…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Phil 1:6 (NIV)

I’ve been thinking quite a bit over the past week about a blog for the end of 2011 and/or the beginning of 2012. More accurately, I’ve been thinking I need to write such a blog…and I’ve had no idea what I might write.

Tonight I sat down to write a blog and it seemed to go in a different direction with each paragraph. Every paragraph was connected in my mind, but I was certain that there was little connection that actually made its way into written word.

As I paused to think about it, I realized it was the blog for the end of the year! (Thank You, Lord!) It’s a blog about the themes that God has been highlighting in my life over the past year – sort of a “year in review” of the “God-whispers” (more like shouts, actually) for 2011. So here we go.

Early in the year, God highlighted obedience by prompting our “Let’s be PC!” series. We haven’t exhausted the topics of obedience yet, so there may be additional installments in the series, but God was taking me back to basics. Obedience starts with the basics. As I look through my blogs over the past year, I see that obedience was a topic that came up again and again in many blogs that weren’t part of the Let’s be PC series. Lord, keep my heart inclined toward quick obedience!

During the spring, God began to impress upon me the need to believe and trust Him in a greater way – to actually live in faith. I am convinced that there is an underlying peace that comes from the confidence of knowing God is in control. I’m also convinced that living in faith puts us on the cutting edge with God…and I like that! I’m not always living it, but I’m sure working toward that goal. Lord remind me of Your power and presence throughout every day.

As spring turned to summer, God’s theme was praise – awesome, constant and glorious praise of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! I enjoyed it! In retrospect, we had an extremely busy summer with work and ministry. I know I was exhausted when it was over and I only went to the beach once. Yet what I remember most were the Friday Night Praises we planned and the singing of His praises throughout the week. Lord, You are worthy of our Praise! Hallelujah – Praise the Lord!

That praise theme turned into a theme of thanksgiving as we moved into the fall season. A blog I wrote three weeks ago haunts me. In The High Cost of Not Giving Thanks I quoted Romans 1:21.

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused. 
Romans 1:21 (NLT)

I wrote in that blog that there is a direct connection between an ungrateful heart and a spiritual darkness that brings confusion and leads to foolish actions. I’ve discovered that an ungrateful heart stems from a self-focus that is inconsistent with all that God wants from me. The ungrateful heart makes everything all about me. Nothing is exactly as I want it to be so I won’t be satisfied with it. I so don’t want to live my life that way. Oh, Lord, keep me from having an ungrateful heart.

As I’ve reviewed the themes of 2011, I see a progression:

Living in obedience…

Increases our faith as we see God move in response to our obedience…

Which leads us to praise God for working in our lives…

Which leads us to thanksgiving!

Such a progression excites me…I want to be the person that lives in the continuing cycle of obedience, faith, praise and thanksgiving.

Reviewing the themes also reminds me that I have so much more to learn in each area. I wonder, which of these four areas do you need to focus on? I would love to improve in all of them.

I also wonder…where will God take us in 2012? What will our first theme be? How will the year progress?

I don’t know yet! Here we are in that week between Christmas and New Year’s and God hasn’t’ spoken to me about a theme for 2012 yet. I have some inklings, but nothing concrete. So be in prayer with me, friends. And not just prayer – be in faith with me – that He who began a good work in you and in me will bring it to completion! Thank You, Lord!

In my last blog we looked at Habakkuk’s awesome prayer of intercession for his nation. “Lord, I’ve heard of your fame;” he prayed. “I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day.”  That prayer stirs my heart greatly. Habakkuk continued in prayer with a phenemonal recitation of God’s tremendous acts throughout Israel’s history. The language is powerful, building to a crescendo…and then suddenly in verse 16 he takes a turn.

I heard and my heart pounded,
my lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
and my legs trembled.
Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity
to come on the nation invading us.
Habakkuk 3:16

Habakkuk knows that Israel is headed for a “day of calamity” because of her sins. I didn’t blog about the meat of the prophecy Habakkuk received, but it was one of destruction for a nation that had turned its back on God. God began his description of what would happen with chapter 1, verse 6:

I am raising up the Babylonians,
that ruthless and impetuous people,
Habakkuk 1:6

Habakkuk returns to that Word from God as he ends his prayer in chapter 4, and he says his heart is pounding, his lips are quivering and his legs are trembling. “Yet, I will patiently for the day of calamity to fall on the nation that God uses to punish Israel.”  Notice Habakkuk’s confidence in God. He knows that God is true to His Word and the Babylonians would eventually be punished for their treatment of Israel. When we are confident of God’s faithfulness, we can wait patiently, without fear of the future – even when we know the future will bring calamity.

