Incluso Lo Más Mínimo

Cuando el rostro de Dios está en nuestro rostro, y Su voz está en nuestra voz, incluso el menos atractivo de nuestros esfuerzos puede dar la vuelta al mundo, tocando vidas en todas partes.

Puede que no seas un líder mundial, o un líder nacional, puede que no seas un líder local, o alguien importante, incluso en tu comunidad, pero cuando el Señor está contigo, el impacto del Espíritu Santo en otras personas cambia los corazones, incluso cuando nuestras obras parecen duras y no son las mejores.

De ninguna manera eso significa que produzcamos obras con propósito, con un esfuerzo mínimo, creyendo que Dios tomará nuestro relevo. Para mí, quiero ser responsable con lo que Dios me ha dado, y hacer lo mejor que puedo para Su majestad. Pero a veces, no somos conscientes de lo pobres que son nuestros esfuerzos hasta años más tarde, después de haber tenido experiencia y estar en camino de tener un oficio finamente perfeccionado. A menudo miramos hacia atrás a la música, el video o los sermones y nos avergonzamos de lo inmaduras, mal habladas o miserablemente elaboradas que eran las cosas. Pero levanta la cabeza, amigo mío, cuando el rostro de Dios está en nuestro rostro, Su voz está en nuestra voz, la altura de las montañas y la profundidad de los valles pueden ser niveladas, porque Dios está con nosotros.

Todos los que nacen vienen a este mundo con potencialidades y capacidades, diseñados por Dios. Ya sea que permitamos o no que el Señor los desarrolle y los emplee, ahora eso es otra historia, pero el hecho de que no los veamos no significa que no estén ahí. Recuerda, no todos van a encajar en los cinco grandes de Efesios 4, apóstoles, profetas, evangelistas, pastores y maestros, al menos no de la manera que nos gustaría pensar. Escúchame en esto: el hecho de que tengas un llamado diferente no significa que tengas un llamado menor.

Es más importante saber que Él conoce y escucha los clamores incluso del más pequeño entre nosotros, pero incluso usa la más pequeña de nuestras acciones. Todas las cosas cooperan para el bien de los que aman al Señor y son llamados conforme a sus propósitos. Pensamos que porque no estamos alimentando a cientos de personas por día, no estamos haciendo lo que el Señor quiere. Ya sabes, tal vez algún día lo hagas, pero ¿qué tal si hoy solo alimentas a una persona, incluso si solo es para llevarles una taza de café? Comprarle a una persona una taza de café no parece tener el mismo potencial para recibir elogios gloriosos de nuestros compañeros, pero con toda honestidad, tal vez sea todo lo que el Señor te pidió.

Recuerdo tantas veces, que lo que Dios me pedía era una cosa sencilla, y yo fui la que lo convirtió en algo enorme, algo difícil y complejo, pensando, si las cosas no son un reto no debe ser Dios. Un amigo mío estaba triste porque sentía que tenía muy poco que darle a nadie, y todo lo que hacía parecía ser solo una pequeña gota en un barril de 55 galones. Dijo que se sentía como un hombre con solo un dedal de agua dulce, solo pequeño y lamentable en sus ojos. En ese momento, el Señor le dio una visión de un hombre que se acercaba a un barril de agua potable que estaba tan lleno que lo único que impedía que se desbordara era la pura tensión superficial del agua. Cuando el hombre volcó su pequeño dedal lleno en el barril, eso fue todo lo que se necesitó, la tensión superficial se rompió y el barril se desbordó. En la visión, de repente un río brotó del barril y el suelo a su alrededor estaba mojado. Era una metáfora visual que el Espíritu Santo le dio para animarlo a no menospreciar lo que el Señor le había dado. En el momento adecuado, en el lugar adecuado, el poquito de agua en un triste video mental, esas viejas melodías que Dios te dio, esos sermones aparentemente poco dinámicos que te hizo escribir son oro y cambian la vida cuando Dios los pone en movimiento.

