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I love the discoveries I make as I review my notes from sermons I heard the previous year. As I read over the sermons from the first half of the year, I found a continual calling back to dependence on God, a continual encouragement to live above our circumstances by trusting them to Him. You can read highlights from those sermons here.

I got waylaid a bit before going over my notes for the second half of the year. It’s almost Easter and I’m just now publishing highlights from the second half of 2012. Sometimes life gets away from us, doesn’t it? I was tempted to not publish these because I’m so late, but these are too good to not share. I pray that you are as blessed as I’ve been reviewing what God said through mighty men and women of God in 2012.

On June 11^th, I attended a prayer meeting. It wasn’t your typical prayer meeting, but a weekly “soaking” prayer time that takes place at Ekklesia Revived, our local prayer center. (You can find their Facebook page here.)  This is a time of sitting and listening to the Lord – soaking in His presence and waiting on Him. At the end of the prayer time, people share what they’ve heard from the Lord. Often God speaks through images, thoughts that come to our mind, or things others say. Here are my notes from one such “speaking”:

“I saw us dancing with the Lord” one woman said. When she said that, I immediately thought of the movie Hitch. “This is your dance space, this is my dance space” [Hitch instructed his client]. The Holy Spirit immediately said to me “It’s time to dance outside your space.”

How cool is that? I love the way the Lord speaks to us. Is it time for you to dance outside our space?

“For God to mend our hearts, we have to give Him all the pieces – or it will never be fully mended.” Pastor Dan Caudill, 6/17/12

“It’s not what you see, it’s how you see it.” A stray note in my written journal. I have no idea who said it. But it’s a good line!

“There must be a desire in each of us to see God move. Wherever we are is to become a habitation of our Lord.” Pastor Larry Klaiber, 7/22/12

“He is our Shepherd and without Him we are helpless and harassed. (see Matthew 9:36)” Pastor Larry Klaiber, 8/26/12

“There isn’t a wall that satan can build that cannot be torn down – demolished – with praise.” Pastor Dan Caudill, 9/23/12

“Praise disarms a complaining spirit.” Pastor Dan Caudill, 9/23/12

(And I would add – and we all need that!)

During our worship time on September 30, 2012, I made these notes in my written journal:

During worship I saw an image of mighty warriors standing in front of the king – creating a protective wall around him. Nothing gets through them. That’s how we’re to be for one another – especially when we see one who has fallen. As I considered this, I saw an image of many guards standing over a fallen warrior. They were clearly giving the fallen warrior time to heal. They were not standing guard over his death. It was not a death watch, it was a protection detail giving time to heal. They were saying to the enemy “we’re standing here and you’re not getting through. We’re providing a protective barrier until our brother has healed.”

Lord, make me one of those warriors!! Enlist me in that army. Teach me that dedication and that steadfastness and that courage to stand. Not here, satan! Not now!

PS note: The sermon that followed that day was titled “Faithful, Fearless Courage!” God was preparing me to hear the sermon and respond!

“God says that no one can stand against us. Does our life show we believe it? Pastor Dan Caudill, 9/30/12

“Trust requires action before God moves.” Pastor Dan Caudill, 9/30/12

“The battle has nothing to do with the size of the enemy; it has everything to do with the size of our God. So don’t minimize the size of the problem, just maximize the size of your God.” Pastor Dan Caudill, 9/30/12

“Let the darkness cause us to be excited – because the light is preparing to come!” Francis Frangipane, 10/13/12

“Darkness gives off an air of deception that nothing can penetrate it – making it seem as if there’s no use in trying to impact it. It is a deception. God is the God of Light. He created the Light. The Light has overcome darkness.” Francis Frangipane, 10/13/12

“There’s been a lot of talk about ‘weapons of mass destruction.’ Satan now uses ‘weapons of mass distraction’ and it leads to a quiet erosion of our life.” Francis Frangipane, 10/13/12

“In the uncertainty of change, cling to God.” Pastor Larry Klaiber, 10/28/12

“God’s sole purpose is to change us – to make us more like Christ. Therefore, our sole purpose should be to let Him!” Pastor Dan Caudill, 11/25/12

Whew! It’s already January 18! I feel like January is slipping away quickly. So much that I am just getting around to doing my 2012 in Review! At the beginning of each year, I like to review my notes from sermons I heard the year before. And I like to share the gems with you. So I sat down this morning to do just that.