Then Habakkuk ends with this powerful prayer:

¹⁷Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
¹⁸yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
¹⁹The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.
Habakkuk 3:17-19

Just as I have prayed Habakkuk’s opening prayer often, there are times when I repeat his closing prayer: “Lord, our income is low and our prospect for future work is dim. Our cupboards are being depleted and our bank account is drained. Yet we will rejoice in the Lord. We will be joyful in God our Savior. You, Sovereign Lord, are our strength. You give me strength and a lightness of foot to climb the highest mountains. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” OK, that last line is Philippians 4:13, but it fits, doesn’t it?

Friends, we serve a faithful God! No matter how bleak our circumstances, there is cause for rejoicing in Him. There is cause for being joyful in His presence. He has made it possible for us to spend eternity with Him. He has provided all we need for life and godliness. He is our comforter and our wisdom and our strength. He is our sustainer and enabler. He loves us with an everlasting and passionate love. Jesus gave up the glories of heaven to join us on earth to teach us how to live and then die so that we might live forever. Hallelujah! He is the Alpha and Omega. The everlasting One who existed before time began. He saw me and formed me in my mother’s womb and looked upon me and said “She is my chosen one. I’m not going to let anyone or anything separate her from me.”

Wow! The next time you are facing lack in any area of your life, remember Habakkuk’s closing prayer. “Even though I don’t have anything and the prospects are dim, I will rejoice in you, Lord.” It honors God and builds your faith. Give it a try!

¹⁶I [Paul] pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:16-19

Last week I blogged about Ephesians 3:20 and 21 – the blessing that Paul prayed to God after praying the above the above prayer for the Ephesians. Over the weekend, this passage caught my eye and I did a little bit of study on it. It’s an awesome prayer that becomes even better when you look at the meaning of a couple of the words. Let’s do it. First verses 16 and 17a:

¹⁶I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
Ephesians 3:16-17a

“out of” his glorious riches – really means “according to the standard of” his glorious riches– so it’s not like God’s got a bag of glorious riches and He’s pulling some of them out to give to me and you, but rather He has this tremendous standard of blessings and gifts and enablements and He is ministering to us according to that standard. There is a huge difference in the connotations of these two perspectives – one is kind of like saying “I’m giving you this because my very nature is giving and you’re mine” which is a wonderful thing, but the other is “I am enabling you to come up to my high standards”.

“strengthen” means “be strong to overcome resistance”.

“power” is the word dunamis – you’ve probably heard that word before – it means “dynamic living power” or “power to perform miracles”.

“dwell” – The Bible Knowledge Commentary describes the word dwell as referring “not to the beginning of Christ’s indwelling at the moment of salvation. Instead it denotes the desire that Christ may, literally, “be at home in,” that is, at the very center of or deeply rooted in, believers’ lives. [Paul was praying that the Ephesians were ] to let Christ become the dominating factor in their attitudes and conduct.”

So let’s look at verse 16 again – Paul says he prays that according to the standard of God’s glorious riches he may strengthen you with dynamic living power to overcome resistance through His Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may be at home, deeply rooted and ruling in your life.

And then Paul pours on an even greater powerhouse prayer – he prays that we being rooted and established in love, we would have the power to grasp the immensity of God’s love is for us – a love that surpasses knowledge – so that we may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. WOW!

Let’s look at more words:

“rooted and established” – the tenses mean that it’s a done deal with continuing actions – we have been rooted and established in God’s love…it’s a done deal. Finished. And are continually being rooted and established – constant and ongoing. So since being rooted and established there is no time when we are not being rooted and established.