Muchas personas realmente no tienen la resistencia emocional para soportar que alguien entre en sus vidas haciendo cosas espirituales realmente grandes, hablando en voz alta sobre la Biblia y Dios. Sus nervios están como colgando de su piel y todo duele. Tenemos que aprender a no solo hacer lo que el Señor nos pidió, sino también hacerlo en el tono de voz y con la misma postura. Sé amable. A veces, si no la mayoría de las veces, Él nos pide que actuemos con delicadeza, que hablemos amablemente a los demás con una voz que no asalta a los oyentes.

Una vez el Señor me pidió que orara por una mujer al otro lado de la habitación, pero me dijo que me arrastrara hacia ella, tomara su mano y me sentara a sus pies orando suavemente con un rostro agradable. Hice lo que Él dijo y fue bastante conmovedor para toda la habitación. Era una cosa pequeña, pero era lo correcto. Más tarde se dio cuenta de que estaba al límite de su ingenio con la gente y no podía soportar que una persona más se parara sobre su actuación y sonido religioso. Dios me hizo agacharme, esa fue la puerta de entrada y eso hizo una diferencia en su vida.

Cuando el rostro de Dios está en nuestro rostro, y Su voz está en nuestra voz, incluso el menos atractivo de nuestros esfuerzos puede dar la vuelta al mundo, tocando vidas en todas partes, y la altura de las montañas y la profundidad de los valles pueden ser niveladas, porque Dios está con nosotros.

¿Qué te parece?

Soy Social Porter para el Ministerio Viviendo en Su Nombre.

Traducción por Alfredo Magni Sozzi

Ajenjo

Mara. Amargura. Ajenjo.

Deuteronomio 29:18, “Guardaos, no sea que haya entre vosotros un hombre o una mujer, o un clan o una tribu, cuyo corazón se esté apartando hoy del SEÑOR nuestro Dios para ir y servir a los dioses de aquellas naciones. Mirad, no sea que haya entre vosotros raíz que lleve amargura y ajenjo;”

La amargura puede ser una raíz en nuestros corazones que impulsa todas nuestras intenciones, ideas y decisiones. Puede influir en nuestro capital emocional con tanta fuerza que encontramos abundantes razones para alejarnos del bien y justificar el mal. Más que triste, es más que simplemente estar decepcionado … Más allá del horizonte del dolor — Son todas esas cosas con una venganza, golpeando y rompiendo todo lo que nos rodea.

La amargura se apodera de nuestro pensamiento como olas, entrando y saliendo constantemente, pulverizando nuestros sueños y esperanzas sanas. El escritor de Lamentaciones usó la palabra amargura en Lamentaciones 3:15 de una manera que dice que es como un maremoto en nuestra cabeza con una actitud de ojo por ojo con venganza. En Rut 1:20, la palabra para amargura o “mara”, termina en una letra hebrea que pinta una imagen de algo que agarra con un puño completo, todos nuestros sentidos, torciendo nuestro sentido del gusto para que todo sepa mal, nuestras impresiones de Olores solo notando la ofensa, acentuando nuestro toque para reconocer solo las texturas ásperas y poco delicadas en las relaciones, persuadiendo a nuestros ojos para que ver todos los atributos difíciles de la vida, y todo lo que está mal en todo. Filtra nuestras funciones auditivas para concentrarse solo en todo lo desagradable y desalentador. La amargura es poderosa para reducir la bondad de Dios de nuestra percepción, inspirando venganza, rencor, inanición espiritual y privación social, dejándonos solos en una oscura celda de prisión solo reservada para delincuentes violentos.

La ofensa y la decepción siempre nos están enviando invitaciones por correo y llamando a la puerta de nuestro corazón, y si se permiten en nuestra casa, germinarán para crecer más de sí mismas, echando raíces en todas partes.

