was about Mother Theresa, and how she was given the posthumous title of "The Saint of the Little Ways", meaning that she believed in doing the little things in life well and with great love.

Then there was this prayer:

Saint Theresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be confident knowing you are a child of God.

Let His presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

He is there for each and every one of us.

I thought about my day, and generally my life, and realized that everything I do could be classified as "little". I work for several people a few days a week, and my jobs are "little" - I don't feel like I do anything productive, although those I work for seem to appreciate what I do, and I am very grateful for a job. As I thought about it further, the past 2 years have been a huge puzzle to me. It seemed that God was finally opening up opportunities for me to teach, and until the past few months, things were very exciting and busy. Lately, though, seems that I am moving at a snail's pace and wondering what God is up to in my life.

I teach a "little" Bible study once a month to a group of 4 ladies, and though I am enjoying the ladies and the opportunity to share the Word of God, I have no idea what God has in mind for this small group.

So, with all these thoughts running through my mind this morning, I opened the devotionals that I generally read. "My Utmost for His Highest" for October 13 was titled Individual Discouragement and Personal Enlargement. Chambers talks about Moses and "how he saw the oppression of his people and felt that he was the one to deliver them, and in the righteous indignation of his own spirit, he started to right their wrongs." After the first strike for God...God allowed him to be driven into blank discouragement", and that discouragement lasted 40 years! At the end of that 40 years, God came and told him to go and deliver His people, but Moses' response at this time was, "Who am I, that I should go?" Chambers said Moses was right in that he was trained and in a position to help his people 40 years earlier, but "he was not the man for the work until he learned communion with God". Then Chambers said, "If you are going through a time of discouragement, there is a big personal enlargement ahead". Another devotional I read regularly had these words: "You, too, can bring Joy to My heart by faithful service. Faithful service in the little things. Be faithful. Do your simple tasks for Me."

I know that I am not alone in feeling that I contribute so little to the enlargement and advancement of His Kingdom. Past accomplishments don't seem to count for much right now. In fact, J.I. Packer said thinking about past accomplishments was like sitting around and dreaming about manure! He was referring to Paul's estimation of his past accomplishments, comparing them with "dung"! And though I know there may be some folks who enjoy dreaming about manure, I'm not one of them!

I don't know the answer to this dilemma: do I just make the decision to start another Bible study and see if anyone signs up? Or do I continue doing what I'm doing and doing it well and with great love, and trust that God will continue to provide opportunities when the time is right? Do I relax and concentrate on being faithful in the "little" things and wait for Him provide the opportunities to serve Him? Or do we make the opportunities, knowing there is such a need for more understanding of the Word of God; after all, I've always heard that God can more easily guide a "moving target"!

What would YOU do?

Redeemed

Redeemed - completely!

October 3, 2009, Sara Eutsler Sledge stands complete before the One she loved the most! And those of us, the hundreds and thousands of us, who knew her, have no doubt what He said to her: "Well done, My good and faithful servant! Enter into the Joy of your Lord!" And she did!

We will miss you, Aunt Sara. Though we know Ambassador Camp has always belonged to the Lord, it will still never be the same without you. We wait with eager anticipation to see what God has in mind for those beloved grounds, but we will still miss you! There is no one who can ever take your place.

The following prayer is one that I can imagine Aunt Sara praying, and God has certainly answered the prayer tonight! She was drawn from this world and awoke in His likeness!

Retrospect and Prospect

Supreme Ruler of the visible and invisible worlds, my heart is drawn out to Thee for Thy amazing grace and condescension.

Thou hast kept my conversion fresh before me, that season of my first spiritual comfort when I passed through the Red Sea by a way I did not expect.

I rejoiced then for that unthought-of-passage, that delivered me from the fear of the Egyptian when I had almost despaired of life.

I rejoice now as these things are fresh and lively in my mind; my soul melts when I think of Thy days of old with me, when a poor worthless creature without wisdom to direct or strength to help myself was laid under the happy necessity of living upon Thee and finding Thy consolations large.

Thy art my divine treasure in whom all fullness dwells; my life, hope, joy, peace, glory, my end.

May I be daily more and more conformed to Thee, with the meekness and calmness of the Lamb in my soul, and a feeling sense of the felicity of heaven, where I long to join angels free from imperfections, where in me the image of my adored Saviour will be completely restored, so that I may be fit for His enjoyments and employments.