“power” – Although translated power here, it is a different word from the previous verse. The word translated power in the previous verse was dunamis – dynamic, living power; the word here really means “to take hold of as one’s own” – I’ve taught this word before – it’s Katalambano. It means to apprehend or to seize. It’s used in Philippians 3:12, the verse that the name of this blog is taken from  – Paul says “but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”

“know” – intimately know, experience

What an over the top prayer Paul prayed. Sometimes we have read something so many times or we read it so quickly because we have the rest of our day to get to that the enormity of it or the impact of it just flies by us. Paul is praying some heavy duty stuff for the Ephesians.

Stuff that is not only over-the-top, but also stuff that would have been a bit radical for his time. In verse 16, he prayed for God to “strengthen the believers through His Spirit in their inner being.” That’s radical because the Jews would not have prayed or believed for God working in them to resist temptation. They taught and believed of a more outwardly working God, not God dwelling in us and working from within.

What I find to be radical is the prayer for power for us to grasp the immensity of God’s love and filling to the measure of all the fullness God. Close your eyes for a minute. Now take a minute to think about someone that you love or have loved more than anything. Everyone has loved someone – a mother or father, sibling, friend or spouse. Think about the depth of the love you have for that person – what you would do for that person, how your life is enriched by that person. Now imagine that love purified to the nth degree and expanded beyond your ability to imagine in the natural. That’s God’s love for you. And Paul’s prayer is that you would not only be able to imagine, but to know – to experience – the unimaginable – how wide and long and high and deep God’s love is.

That’s the love Paul wants us to know. It’s the love he prayed the Ephesians would know. It’s the love God wants us to apprehend. Friends, I pray that you would know the deep, passionate, ongoing love that God has for you.

“Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.”
2 Timothy 1:12b

As I read that Scripture today, my mind drifted to the topic of needless worry. Even as I type the phrase, I realize that the word “needless” is…well, needless. It’s not necessary – because it is true of all worry. It’s not like some worry is needed and some is needless. All worry is needless. There is no worry that is justified.

What captured me about this verse is that it gives me both:

• the reason that worry is never justified, and
• the method for achieving a “don’t worry” lifestyle

The reason – He is able

“He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.”

God is able. Period. He is able to guard whatever we’ve given to him. What value is worry? It doesn’t add one inch to my height (Matthew 6:27) and it doesn’t make me happy or content. More likely the weight of the worry slumps me over, gives me gray hairs and wrinkles, and fills my day with negativity.

You already know lots of verses about God’s faithfulness and capability, but let me remind you of just two:

My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory. (Philippians 4:19)

⁵Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”  ⁶So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6)

The method (1) – Entrust your life and life situations to Him

“He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.”

What is He able to guard? That which I have entrusted to Him. What are you worred about today? Have you entrusted it to Him? Have you cast your cares upon Him (1 Peter 5:7)? Or are you holding them in your heart…so that they leave no room for God? God’s perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18)! Use that perfect love to cast your fears back upon the Lord.

The method (2) – Know God

“I know whom I have believed, and am convinced…”

Do you really know God? Do you know Him well enough to be convinced that He is able? Further, do you allow that knowledge to convince you of it? Knowing something is different from being convinced of it. Being convinced of something generally requires either a testing of the knowledge we have to prove it as fact or an overwhelming stack of evidence that make the knowledge irrefutable.

I’ll be honest – the first time I said “yes” to God I didn’t know him very well. I knew the central points of the Gospel:

• God was a reality (a major stepping stone for me because I had rejected that point most of my life)
• That the Bible was the Word of God (not a book of Grimm’s fairy tales as I had been referring to it)
• That I was a sinner (that was a pretty easy one)
• That Jesus paid the penalty for my sins by dying on the cross
• That I needed to accept Jesus’ gift of forgiveness of my sins in order to spend eternity in heaven (I didn’t quite know what this meant, but the alternative wasn’t at all appealing)
• That if I rejected Jesus’ gift I would spend eternity in hell

For about a month before accepting Jesus as my Savior, I was convinced of all of these central points except the first one! I had read enough of the Bible and enough about the Bible that I was convinced it was not a book simply written by men to tell a story we wanted to hear. It was too full of fulfilled prophecies and the realities of life for that. The evidence was stacked up so high that I could no longer deny that Scripture is valid and true. Once I was convinced of that, the points that follow were no-brainers.