Conocí a un hombre que dijo que había tenido un sueño, y en el sueño estaba en su sala de estar. Allí, creciendo justo en el medio, había un árbol grande, feo y con un olor horrible, y sus grandes raíces anudadas y supurantes corrían por todas las habitaciones, tanto que dijo que apenas podía caminar. Dijo que las ramas con hojitas retorcidas cubrían las ventanas, proyectando largas sombras, y se habían metido en el suministro de agua para que el agua no fluyera fácilmente de los grifos. Dijo que fue horrible, simplemente horrible y se despertó sintiendo que se estaba asfixiando.

Después de una larga conversación, mencionó su ira de larga data contra Dios porque su madre había muerto inesperadamente, pero no dejaba que su ira se detuviera. Lo perpetuó, repasando constantemente la decepción, y cuanto más pensaba en ello, más pensaba en todo, hasta que se resintió con el Señor por, en sus palabras, “permitir que esto sucediera”, culpando a Dios, una y otra vez hasta que su resentimiento pintó todo su pensamiento, toda su respiración y todos sus sentimientos. Sí, incluso sus pensamientos y acciones inconscientes. Creo que el sueño era del Señor pintando un cuadro de cómo había permitido que la amargura creciera en su corazón y en su cabeza, y se había vuelto tan invasiva que se había apoderado de todas las habitaciones de la casa, incluso bloqueando el agua y la luz que daban vida.

Yo diría que eso es bastante preciso. La amargura, o ajenjo, si se permite que se pudra como una herida podrida, puede matarte como la acción final de un final muy amargo.

Un escritor llama a esta forma de egocentrismo definitivo como “una acumulación apestosa de basura mental y emocional, que resulta en intentos frenéticos y sin alegría de alcanzar la felicidad llenos de dioses de baratijas y de espectáculos de magia religiosa”. Escribió que “la amargura impulsa la soledad paranoica, los deseos que lo consumen todo pero nunca se satisfacen, un temperamento brutal y un juicio estilo motosierra. Eventualmente, nos encontraremos acorralados en hogares divididos, visiones divididas, vidas divididas y búsquedas mezquinas y desequilibradas con un hábito vicioso de despersonalizar a todos para que sean rivales”.

Un hombre me dijo una vez que la falta de perdón es un pecado incesante. No lo entendí hasta años después, cuando me encontré atado y amordazado por la ofensa, la decepción y la amargura. El Señor me dijo, sin rodeos, claro como el día: “Puedes ser libre de todo eso, pero tendrás que desprenderte de algunas cosas”. Señaló que no era mi trabajo arreglar a la otra persona, sino ocuparme de mis propias cosas. Tuve que aceptar el perdón, y quiero decir, realmente comprarlo con todo tu corazón. Tenemos que ver, darnos cuenta y reconocer los lugares en los que hemos permitido que nuestra carne gane poder sobre nuestro espíritu, y recuperar nuestro gusto por las cosas justas. No “¿qué les pasa?”, “si tan solo… Entonces yo lo haría” de esta manera o la otra, pero “¿dónde estoy yo en este lío?”

Dios puede liberarte de la amargura y del ajenjo. Su solución es que ganemos un corazón de gratitud, que estemos agradecidos por la gracia, que vivamos en su fluir tanto que se desborde a los demás. Es posible que tengamos que buscar asesoramiento no para pensar “Qué” está pasando con nosotros, sino “Por Qué” No podemos dejarlo ir. El amor de Dios es abrumador, pero realmente necesitamos ser honestos con nosotros mismos y dejar que Su abundante gracia y perdón nos desborden. Pídele al Señor que te ayude a liberarte. Él te escucha y lo hará, lo hará, Él responderá. Cuando lo haga, ve con Dios, Él conoce el camino para salir de la jungla de amargura y decepción que bien puede haberse apoderado de tu casa.

¿Qué te parece?    Gracias por escucharme. Soy Social Porter con el Ministerio Viviendo en Su Nombre.