I am not afraid to look the king of terrors in the face, for I know I shall be drawn, not driven, out of this world.

Until then, let me continually glow and burn out for Thee, and when the last great change shall come, let me awake in Thy likeness, leaving behind me an example that will glorify Thee while my spirit rejoices in heaven, and my memory is blessed on earth, with those who follow me praising Thee for my life.

Taken from The Valley of Vision

I stand with the the many lives that are praising God for your life, Aunt Sara. Thank you so much. And I hope to see you soon!

Jacque Brown

Saved at Ambassador Camp on June 23, 1965

Unredeemed

My good friend and mentor, Clay McLean, recently stated in his monthly newsletter that he is "tired of being angry!" That statement struck such a cord in my heart. The last couple of years have been particularly puzzling to me because I just can't see or understand the hand of God in any of the "happenings" in my life, and the unrelieved puzzlement has often led to anger. Add to that the uncertainty and grief we have all been experiencing the past 8 months or so with the condition of our beloved, though temporary, country, the United States of America, and listening to so much commentary, rhetoric and anger from both sides, my anger has known no bounds! Clay's honesty and transparency opened my eyes to what has been triggering so much anger in my own life, and it's what has always triggered the anger in me - the feeling that my life is out of my control, and the things I have tried to control have been disastrous, and that I have to come to the place of acceptance and "be still and know that He is God" and I am not, that He is big and I am so small, that He loves me with an everlasting love and has not abandoned me, and that He knows what He is doing, and that it's not about me, but about His glory, and if He is magnified, it always works out to my good! Amy Carmichael differentiates between submission or resignation and acceptance in her poem, "In Acceptance Lieth Peace":

He said, "I will forget the dying faces;
The empty places—they shall be filled again.
O voices mourning deep within me, cease."
Vain, vain the word; vain, vain:
Not in forgetting lieth peace.

He said, "I will crowd action upon action,
The strife of faction shall stir my spirit to flame.
O tears that drown the fire of manhood, cease."
Vain, vain the word; vain, vain:
Not in endeavour lieth peace.

He said, "I will withdraw me and be quiet,
Why meddle in life's riot? Shut be my door to pain.
Desire, thou dost befool me, thou shalt cease."
Vain, vain the word; vain, vain:
Not in aloofness lieth peace.

He said, "I will submit; I am defeated;
God hath depleted my life of its rich gain.
O futile murmurings; why will ye not cease?"
Vain, vain the word; vain, vain:
Not in submission lieth peace.

He said, "I will accept the breaking sorrow
Which God to-morrow will to His son explain."
Then did the turmoil deep within him cease.
Not vain the word, not vain;
For in acceptance lieth peace.

In the past few days, as I have been brought back to this place of acceptance and surrender, I purchased Selah's new CD, "You Deliver Me", and the song "Unredeemed" echoed these thoughts. May these words grip your heart as they have gripped mine. No matter what has gone on in our lives, in the past, (distant past or recent past), regardless of what is happening presently, He has it all in His hands and there will come a day when everything that is laid at His feet will be redeemed! He will not waste any of our sorrows, He will wipe away every tear and all things will be redeemed! I want everything fulfilled, restored, resolved - right now - but that is not always possible. Because we live "in the shadow of the fall", things are not always as they should be, we do not always forgive as we ought to, we do not always love as He loves us, we are all so broken, but there is coming a day when all things will be healed, forgiven, redeemed! Let us lay those shattered things at His feet today, and watch and see what the Father will do!

UNREDEEMED

Selah

The cruelest words, the coldest hearts, the deepest wounds, the endless dark;
The lonely ache, the burning tears, the bitter nights, the wasted years…
Life breaks and falls apart, but we know these are

Places where grace is soon to be so amazing!
They may be unfulfilled, they may be unrestored,
But when anything that's shattered is laid before the Lord,
Just watch and see, It will not be unredeemed!

For every choice that led to shame, and all the love that never came,
For every vow that someone broke, and every life that gave up hope;
We live in the shadow of the fall, but the cross says these are all

Places where grace is soon to be so amazing!
They may be unfulfilled, they may be unrestored,
But when anything that's shattered is laid before the Lord,
Just watch and see, It will not be unredeemed!