Yet still I struggled with that first point – truly believing that there is a God who existed before time began and will exist forever. Such a concept was (and still is) outside my ability to comprehend. It took an experience with God for me to be fully convinced that He existed and that He cared for me. I found myself in serious danger one night – in a situation in which I was totally defenseless. When I emerged from the situation totally unharmed, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God had intervened. At that moment I became convinced that He was real and that He had intervened in my life, even if I didn’t understand or acknowledge His existence. (It has since dawned on me that if I could comprehend this God I serve, He wouldn’t be worth serving – duh!)

Since that time God has shown Himself to be real and alive and strong over and over again. Each experience I have with Him enables me to say as Job did “I know my Redeemer lives and that in the end He will stand upon the earth.” (Job 19:25) Often when this verse is quoted, the last half of that verse is left off. Let’s not do that! It is an affirmation just as Paul’s affirmation in 2 Timothy. Job knew that no matter what happened on this earth that one day his Redeemer would “win.” Paul says that he is convinced that His Redeemer is able to keep everything that he entrusts to Him – in other words, that Jesus will win over any and all that the devil throws at Him.

Do you know Him well enough to know that He will hold what you have entrusted to Him? I hope so. Yet we all have times when our faith waivers. Whether you’re just getting to know Him or have known Him for years but find your faith waivering, the process of knowing God and becoming convinced of His awesome power are the same: Spend time with Him in many ways every day.

• Read His word.
• Talk to Him.
• Listen for His response.
• Worship Him.
• Serve Him.
• Talk about Him with your friends.

Frends, I challenge you to give God a chance to further convince you of His faithfulness, power and great love by entrusting your biggest concern in life to Him today. Yep, today.

• Stop for a moment here and consider what is the most pressing issue in your life.

• Now take a few moments to entrust God with that issue. Go ahead – say it out loud so that you hear yourself giving it to God.

• Now, rest in your confidence that He is able and begin to look forward to watching God move in that area of your life.

I think I’ll close and do that myself. Let me know how it goes for you!

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8 (NIV)

Lately my days have been stolen from me! At least that’s how I would have viewed them in the past. I am learning to view them simply as God having other plans. As my parents age, it’s not unusual for me to get a call that has me drop everything and drive an hour to Cleveland to spend hours at the hospital then drive the hour home. That’s usually followed by phone calls to make, e-mails to write and fallout to deal with the following day or days. That fallout might be more trips to Cleveland, making arrangements of one sort or another, or just dealing with my own emotional condition following the crisis.

I’m not complaining. I am blessed to still have my mom and step-parents around. I’m just saying that God is using this time to teach me in a new way that my time is not my own any more than my money or my possessions are not my own. Learning that my money and possessions were not my own was much easier!

I like my time being my own. I like scheduling out my days and having a plan. I’m even pretty good about things happening that change the plan – because things always happen and plans always change. But the situations I’m facing these days are not changes to plans, these situations are the demolition of plans with little likelihood of being able to develop an alternate plan.

Have you been there? How have you dealt with it?

God is teaching me to let go and trust that He is the author of time and He will and does make it possible to either accomplish what’s necessary or give grace for what isn’t finished as planned. I love that about God.

1) God is teaching me…He doesn’t expect me to just know it. He doesn’t expect me to get it right all the time. He understands that this doesn’t come naturally to me, so He gently pulls and shapes me until I am malleable clay and am formed into the image He has in mind. OK, sometimes it doesn’t feel so gentle, but the end product is pleasing to Him. And if it’s pleasing to Him, I’m good with it.

God has me in training and training is grueling and painful sometimes. Other times it’s repetitive and boring. That’s where perseverance comes in. The Apostle Paul had a few things to say about racing and perseverance:

²⁴Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ²⁵Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. ²⁶Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. ²⁷No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NIV)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)

2) He enables me to accomplish things I can’t believe can be accomplished in the time available. Wow! I preached a sermon once about the power of a time-warping God. That sermon was about how He has worked in the past, even before I was born, He works in my present and He is somehow at work in my future – to set things up and help me become the woman of God He wants me to be. That’s pretty powerful stuff. This is a different kind of time warping. This time warping somehow accomplishes four hours worth of work in one – which doesn’t do much for my income when I bill on an hourly basis, but He takes care of that too and it keeps the clients happy which causes them to be repeat customers.