Traducción por Alfredo Magni Sozzi

033 Hy is ons God!

Hy is ons God!
Hierdie is ’n samestelling uit The Message Bible:

Het jy geweet God is ’n veilige plek? Die oomblik as jy by Hom is, kan jy ontspan – en jy sal nooit spyt wees dat jy aan Sy deur geklop het nie. Wanneer God met mense praat wat seer gekry het, begin hul harte weer klop, en mense wat hoop verloor het, voel weer lig wanneer Hy in hul oor fluister.

Die tyd van die bendeleiers is amper verby, en die dae van die farao is op ’n einde.
Ons God en Koning het vir ons hemelse juwele gemaak – sterre soos juweliersware aan die lug – en Hy laat ons skryf in Sy boek van wonders! Hoe wonderlik is Hy! Hy is God, ons God.

Wanneer God naby is, werk boosheid teen homself; geweld draai terug na die een wat dit begin het. Mense wat vol vloeke is, word stil en leeg – hulle praat baie, maar sê niks. Hulle leef asof die wêreld plat is en kan nie verder as vandag dink nie. Sonder Jesus, die Christus van God, drink die mens uit ’n veldbottel vol warm woestynwind. Hulle kuier in die Kroeg van Sonde, en dwaal af in ’n doodloopstraat. Dié wat geregtigheid verag, noem God “leë windpraters”! Vol gal en opgeblaas,  blaas hulle hulself uit. Hulle sê: “God is weg”… maar kyk na hul lewens – het jy nie opgelet nie? Hul opbrengs is dorings en onkruid. Hulle is soos skape wat mekaar probeer oortuig hulle is die herder, maar sonder God is hulle niks meer as ’n ry nulle nie. Hulle behandel mense soos kitskos – waaroor hulle selfs te besig is om te bid.

Ek? Ek sal nooit God se Naam behandel soos ’n handelsmerk nie. Ek wil wees soos Jakob wat omdraai en springtou speel van blydskap! God se wyse raad is bevestig in my – dit wys in die vrede van my hart. Hy het my kaartjie hel toe gekanselleer en my sondeloon opgeskeur. Toe ek vol geheime was en hoë heinings reg rondom my gebou het om dit weg te steek, was God goed vir my. Hy het nie die heinings afgebreek nie – Hy het eerder genade-graffiti daaroor geskryf.

Voordat ek vir Jesus geken het, het die duiwel se waters my gedurig oorstroom.
Die toue van die hel was styf om my polse, doodstrikke was oral, en die galgtou het styf om my nek getrek! Maar toe – God!! Dis reg, toe het my God op die toneel verskyn! Die aarde het geskud, berge het gebewe, Sy neusgate het gevleuel, Sy mond het vuur uitgespoeg. Helder weerlig het losgebars, haelklippe en vuurpyle het gereën, die oseane is oopgevlek, weerlig is geslinger – en my God het teen die vyand van die hemel opgetree soos ’n orkaan van heilige woede wat losbreek…
en Hy het my laat staan – vry, bevry, op ’n oop en wyd veld! Ek was – en is steeds – so verras deur Sy liefde! Hy het my ’n vars begin gegee. Hy het die boek van my hart oopgemaak sodat al die wonderlike dinge wat Hy in my gedoen het, sigbaar kon word. Die teks van my lewe is geskryf – ek het Sy goedheid geproe, Sy gesondheid en Sy Waarheid. My lewe het God se soeklig geword! Hoe is dit moontlik? Hoe kán dit wees – dat God só goed is vir ’n mens soos ek?

Jesus het na my toe gekom – ek kon Hom van ver sien aankom, van baie ver af, asof ek teleskopiese visie gehad het! Daar was heerlikheid wat geblink het, hoë heinings is oorgespring, Sy vyande is gevang, en die opsweepers is verpletter; dooies is vasgespyker! Wham! Wham! Ek sê vir jou – ek hét gesien hoe Jesus dit doen! Hy was ongelooflik vreesloos! Wat ’n vertroue! Sy teenwoordigheid was só oorweldigend dat haters weggevee is, en duiwels het hul skuilplekke verlaat en padgegee.