What a tremendous blessing to read through all my sermon notes from the first half of 2012. Looking back, I see themes that God was developing as I heard from different speakers. I didn’t necessarily absorb those themes as I heard the sermons over a number of weeks. But taken as a whole, they were powerful.

Here are some of the best “lines” from sermons I heard in the first half of 2012. I try to let them stand on their own, but sometimes just couldn’t resist adding my own commentary. Be blessed as you read! Free free to pause and reflect as frequently as you want!

“When God shows up, the norm is set aside.” Pastor Larry Klaiber, 1/8/12

This sentence both excites and challenges me. It excites me because I want God to show up and do the unexpected. I want to be a part of that. Yet I know my nature is to control what is happening and we have a plan so let’s stick to the plan! The quote challenges me to be more attuned to God’s plan and more quickly throw my plan out the window when God shows up.

“God is waiting for us to come into agreement with Him.” Jack Nehmer, 1/15/12

How true! It’s interesting that I heard this message just a week after making these notes in my personal journal:

“There is a difference between God’s power and His authority. God has the power. When He’s given us the authority, it is the authority to ‘use’ his power…Lord, I give my schedule to you – because submitting to You is where Your power is.”

In my prayer on that especially stressful day, I was coming into agreement with God over my schedule. I was submitting it to Him to resolve and saying “I will agree with You in working this out in whatever manner is pleasing to You.”

“We all believe in Jesus…but do we know Him? If you want to know Jesus, you must go to the cross and look into the eyes of Jesus.” Pastor Dan, 1/22/12

I would add “If you want on maintain your relationship with Jesus – not just learn more about Him, but get to know Him more – you have to continually go to the cross and look into His eyes.”

“Jesus didn’t die for you to live in doubt and discouragement. He didn’t die for you to live under the circumstances.” Pastor Dan, 1/22/12

“There is a beauty and radiance that flows from the spirit of a Godly woman.” Sandy Hovatter – this was a nugget God dropped into my heart while listening to a sermon on Psalm 34

“Sometimes we have to set everything aside except our covenant with God.” Pastor Larry, 3/4/12

In other words, all that matters is our relationship with Him. All that matters is my promise to Him and His to me.

“The beauty of the Lord is light and color and song and flowing movement.” Sandy Hovatter – from my personal journal on 3/12/12

“Wherever we go, we are the house of God…We need to live in the awareness that we have the ability to bring others to Christ through our obedience and maturing…We are the gate to heaven. We are the ambassadors of Christ.” Pastor Larry, 4/8/12, 4/29/12

“There is power in the tongue. Words are containers – they carry faith or fear. They carry blessing or cursing. Do you really want all the negative things you’re saying to come to pass? ” Randy Wolff, 5/4/12

I love the imagery of words being containers. Randy’s question was so logical and powerful – “Do I really want all the negative things I say come to pass?” Lord, forgive me.

“Don’t deny that sickness exists, but deny its right to exist in your body.” Randy Wolff, 5/4/12

“God’s Kingdom purposes were overshadowed by the pain of the journey in Joseph’s life.” Julia Schatz, 5/6/12

When we keep things in perspective, we can live as Joseph did – allowing God’s Kingdom purposes overshadow our pain. Julia continued with some hard-hitting lines:

“We don’t have to let our circumstances thwart God’s plan for our lives…Let’s not settle for anything less than God’s purposes in our lives…Don’t let your trails go to waste – use them as the place form which you glorify God.” Julia Schatz, 5/16/12

“Where we struggle in life, somewhere there is a lie! We’re looking at the world through a broken piece of glass.” Pastor Dan, 5/13/12

“If we’re to walk tall and consistently with the Lord, we must be unmovable in Him.” Pastor Dan, 5/27/12

“Faith is not idleness. It’s an action word.” Pastor Larry, 6/3/12

So let’s live it!