3) He gives grace for what isn’t accomplished that I thought needed to be accomplished. Sometimes I’ll learn that a client was on vacation when I thought he was expecting a project, or I’ll receive changes that would have made all my work a waste had I had time to do it. And sometimes clients are simply understanding as we humbly admit we won’t be able to deliver when we expected to.

Both this point and the previous one are reflected in our company’s key verse:

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8 (NIV)

The sum of those three lessons teaches me one other thing – that I truly can do all things through Christ who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13).

I love that God deals with us where we are but takes us to a greater place. He not only has plans for us – plans to prosper us and to give us a hope – but He turns those hopes into reality by walking through our every day life and especially our every day challenges.

My challenge for each of us is to look for what God is doing in each of those 3 areas:

• What is He teaching you through your most significant challenges this week?
• How is He helping you get through those challenges?
• What extra-ordinary grace is He extending to you or others that makes your life work?

My prayer is that we become partners in our growth – recognizing God’s work in us and allowing Him free reign to conform us into the image of Christ – for His glory in heaven and on earth.

Blessings, friends, as you are molded into something greater than you are!

A Season for Praise & Reading

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
Ecclesiastes 3:1

And the month of July, in addition to falling during our Summer of Praise, is the season for reading Ecclesiastes this year! We’ll follow that up with several minor prophets – Joel, Amos, Obadiah and Jonah. In late July, we’ll relax with some Psalms.

In the New Testament, we’ll read Galatians, Philippians and begin the Gospel of Mark.

Here are just a few great Scriptures from the passages we’ll read this month:

To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
Ecclesiastes 2:26

Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence.
Ecclesiastes 8:3a

Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand.
Joel 2:1

And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls.
Joel 2:28-32

Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.
Amos 3:7

The day of the LORD is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head.
Obadiah 1:15

Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD.
Jonah 2:8-9

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:5-11

We’ve got some great reading ahead of us,  friends! Enjoy it!

Sandy

The recommended reading schedule for July is below.

To download a PDF of the July 2011 recommended reading plan, click here.

Lesson #1: Those whose remaining lives may be short willingly linger to study God’s Word.
We are studying the book of Luke paragraph by paragraph. Yes, it will take us quite a while to go through all 24 chapters of Luke. And the residents are fine with that.

Phil and I have been leading small groups for a long time and know that covering material too slowly is death to a group. It doesn’t even matter so much how fascinating each week might be, people grow tired of studying the same topic or book for a long time – in fact, they grow tired of it even before they’ve experienced it. After spending their third week in chapter 1, members of the group will begin to think “Yikes, at this rate we’re going to be studying the book of Luke for a year and a half!” I confess, my thinking is the same. I’ll begin to think “Do I really want to spend a year in Luke?” How foolish we are to be willing to miss the treasures of Truth hidden in each paragraph simply to avoid spending a year studying the same document. It’s this mindset that causes people to avoid studying long books of the Bible and why the book of James is studied over and over again. If the study doesn’t fit into thirteen weeks or less, most groups won’t consider it.

Our nursing home study group doesn’t have that same perspective. They are thankful that we have come to lead a study and they are thankful for the lesson of the week. They aren’t dissatisfied if we’re not rushing from lesson to lesson. They are happy to linger over what God has for us in these few verses.

I have never felt more freedom to go through material slowly than when I am among these people who may not live through the entire study.

Lesson #2: Even those with cognitive disabilities – that is people who have difficulty processing information, have spirits that comprehend Truth. God is so good. He has created us with a mind, a soul and a spirit. Our mind processes information one way; our soul processes the same information another way; and our spirit process that same information yet another way. I am thankful that responding to God’s love isn’t dependent on any one of those three elements. I am also thankful that God enables us to respond to His love multi-dimensionally. That is, I respond to it in more ways than one. I can trust Him that should one of those abilities become injuried or deseased, He has already prepared me to know Him using the other abilities. We are truly fearfully and wonderfully made.

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

¹⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139:13-16

Lesson #3: Living joyfully is so much better than living in discontent or anger. The choice is ours. In the natural, most nursing home residents have little to be joyful about. Yet I see joyfulness on the faces of those who love the Lord, and I hear joyfulness in the tones of their voices and the light-hearted fun they have in everyday life. I want to choose joyfulness now. It’s such a better way to live.