Die Rots is ’n seën – Hy is vry, bevrydend, en Hy maak dinge reg. Jesus is Heerlikheid op toer – Hy is God se kunswerk ten toon gestel. Op Sy bevel hou Mejuffrou Dag klas, en Professor Nag gee lesings; ongesproke waarheid word oral hoorbaar gemaak. Die son het ’n nuwe bruidegom, en dagbreek hardloop soos ’n atleet na die wenstreep. Lied na lied word gesing, en Sy Naam rym so mooi – dit wek geloof in harte.

 

Vertaal deur Chané de Clercq

Ek is Social Porter van Living In His Name Ministries.

Fair

By What Standard Did We Decide What Is Fair?

By what standard did we decide what is fair? A man yelled at me one day saying, “Christianity is not fair, and neither is God”

Cheating, or depriving ourselves or others of something valuable by the use of deceit or fraud is especially easy to justify when you frame situations and cast yourself, in your own movie, as the victim of some kind of unfairness. And yes, i believe many people really do frame situations and cast themselves as the unfortunate victims of unfairness. Eve’s actions in the Garden accused God of not being fair for she felt God was holding out on her somehow. After casting ourselves as a victim of unfairness, then it becomes a matter of evening the score; we re-think about how put upon we are and tell ourselves, “i’m not cheating, i’m “restoring fairness”. Restoring fairness? That’s like my joke in reference to myself saying, “i don’t have an obsessive personality, i just do everything A LOT.”

We all have heard the common international story of good people gone wrong. We wag our heads and click our tongues and say to ourselves, “How could this have happened to them? They were good people.” It begins with small infractions or transgressions,  all so subtle, like the idea of “wandering away.” We practice to perfect a polished nonchalance, we get good at masking our deep fear of being found out as a fraud, and maybe for some it’s learning to skim small amounts from the register, or how about lies of omission — and the behavior grows by increments. And what was once a lie of omission, mastering the art of leaving out parts of our story, eventually, becomes willful commission, meaning we consciously decide. It went from a one-time occurrence, to becoming a pattern of behavior. Do you see the “pestilence which creeps by darkness” there?  It’s not the one Oreo cookie which makes us fat, it’s the lifestyle of Oreo’s that’s the problem.

No one ever wakes up one day and decides to be a thief, or a fraud artist. We don’t just wake up one day and think to ourselves, “I think I’ll begin my career as a thieving drug addict today.” It is typically a long slow seduction into chaos and darkness; a “pestilence that walks in darkness” (Psalms 91:6), or a “disastrous affliction which comes and grips our heart in calamitous gloom”.

This story of life on a gradual downhill slide makes it difficult to distinguish the process of moving to the dark side; namely, that people subconsciously seek shortcuts more than they realize. Often, we make deliberate decisions to deceive in earnest. As in game theory, with deception and other misbehavior there’s a battle between short and long-term gains, a tension between the more upright choice and the less principled one – how much sin is too much to live with? When are our choices honest and noble enough? How good is good enough, how bad is too bad? At what point do we have such a lack of peace we are willing to cry out to God for help? Yet, psychologists say, perhaps the most powerful urge to be less than honorable stems from a deep sense of unfairness. As people first begin to compete and compare themselves with others, they also begin to learn of others’ hidden advantages. Private tutors. Family money. Alumni connections. A regular golf game with the boss. Against a competitor with such advantages, taking credit for other people’s work is not only easier, it can seem only fair.

A corner cutter often begins to think everyone else is cutting corners only after they have already started cheating, not before. That’s the same as saying some dreaded disease isn’t so dreaded now that everyone else has it too. Or the daughter who says to her mother, “You just don’t want me to have a life! It’s not fair! All my friends are doing it mom!” Hmmm…are they really?

And many times don’t we use similar language and thinking about God like our teenagers do, in order to get our own way? When we don’t get our way, we say with an aiming finger, “It’s not fair! Why would you do this to me Lord?!” or “You are God! If you’re SO good, how could you let this happen to me?! It’s not fair!!” Fair? Fair!? Actually, the Lord is more than fair, He went beyond fair and gave His life for us. You’re right. Christianity is not fair, truthfully, it’s more than fair.