Places where grace is soon to be so amazing!
They may be unfulfilled, they may be unrestored,
But you never know the miracle the Father has in store!
Just watch and see, It will not be,
Just watch and see, It will not be unredeemed!

Nanny Vs. Abba

After completing my taxes, I was depressed to see on paper what my gross was for 2008 – and the net was even worse! Instead of progressing forward in my finances, I had stepped back to a monetary level I had not seen since the 1980’s! Until, (and thankfully it didn’t take a long time for this realization to hit me!), I realized that I had made it through 2008 well fed (obviously), and with all my bills paid – I had survived! But then, I found myself thinking, “I probably qualify for food stamps, and maybe there are other programs I can qualify for from the government so that 2009 will not be so hard!” It was about then that I realized, too, that the $400 tax break would not benefit me at all because it will show up in employees' paychecks throughout the year - about $13 extra per week! Since I don't get a payroll check, I won't see a penny of that "stimulus"! This was upsetting to me, until I realized I had inadvertently stepped into "THE NANNY-STATE ZONE"!

Now, I know that we have had thousands of folks on the “government dole” for years - Obama is not the first President to drive us toward the “Nanny State” form of government. Don’t get me wrong: there are folks being helped by government programs who desperately need the help, and to them, it is only a temporary hand up until they can get back on their feet. For example, my youngest sister had heart surgery several years ago, and she had to take a 6 month leave of absence from her job. So, with no income coming in, she had to go on food stamps during that period until she was able to return to work. It was a “temporary hand up” that had a start and a finish, and she appreciated the help. Her attitude was not, “I pay my taxes; therefore, the government owes me”. I’ve had to go on unemployment a couple of times myself throughout my working life, but it was temporary, and was, indeed, paid for by my taxes. With the unemployment rate the highest in 25 years, with over a half million people unemployed at the last count, we are grateful that the government is able to step in and help, but it should be a “temporary hand up”, not a permanent hand out. Unemployment benefits should have a definite beginning and a definite ending, along with accountability.

We were all created equal, and were endowed BY OUR CREATOR with certain “inalienable rights”: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The third right, the right to “pursue happiness”, was never meant to cause me to depend on the government to help me in that pursuit, nor did it imply that all of us will attain the same level of happiness in our various pursuits. Happiness is such a hard notion to define because it can have as many definitions as there are people! What makes me happy may not be what makes my neighbor happy and vice versa, but we all have the same right to pursue what makes us happy as long as we stay within the confines of the law. I have the right to pursue the dream of owning a home, but owning a home is not an inalienable right. If my financial situation is not such that I can afford to pay the mortgage on that home, then I either have to abandon that dream or work harder to achieve that goal. It is not the government’s responsibility to see that I own a home or make a certain income or maintain a certain balance in my bank or go to college, or own a car, or have cable TV or provide health care, etc. The government doesn’t owe me anything except to do what the government was established to do: punish evil and uphold good. Payment of taxes does not make the government “beholden” to me or responsible for my welfare.

As I think about the faithfulness of God over the past 43 years of my life as a follower of Christ, and particularly how God has gotten me through the past couple of years, I am reminded of several promises made by Abba, my heavenly Father God. These are promises that have sustained me through the years, and are as vibrant today as the day He spoke the promises to those who put them down on paper for us in the Bible. As my Abba, He is responsible for my well being and my welfare. I will never cease being His child, no matter how old I get! And there is no limit to His resources - He doesn’t have to take the money out of one person’s pocket to put it into another’s! As a young man, David wrote the most well known psalm, Psalm 23, as a tribute to God for His care as the Shepherd, the care-giver of His children. In his later years, David made the statement, “I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken nor his children begging for bread.” (Psalm 37:25) David made mistakes and sinned grievously in his life, but from the beginning to the end of his life, he knew God as his Provider, as the Source of his strength, his Help, his Rock, his Strong Tower. I may not have had as much “bread” in the past couple of years as I’ve had in years past, but I was not forsaken for one moment, and not once did I have to beg for bread – although part of Abba’s provision this past year has been through the kindness and generosity of my brothers and sisters in Christ, for which I am so grateful! And I may not have as much “bread” as my neighbor, but Abba has promised that I would always have ENOUGH for my needs! One of the Names He has given to reveal Himself to us is "El Shaddai", the God Who is Enough. This Name was first revealed to Abraham, when at the age of 90, God came to him and revealed Himself as El Shaddai, the Almighty God Who supplies what He promises - and then told Abraham that he would be the father of many nations, promising him a son in his old age! You know the story - 19 years later Abraham and Sara had a son and they named him Isaac, which means "laughter", a joyful and appropriate response to the God Who fulfills His promises!!!