We live the way we have learned to live, and we learn what we practice.

• I’m afraid that I have practiced stress too much – I have learned to be stressed instead of joyful and confident in God.
• I’m afraid that I have practiced discouragement too much – I have learned to be discouraged instead of joyful and confident in God.
• I’m afraid that I have practiced complaining too much – I have learned to be discontent instead of joyful and confident in God.

Many residents who have every reason to be stressed, discouraged and discontent are joyful and confident in God. My heart goes out to those residents who live every day afraid, angry and unhappy. I pray for them and with them. God can change their circumstances. I also know that if He chooses not to change their circumstances, He can change their heart from being bitter, angry and discontent to being joyful and confident in God.

I want to choose joyfulness and contentment now, so that it is a lesson I’ve learned long before my latter years become my experience. I want to learn the lesson now so that the years between now and my latter years are spent in God’s joy and confidence instead of my own stress and discouragement. Regular readers know that this is a theme I come back to again and again. It is very easy for me to have my eyes stuck in this world. I continue to be in the practice and learning stages of these lifelong lessons.

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:4-9

Friends, many people avoid nursing homes and nursing home ministry. I understand that. During the first years of my mom’s tenure as a resident of a nursing home it was a struggle for me to visit every few days. God honored my stumbling first efforts. He has faithfully met me and turned the stressful, discouraging and exceedingly sad situation into a joyful blessing and an opportunity to bless others.

Learn with me these most recent lessons from nursing home ministry. They are being taught by our elders who have learned them well.

He was wearing a baseball cap that appeared to have some war veteran insignia on it. I was immediately humbled.

I don’t know the gentleman and I didn’t stop to talk to him, but I imagine that he lost his legs serving his country (and mine) in a war many, many years ago. Perhaps that’s not his story, but it is the story of many.

So perhaps for the first time, I really (I mean really) thought about this man and those he represents. I imagined returning home from war with no legs and the tremendous struggle that must have been so many years ago. Then I imagined the lifetime this man has lived without his legs. And I was so very aware that I live every day enjoying a lifestyle that very well may not have been possible without the service and sacrifice of this man and others like him.

I can’t express the thankfulness that welled up in my heart.

Then God took the teachable moment a step further. He reminded me of how easily I give in to the temptation to complain. My back hurts. My sinuses burn. My have a headache. My car windshield wiper motor isn’t working properly. My house is a mess. My customers have unrealistic expectations. The weather is too hot/cold/humid/dry. I could go on. Unfortunately sometimes I do. It doesn’t glorify God.

His word tells me to “do everything without complaining or arguing” (Philippians 2:14). It also tells me that “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Peter 13a). Further, it tells me that I am “blessed beyond the curse” (a simplification and paraphrase of Galatians 3:13-14).

When I focus on these things, how can I complain about the small things I mentioned above? The obvious answer is that I cannot, so I must be focusing on the wrong things. More about that in a minute.

When I complain, I am not only letting the enemy win over my attitude, I am also letting society influence me more than God’s Word. America has become a society of complainers. I don’t know when that happened, but I don’t think it was always so. I can’t imagine the pioneers travelling across the country complaining all the way. I rather think they were expectant about their adventure and endured adversity because of their anticipation of things to come. Reminds me a bit of Jesus – read Hebrews 12:2.

I don’t remember adults from my childhood sitting around complaining. I can’t think of a single person from my childhood whose life was characterized by complaining.

As an adult, I can name many. And when I am with them, I sometimes get tired of being what seems like “Miss Pollyanna,” so I join in their complaining. I follow the crowd. Don’t misunderstand me – I’m quite capable of initiating the complaining, so I’m not in any way blaming them for my sin. I’m pointing out the multiplication of my sin – the sin is mine not only for complaining, but for following the crowd instead of responding to God’s higher call.

That’s not the person God wants me to be, and it’s not the person I want to be. Again, when we remember all that Christ has done, how can we consider complaining? A Scripture that often comes to mind is:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Philippians 4:8

Our focus will impact our thoughts, actions and words. When we focus on what we have to complain about, it is very difficult not to complain. When we focus on how blessed we are in Christ, it is difficult not to be thankful.