Everyone slips & slides around some in life, but while we’re making our way along the path towards Home, let us opt for the Fruits of the Spirit and not let our eyes get used to the gloom and dark around us. God really is just and righteous and we need to lean not to our own understanding, letting God be God, which is something He is really, really good at.

Maturity

Being an adult comes with responsibilities and character we could never have imagined when we first believed.

Hebrews 12:12-14 “Therefore, strengthen your tired arms and your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not become worse, but rather be healed”.

Many years ago while living in Charlotte N.C.,  i stood alone in the dark on my back porch, weeping before the Lord asking, “Why, oh why, am i always in the midst of a problem, always seeming to have a hard time, running against the wind, feeling like i’m continually in the middle of some dilemma? Why? My mind and heart are tired!”  As i stood there listening to the wind in the tree tops, quietly sobbing, tears of frustration running off my chin, the Lord gently spoke to me and said, “Most of the time it’s the only time you come to me palms up.”

i wasn’t in sin. i wasn’t aware of any gross error or unbelief.  i even repented of things i’d never thought of in case there was something i missed.  But yet, things remained the same. You know, when you’re in the middle of a miracle, most of the time it doesn’t look like much of a miracle. God was changing my heart but it sure didn’t feel like it.  Looking back i realize i was practicing “self-cannibalization”, blaming myself for everything bad or wrong, calling myself names in the mirror, regret and remorse had come to visit, but now they don’t want to leave. A “root of bitterness” was growing, entwining itself around my feet, fertilized by self-loathing, watered by disappointment and frustration. God’s intent was for me to grow up and believe Him.

Matthew 22:39, “You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself.” How do i love myself; in what fashion?  Let us exactly take note of the words of Jesus, “love your neighbor as you love yourself” not “loathe your neighbor as you loathe yourself”. We all know that’s what He said, but underneath our declarations of understanding, we still maintain the attitude which says, “If i were God, i wouldn’t like me either.” Jesus said, “love”, not “loathe”.  If we’ll loathe ourselves chances are very high we will also loathe our neighbor.  Our glorious God does indeed love us, but the things that were funny when we were 3 years old will get our hide tanned when we are 10. We laugh at jokes, but honestly, if we really think about it, we’re typically laughing at someone else’s misfortune. i wonder if maybe in all things which we find funny at someone else’s expense, don’t have some root of bitterness in own heart. Our God desires we grow up and be mature believers, rightly dividing the word of truth (1 Timothy 2:15), being strong in His Name and in the power of His might (Eph6:10), comforting others in all their suffering, since we ourselves are being comforted by God (2 Corinthians 1:4). It is very difficult to be mature when we are busy condemning ourselves in the mirror.

In Hebrews 12:13, the translators used the words “turned out of the way”, but a better picture is more than just on the wrong path, but more in a medical sense, as in someone with a dislocated arm or leg. Our God is growing us into people who are willing to have the necessary honest conversation with ourselves and our friends which, by the very nature of honesty, makes straight paths for our feet and puts back in joint that which has become dislocated. Be in Christ mature believers who in character and life resemble God who brought us out, sharing His attributes with us as children resemble their parents.  Let us walk as mature believers who are governed by the Spirit of God and live at rest in His righteousness, peace, and joy (Romans 14:17).

The truth is, i believe many, many people have a poor perspective of themselves.  As our conscience looks back at us from the mirror in our homes, let us bless, not curse, ourselves in that mirror, telling ourselves the truth with kindness and grace but also reminding ourselves to whom we belong for the strengthening of our tired arms and the confirmation of our feeble knees, stirring up love and good works (Hebrews 10:24).  Be strong and courageous! That is a prophetic declaration, one of “has become” and “is becoming”. Be strong and courageous!

1 Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.…”

Why Treat Us This Way?