I am reminded of another one of my favorite names that Abba has given us that describes what He is like – Jehovah-jireh. The first time this Name is mentioned is in Genesis 22, and the circumstances are when God called on Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. All Isaac knew was that he and his father were going up into the mountain to make a sacrifice to God, but he was puzzled because there was no lamb for the offering. Abraham’s response to Isaac’s question was, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And later, when God intervened and stopped Abraham from killing his son and provided the ram instead, Abraham named the place “Jehovah-jireh”, the Lord will provide. God not only describes Himself or reveals Himself to us – He demonstrates His care and provision and love for His children every day.

God has done everything for us: He has provided His only Son as the only suitable sacrifice for our sins; through His sacrifice, we have forgiveness of sins, access to the Father, a relationship with Abba, the privilege of knowing Him, life everlasting, and so much more! With these HUGE issues taken care of with absolutely no contribution from me, how could I possibly doubt that He is able to do “far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us…”! (Ephesians 3:20) How can I doubt Abba’s ability to take care of my physical and material needs when He is the One Who laid the foundations of the earth, who hung the stars in space, the One Who has removed my transgressions as far as the east is from the west, the One Who formed me in my mother’s womb, Who knows everything about me, the One Who has written all of my days in His book and there is nothing in my life that is hidden from Him?

I heard someone on the Christian radio Saturday liken what’s happening today, with the government stepping in and taking over so many segments of society, to what happened in Joseph’s day. She said that the government of Egypt stepped in back in Joseph's day and provided food for that part of the world during a time of famine. However, I don't see Egypt as being the entity responsible for that provision. If you remember the story, the Pharaoh had a dream, and it was Joseph who interpreted that dream and was given the title of Prime Minister of Egypt, responsible for storing up the food that came during the years of plenty and then for distributing that food to the people during the years of famine. Joseph was spared by God to preserve God’s people during a time of devastating famine. It was not the government of Egypt that stepped up and took care of everyone - it was the wisdom and goodness of Almighty God through His servant Joseph for the purpose of preserving His people – the rest of the world was blessed because God allows it to “rain on the just and the unjust”. I see the Pharaoh of Egypt as an “unwitting servant” of God to not only preserve the life of Israel in the famine, but also provide a place for them to settle in relative security and grow for a period of 400 years! It was actually through God’s people that the nation of Egypt enjoyed the blessing of God! I personally don’t see what’s happening today with the government wanting to become all-powerful as a true parallel to what happened in Joseph’s day.

I don’t want to come to the end of my life, and stand before Abba, my Maker, and have to acknowledge that I missed His abundant blessings on my life because I was standing in government lines, expecting the government to take care of me. Please don’t misunderstand: I believe there are legitimate uses of government resources, and times when God has used government programs, such as food stamps or unemployment, or Medicaid, etc., to meet the needs of His people. But the government cannot force me to be dependent on its aid! I want to be dependent only on God and His provision for me. When He promises something, He doesn’t change His mind! James 1:17 tells us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights with Whom there is no variation or shadow due to change”. He has promised to take care of His children and there is nothing that will change His mind! We need to remember that what the government provides, the government can take away, and if we’ve grown dependent on something the government is providing and it’s either taken away, or the government begins to put demands on our lives because we are obligated to them, then we are in trouble.

We need to remember who we are as children of God, and acknowledge that He has both promised to take care of us, and He is capable of doing everything He promised!

Here are a few more promises that Abba has made to His children. Remember: all His promises in Christ Jesus are YES and AMEN! (2 Corinthians 1:20)

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:33-34

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” I Peter 5:6-7

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act.” Psalm 37:4-5

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

Let us as children of the Living God make sure that what we say we believe matches how we live our lives!