Thankfulness and complaining cannot live together in harmony. The complaint robs the thankfulness of its substance. It weakens the impact that being thankful has in our lives. It kills the joy that might otherwise spring from the thankful heart.

God is the author of thankfulness; satan is the author of complaining. We have the power to choose whom we will serve. With the prompting of the Holy Spirit and the enabling power of God Almighty, I choose to serve the Lord.

It’s not the Fourth of July, Memorial Day or Veteran’s Day, but I want to thank all those who have served our country in a uniform of the armed forces. Thank you for giving sacrificially so that I may live in freedom today. I bless you in the name of Jesus to live in peace, joy and the awesome presence of God.

Friends, will you join me in blessing those who have served today. Pray for them and for those who continue to serve to preserve our freedom.

Further, will you agree with me to serve the Lord instead of satan with your attitude? Choose to focus on thankfulness and allow complaining to die before it is ever spoken. Your thanksgiving muscle will grow and your complaining muscle will weaken. And that’s such a better way to live!

Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
Genesis 6:22

There is so much power in that simple statement. Noah was a man – a human no different from you or me. He lived in a corrupt time – not a lot different from you and me. He did everything just as God commanded him – how different is that from you and me? No waffling. No hedging. No resistance.

God said “I am going to destroy the earth and everyone in it. Build a boat.” Then He elaborated a bit:

¹⁷I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. ¹⁸But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁹You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. ²⁰Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. ²¹You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.
Genesis 6:17-21

And the amazing thing – amazing to me anyway – is that Noah did “everything just as God commanded him.”

I was listening to a sermon by Tony Evans recently and he made a statement that impacted me. “Our expectations impact our actions.” If we expect that it’s going to rain while we’re out, we take an umbrella. Because I expected to have a business meeting today, I dressed a bit differently and took more care with my hair & makeup than I would on a day when I expect to work alone in my office.

Clearly, Noah must have expected God to be true to His word, because he acted immediately. He started building a boat, undoubtedly causing everyone around him to think he was crazy. But God hadn’t spoken to everyone around Noah. From the description God gives of those around Noah, even if He had spoken to them, they wouldn’t have started to build a boat. Because they had no expectation that God was who He said He was and that He would do what He said He was going to do.

I can’t help but wonder – what are my spiritual expectations? If I work Tony Evans’ statement backwards, we can determine my expectations based on my actions. Do my actions reveal that I believe God is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He is going to do? Do my actions reveal that I expect God to move on my behalf? Do my actions reveal that I expect God to deal with me according to my behavior – good or bad?

Noah didn’t have the benefit of a Bible to read. We obviously do. My “Let’s Be PC!” series encourages us to do the things we know God wants us to do. I want to be a Practicing Christian (“PC”) not one in name only. (I took a break from the series over the Christmas season, but will be adding to it soon – what topic would you like me to address?)

Back to my expectations (and yours). Do we live our lives as if we expect God to be true to His promises and His Word? Or do we live our lives our own way and hope God will bless it? Like Paul, I’m not there yet, but I keep pressing on to live according to God’s Word.

¹²Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on… ¹³…I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12-14

Why would I (or anyone) not want to do as Paul did? Yes, life is hard, and yes, pursuing God brings us to the attention of our adversary, satan…but to not pursue God puts me in a place of dealing with life in this fallen world without the nearness of a loving Savior and the blessings He promises to those who follow His plan for their lives.

“Practical Atheists” is a term used to describe people who say they believe in Christ but whose actions are more consistent with those who don’t believe at all. I’d rather be a PC than a PA!

God gives us the tremendous freedom and responsibility of free will. At each step in our journey, we have the opportunity to choose practical atheism or Christianity. At each challenge we can be obedient to pursue God’s way (and accompanying blessing) or act according to our own “wisdom” and desires.

I want to be like Noah and do everything God commands. I want to be like Paul and press on to win the prize (which is Christ, Himself). How about you? Will you join me in pursuing God throughout 2011? There’s plenty of room in the boat!

Lord, may my actions reveal that my expectations are consistent with all You have promised in Your Word. Where my expectations fall short, reveal Yourself to me anew so that I might know you better.