Just because God knows something does not mean He ordained it that it should be so. We complain, why would God do thus-n-such to me. Or, if He knew this was going to happen, He could have stopped it but He won’t. Or my favorite, If God loves us so much, why would He treat us this way?

i’ve heard those wounded, disappointed statements often, so i’m not making this up. For example:

A man and a woman own a car which needs approximately $600 of work done to it. Oh it runs, but it’s getting worse by the week. They don’t have $600 and they are just barely getting by every month. They can’t afford not one more penny out of their budget. They are in such a spot and have no clue what to do. They have prayed and asked God what to do, they are consistent tithers according to church law. They are good people in the eyes of the world, just in a difficult season for the time being.

One Sunday afternoon after church, the man and woman decide to go for a ride. They rode up town, they rode down town, they rode all over the place and happen to pass a large car dealership. Suddenly, there sprung into their minds the bright idea to stop and dream a little, because dreams were God’s idea and there was nothing wrong with dreaming some. In fact, playing the “what if” game in the car lot seemed like a relief from the stormy season they were presently in.

While they were looking at the cars, a salesman came out and struck up a conversation. He asked them, if they could, which car would they like to have, if they could? They assured him it wouldn’t matter which car because they couldn’t afford to fix the one they had, much less get a new one. The sales man laughed softly saying he understood what that was like. They liked him, he was a very friendly fellow with those “you-can-trust-me blue eyes”. The salesman told them the dealership was having a special that weekend and told them to just dream a little and “let’s just run the numbers, just for fun and see what happens.” So, “just for fun”, the fellow and his wife agreed to step into the sales office.

The salesman showed them how much they’d get for their old car and how much their monthly payments would be. With a warm tone in his voice, he told them if they got that car they wanted, especially now that the dealer was having a special that weekend,  they would not have to fix their old one. They could drive around in style in the new one, then he asked them, “Can’t you just see it?” They could envision themselves in that nice car, no cares, driving around smiling, and all things would be well. He asked again, “If i can can get my manager to approve the monthly payments, would you be willing to take your dreaming seriously, because, afterall, it is the deal of a life time?”

While the salesman was gone, the man and woman prayed earnestly, “If this is you Lord, we pray that those numbers would be approved, and by that we’ll know it is You who have arranged this entire miraculous event.” What they failed to realize is that a bankrupt felon could get credit in their state, and OF COURSE the salesman was going to come back, smiling, saying excitedly, “He said it’s a go!” The salesman did exactly that, he even joined them in praising God for the miracle.

They signed the papers, left their old car behind, and drove away in a new car, thinking, “It must be God! It must be God!” Singing, and being joyful at the miracle of the Lord.

Two months later, as they began to realize they were going bankrupt and they were going to lose the car because they couldn’t make the car payments, and lose everything else in the process, they had become angry and bitter, and in a fit of frustration they cried out, sobbing, “How could you do this to us God?? Why would you treat us this way? Don’t you love us?!?”

How is it that when things are well with us, we are so confident that God loves us beyond our wildest dreams, but as soon as things become a struggle and we began to sweat, and get weary, suddenly we wonder where God is and if He loves us anymore? Did He suddenly change and become someone unsteady and unreliable, or was that us?

Did the Lord do this to them? Who is responsible for the circumstances? What do you think they could have done and should do in light of their circumstances?

Did God really do this to them? No. Is the results of their actions really the active judgment of God against them or is it the passive results of poor choosing and they did it to themselves? Be honest.

If you were determined to marry the wrong person, did God do that to you? No. And even though you may be determined to marry the wrong person, the Lord will not abandon you. He’ll go with you through all your trouble, and will not leave you to your misery. Just because He knows we’re going to crash doesn’t mean He determined it should be so. i say, God’s knowing is not His ordination that it should be so. God is not cruel, ever. Again, just because He knew you were going to crash does not mean He said, “Make it so.”