Harris Poll Puts President Obama at #1 Above Jesus Christ

Can you imagine what it would be like if you are in the most powerful position in the U.S., if not the entire world - the President of the United States of America - and now it is being splashed across all the newspapers and shouted out from every major television network that you have been named as THE HERO, beating out the all-time #1 favorite, Jesus Christ Himself!!!

I have been saddened as I have heard this "news"! I am not at all concerned that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of lords and the King of kings, has "lost" His position - how utterly absurd! But I am concerned for President Obama, that he will actually begin to believe the headlines, and move so far away from the still, small voice of God that he will be unreachable. Is that possible, that he could become so caught up in the praise of man that he cannot hear the voice of the God he claims to know? Is it possible that he will come to view himself as the "savior" of America?

Oh, how we need to pray for the president and his family. Even the most steadfast, righteous man would have a hard time standing true to God in the face of such adulation and worship. I am not implying that President Obama is not a good man - God alone is the Judge of his true heart. But I do not believe that he, nor any other man or woman, is strong enough in his convictions and commitment to the God he professes to know to be able to withstand the heady sense of power that accompanies his position.

I was thinking about the president and all that's going on in the government these days, and was reminded of Psalm 2: "Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, 'Let us burst Their bonds apart and cast away Their cords from us.' He Who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then He will speak to them in His wrath, and terrify them in His furry, saying, 'As for Me, I have set My King on Zion, My holy hill.' "

God has set His Son as King above all the nations, and He is on His throne, no matter what happens in Washington or any other nation of the world! We need to pray fervently for our leaders, for the decisions they are making that put them in the position of opposing God, and that somehow they will come to their senses before it's too late!

"I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way." I Tim. 2:1-2

True Transparency

Transparent - a word that has been tossed around every day over the past 4 weeks by the politicians in Washington. And these politicians use it when it has been proven that they lied about something they swore to be true! It seems that a better word would be "opaque", not "transparent". According to the dictionary, one of the definitions of "opaque" is 'blocking the passage of radiant energy and especially light'; 'not clearly understood or expressed'. "Transparent", on the other hand, is defined as 'having the property of transmitting light without appreciable scattering so that objects lying beyond may be seen clearly; free from pretense or deceit'; 'without guile or hypocrisy'.

This "culture of corruption", a term coined by the democratic leaders 2 years ago when they took over the majority lead, (but now this corruption that they accused the other party of is running rampant in the democratic party), is a policy that we absolutely DON'T want to become a "trickle down policy"! All of us have the natural tendency to watch those in authority over us, whether it be government, church, family, work, etc., and try to mirror the way they act. If it's negative behavior, we excuse ourselves by blaming it on our bosses, our pastors, our parents, etc. How many of us were shaped by the saying, usually spoken by our parents, "Do as I say do, not as I do!"? And how many of us are saying the same things to those "under" us, whether it be at work, at home, at church, etc.?

In God's economy, in God's culture or environment, we are told to be holy, as He is Holy; we are told to be without guile, sincere, without hypocrisy; we are told to let our "no be no" and our "yes be yes". We are told to tell the truth, not to lie. Our model should not be those over us in government, church, family, work, etc., but Jesus Christ Himself. We have been instructed to "walk in the light, as He is in the light". We are commanded to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, not allowing ourselves to be conformed to this world. Our minds are NOT renewed by Hollywood, Fox News or the internet! Our minds are renewed by the Truth of His Word, by spending time in His Presence, immersing ourselves in His culture. Our hearts and spirits are encouraged and strengthened by spending time with those of "like precious faith", who are seeking to live in the light as you are.

It is so easy to allow our actions to be shaped by the culture around us; this is why we need to be diligent every day to walk in the culture of God; walking in the behavior and attitudes that He demonstrates for us in His Word. Years ago, in 1896, a book was written about a group of Christians who decided to ask one question before they did anything: "What would Jesus do?" The book, IN HIS STEPS, tells of their experience, how they learned to mirror the life of Christ rather than the world around them. The popular logo WWJD, What Would Jesus Do?, was based on this book.

My prayer in these difficult days, when those in power seem devoid of light, "opaque" if you will, may God give us the grace and courage to be those who walk in the light, who are not afraid to follow in the steps of Jesus Christ!