As I share more tidbits from sermon notes I took in 2011, I want to give a bit of credit. I opted not to identify who I am quoting in each line because that would be a bit tedious as most were said by one of my pastors. In other words, the same two names would appear after most of the lines and that would just take up space. So let me give credit where credit is due at the beginning of this blog. Most of the gems of wisdom and motivation you’ll read in today’s blog were said during sermons by Pastor Larry Klaiber or Pastor Danny Caudill. Both men have served Jesus many years while continuing to work an outside job. That is quite a challenge, folks, but it is also often the norm in rural areas.

After we moved from “happening” suburbs to this rural community, I often wondered why God would place such gifted preachers in such small settings. I’ve come to understand that it is not the size of the setting that makes us successful, it is our obedience to our calling; and God places His people strategically in the place of His choosing for the upbuilding of His Kingdom and His ultimate glory. Just as so many spectacular creatures shine in the darkness of the sea where no one but God seas them, many of God’s treasures labor in obscurity for His glory and without the applause of crowds.

So let me share some of the gems from my pastors’ sermons in 2011.

• When Satan brought his A game (tempting Jesus in the desert), what did Jesus do? He quoted Scripture.
  – I can’t quote it if I don’ t know it.
  – Lord, help me to remember to do the same thing when I am tempted.
• It’s not the absence of the storm that sets us apart. It’s the One we find in the storm.
• Isaiah 6:3 says that the whole earth is full of God’s glory. Let’s look for His glory everywhere we go!
• We were developing in the womb for the life we would live here; we’re developing now for the life we will live for eternity. Those things we ask “What’s the sense of it all” are for our future life (for example., our mouths had no purpose in the womb!).
  – This truth explodes in my mind! For everything you and I have ever questioned, there has been a purpose in God’s bigger picture. If we can’t see it now, we can have confidence it’s for our future.
• Faith is more than believing, it’s obeying.
• In every western movie, someone comes riding into town and all hell breaks loose. Two thousand years ago, Jesus came riding into town and all heaven broke loose!
  – Hallelujah!
• Let us act like the redeemed of the Lord – in the midst of it all – and shout “Hosanna, Son of David!”
• Ask God: “Draw me away with You.”

Which of these quotes had the most impact on you today? Leave me a comment below or on Facebook.

If you missed my first post of tidbits from 2011, click here.

My pastor said several things in his sermon today that will probably make their way into blogs this week. Here’s one of them:

God wants to do great things in us but we settle for peace!
Pastor Larry Klaiber

Ouch! When my pastor said this during his sermon this morning, he was stepping on my toes! How about you? If we asked everyone who chooses peace to raise their hand, would your hand be up? Mine would be. High. I want peace. I want an enjoyable life. I don’t want pain. I don’t want suffering. My pastor is right – I’ll settle for peace. But God wants greater for me. He wants more for you, too.

We’re not talking about peace instead of conflict necessarily. We are called to be peacemakers – that often means swallowing our pride (which God opposes, anyway) and going to others in humility and asking to be forgiven. What we’re talking about is a peaceful lifestyle instead of being stretched, molded and shaped into the person God wants us to become.

Scripture describes God as the potter and us as the clay. Do you know very much about pottery? It gets slapped around on the wheel, formed by firm and gentle pressure, and shaped into something of the potter’s own choosing. The final product is useful or beautiful (or both). But the process can be kind of messy and painful for the clay. When we choose to take ourselves off the wheel, we interrupt the process. We choose peace instead of God’s purposes.