The Lord is good, and all the time God is good. Not just does good things, not just knows good information, He is more than simply pleasant and reassuring, but He is the very personification of Goodness. He is perfectly good because He is perfect in every way and does not change to anything other than good as if He were like clouds in the sky, always changing shape. He is perfectly consistent, perfectly love, perfectly kind, perfectly generous, and perfectly good, all the time and does not fade.

Let us consider carefully, being honest, accountable and transparent about ourselves and our lives. His heart towards us is love in all aspects of our lives. Let us not let allow ourselves to slid backwards into blaming God, the very person, the only person in all eternity who loves us so much He gave His life for us.

What do you think?

Expectations

We are coming into our inheritance as God has designed it. Many of us are beginning to wake up and realize the power and authority we have in Christ, and more than a few are beginning to walk in that power and authority. When we speak to the weather, do we fully expect the weather to not only hear but to obey, even if we whisper? Or do we say, “Storm be gone, in the Name of Jesus!”, in our most authoritative voice, but underneath we are still thinking “I hope this works.” You may find that to be adventurous doctrine, but just because it’s outside your comfort zone, doesn’t mean it’s outside God’s comfort zone.

So, there comes a question:   What do we expect of God? What are our expectations of Him?

He is God. Do we expect little of Him? …. even though He is God Almighty, Most Vehement, Self-Revelational, and Self Existent. He’s the one who has loved us from before time and loves the company of His people…God who had the character of the cross worked in His Heart from before the foundations of the universe, what do you expect from Him? It is not like our King is small and pitiful and is unable to do all, and more, than we would ever dream possible… and He has spoken to us … A LOT! Is it God not speaking or us not hearing? Do we expect Him to show up, or do we expect Him to only “dribble” a little of His presence around just to keep the hamsters spinning on their wheels? When we ask God questions, do we expect Him to answer us?

We expect a reply from our friends when we speak to them or ask them a question… in fact, we expect a full sensory encounter with people and it upsets us greatly when they do NOT respond … do we expect a full sensory encounter with God?

Sometimes we get little because we expect little, not always, but i suspect more often than we think. Do we expect God to keep His promise of peace, or do we mostly only hope He will extend us some peace, moments with a lack of pressure or violence? Do we expect God to provide for us, or do we mostly hope He will? Do we mostly hope God will give us courage for the fight, or do we expect Him to give us Strength as He has said He would?

What do we expect of God? What are our expectations of Him? i find i expect more from people than i do God, and i’m just wrong about that. i’m convinced that when we put our expectations and hope in men and ministries to validate and approve us, God becomes obligated to show us their shortcomings. The Lord alone validates and approves us, not men, but we expect of men far too easily.

The Lord is so much more capable than people, and more willing, but yet i expect people to respond and mostly only hope God will respond. When i turn on the light switch i expect the light to come on, shouldn’t we have a greater expectation of God than we do of the light switch? He is greater and more sure than a light switch, but yet i find i have a greater expectation of people and physical things than of God, and i’d like to turn my thinking around about that. i can not think of a reason why i would not have a full encounter with my Father everyday, except it is my own unbelief. i feel like most of the time i merely hope He shows up instead of being surprised if He didn’t. i expect the weather to change when i speak to it (and that’s true, i do and have been speaking to the weather as the Lord tells me to, successfully for many years now. It just seems natural to me). i truly expect the Lord will hear me and will answer me (that’s another one that seems natural to me). It is a natural thing for a father to respond to his kids, so it should be the most remote idea in our heads that God will not respond…in fact, to me, there should be a better chance that the moon really is made of cheese than the chance that God would NOT respond to our call.  i want the supernatural to become my natural, and i want to walk in “God’s natural”, and i want to stop being so surprised at the supernatural…i’ll never cease to be totally thrilled at being with God, but i want His “natural” to be my “natural”.

If the Lord prompts us and we speak to the cancer to be gone, and it shrivels and disappears, that should be normal circumstances, and we should be amazed if it DID NOT shrivel and disappear, not amazed if it did. What do you expect from God?