¹²Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12-14 (NIV)

I’d like to direct your thoughts to beyond the big event in front of you – beyond Christmas. I know. The season has a way of wrapping itself around us and demanding our constant attention. Preparing, decorating, gathering, shopping, giving, receiving, baking, greeting, cleaning, and then doing it all over again. Who can push their vision to beyond all that without being purposeful about it? I know I can’t.

But I also know that when this season is over there is a new year in which to pursue the wonderful things of God. And I want to begin that new year with purpose, not simply exhausted, limp and just hoping for some rest. So I am beginning to lift my eyes above the fray of this wonderful season to say “Lord, what’s next? 2010 is coming to a close, how can I serve you in 2011?”

I am praying about starting several “Living Life on Purpose” groups (or “Purpose group” for short) in 2011. I participate in a couple of groups known in the business world as “mastermind” groups. They are small groups of people who meet monthly to encourage and help each member achieve greater success in their business life. I want to carry that concept into the rest of my life because what we’ve experienced is that the mastermind group meetings regularly bring our goals into focus and helps us make progress toward them. What’s best is that this happens in an environment of encouragement and support, not hold-your-feet-to-the-fire accountability. I’d like to see that in my spiritual life as well.

Our life with Christ is a tremendously exciting, sometimes arduous, journey. It is truly the journey of a lifetime. The enemy’s desire is to sabatoge us along the way and he does that by taking our focus off the goal. Quite frankly, I think we make it easy for him! My husband said it well in a small group many years ago: “We are too easily distracted by bright, shiny objects.” For some the bright, shiny object is the newest thing in town – the new organization to belong to, new church to atttend, new store to explore, new computer (or computer game) to obsess over, new activity to participate in, new habit to develop, new diet to embrace, new television series to become a fan of, new project to throw yourself into, yada, yada, yada.

I don’t want to make it easy for satan. I want to make his job as hard as possible. In fact, I want to make his job impossible. With Christ in me and my focus continually on Him, how can satan win? He can’t. The secret is to keep that focus on Christ and what He wants for my life. Daily Bible reading and prayer help us keep that focus daily; regular church attendance helps keep that focus weekly; a monthly Purpose group will help me keep that focus monthly on those goals that are more longterm.

Here’s the plan: Each month the group gets together for for an hour or hour and a half. During that time, each member will share his or her successes and blessings, then ask for ideas about how to improve in areas that aren’t moving forward. Other group members will offer encouragement and ideas. Each group member has about ten minutes in which everyone’s attention is focused on helping them meet their goals in the coming month. Of course, we’ll close praying for one another.

Let me give you an example. Let’s say one of my goals this year is to read my Bible more consistently. Perhaps right now I only read 3-4 days/week. At a typical meeting, I would share what blessings I’ve experienced over the previous month and what positive things I’ve experienced toward my goal. Perhaps I am enjoying my reading more – God is causing Scripture to jump off the page into my heart. Or perhaps I’ll share a specific Scripture that touched me. Then maybe I’ll share that the desire to be more consistent is growing in my heart, but I haven’t quite been able to increase my Scripture reading. Wanting to meet the goal is a step in the right direction because previously it was just something I felt like I should do, now it’s something I want to do. That’s progress! But I need help moving forward. What suggestions do other group members have that might help me? I would then have the benefit of hearing the experience and ideas of three or four other people. My experience is that the ideas that flow in such a group will encourage and motivate me while providing practical suggestions that will help me move toward my goal.

Perhaps you’re reading this and beginning to wonder how you can participate. (I hope you are!) You don’t live anywhere near Norwalk, OH, where I write this blog from. Not to worry! One of the business mastermind groups I participate in is a virtual group. Our meeting is done monthly via phone and computer. I’ll be honest – I don’t know all the ins and outs of the technology yet, but if enough of you are interested in joining a Purpose group with me, I’ll learn it.

So what do you think? Would you like to commit to one and a half hours each month to live life on purpose in 2011? There may be a minimal cost to participate – such as the cost of the phone call or a small cost for a virtual meeting site. Those details will come, but I promise they will not be significant. And of course, if they prove to be our undoing, we’ll find workarounds so that they are not our undoing.

If you’d like to participate, please comment on the blog or send me an e-mail. Give me your name, the city, state and time zone in which you live, your e-mail address and your phone number. I will contact you with more details.

In the meantime, go back to enjoying the Christmas season!