¹¹For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹²If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. ¹⁴If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. ¹⁵If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
1 Corinthians 3:11-15

Wood, hay or straw will be burned in the fire. Gold, silver and costly stones on the other hand are refined by the fire.  In our pastor’s sermon last Sunday, he talked about the process of mining the gold, silver and costly stones. As he talked, I began thinking about how dirty and grimy miners are when they come up from the mines. Then I wrote the following in my notebook:

I will only get/find the best of God – the heart of God – by getting dirty and grimy.

And that means not settling for peace but volunteering for the dirty jobs God places in my path. Again, I say…ouch!

 For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they [the Israelites] did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.
          Hebrews 4:1-2 (NIV)

For this Good News – that God has prepared a place of rest – has been announced to us just as it was to them [the Israelites]. But it did them no good because they didn’t believe what God told them.
          Hebrews 4:1-2 (NLT)

“The message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.”
“It did them no good because they didn’t believe what God told them.”

It is not enough to hear the Gospel message. It is not enough to be in mental agreement with it. Rather, we must combine what we hear with our faith. We must believe what God has told us.

The word that is translated “faith” in the New International Version and “believe” in the New Living Translation is a word that means “rely upon.” There is a subtle difference between believing and relying upon. I believe that I would be healthier if I were to walk on my treadmill more often, but I’m not relying upon it. If I were, I’d be walking more often. I believe that my blogs help others to grasp the things God has for them, but I don’t rely upon that. I rely upon God to bring clarity and faith into the hearts and minds of readers.

If God’s message is to have impact in your life, if it is to have an impact in my life, it must be one that we choose to rely upon, not one we simply agree with. As our pastor said on Sunday, “Faith is a verb. It’s an action word.” If our faith is not a verb – if it is not something we act upon, it is not faith.

One of the ways God teaches us to rely upon Him and His Word is by removing from us other things we might putting our trust in. For example, my husband and I have our own business. I have not been able to draw a paycheck from that business for six months because of current economic conditions. God is surely teaching me that I am not to rely upon my business to provide for my needs, but to trust Him. I am often tempted to rely upon my husband for affirmation, companionship, guidance, love and strength. Now it’s not bad for me to anticipate, even expect, those things from my Godly husband, but my reliance must be upon the Lord. Phil’s recent heart attack has been an opportunity for God to speak to me about where I place my faith and trust. Is it in a healthy husband who takes care of me and our life in so many ways, or is it in God? If my reliance is upon my business or my husband, or anything else of this world, I am setting myself up for disappointment, discouragement and ultimately failure. But when my reliance is upon God, I have everything I need.

Only God has the message that gives eternal life, and that message is often called the Gospel, or “good news.” The Gospel message is that God has done for us through Christ what we could never do for ourselves. We could never do enough or be good enough to spend eternity in heaven with God, so He stepped out of heaven in the form of His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus then did for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves – he paid the price for our sin by sacrificing His life for ours – He died so that we might live. And that’s the message of Scripture. And when we believe – rely upon – what God did for us – dying for our sins so that we might have eternal life – He will give it. Scripture says that Christ died so that we might have life and life more abundantly (John 10:10). That abundant life is the eternal life we will live in heaven with God, but it is also Christ here with us now. It is living in His Kingdom while still a resident of the planet earth – living in constant relationship with Him. It’s a life of blessing even when there’s no paycheck to be had and a husband who is not able to do all that he once was. It is a life of peace in the midst of the turmoil of the world.

Well, I’m on the verge of writing a blog about what it means to live an abundant life (ok, maybe I’ve crossed over into it), and this blog is about relying upon the message we’ve received. I’ll save the rest of the abundant life blog for another time and close the relying upon blog here.

May I ask the question…upon what or whom do you rely? Is it the Word of the Lord, the message of God given to you? Let me encourage you to “add faith” to the words of Scripture that you hear and read. Then live the abundant life.