God speaks.

His utterance shakes the earth just as it shook the earth beneath my feet a few short months ago. His voice manifests itself physically, even through the wrinkles on one’s forehead and it whispers in gentle rain of a peaceful chilly morning.

 We often must open our eyes to hear Him. Look around you, He is there. The very place you sit, He is present. He is intimately acquainted with us (Psalm 139:3). Our eyes are spiritual eyes possessing the ability to hear the voice of our Shepherd.

This is Job’s response, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.” (Job 42:5) The Lord had not manifested Himself physically to Job, but He had spoken to him through his circumstances. He had spoken to Job by reminding him who He is, reminding him that He is Creator God, and reminded Job that He had allowed earthly tragedies to touch his life.

How does God speak to you? What event can you look back upon and know that you know that you know it was Almighty God and no other? Will you be more attentive to His voice?

Whether tornados, earthquakes, fire or whispers if you have been qualified as partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light and conveyed into the kingdom of the Son of His Love (Colossians 1:12) be attentive…because He speaks.

By Grace Alone,

Tracey

Rainy Saturday mornings like today do not come often enough in my opinion.

Days when nothing else makes sense except to curl up with a book or write or relax or sit.

On mornings like this the world seems to slow down.

My thoughts slow down, my urgency fades and plans go out the window in a calm, peaceful sort of way.

The Holy Spirit whispers, encouraging me to be still.

The light is soft, the air is sweet, the house is quiet.

On a day like today reflection seems the only appropriate activity.

And, the only thing I am content to reflect on is Jesus…

His peace falls across my shoulders and envelopes me like a hand knitted throw.

A blanket of peace woven just for me; as unique as my yearnings.

He’s personal like that.

His intimate knowledge of my needs and wants carefully added to each stitch. Providing comfort, warmth, and security.

Like a loving, dedicated dad attending to the needs of a whimpering child.

I gently close my eyes as if being lulled to sleep and offer the only response necessary…

Thank you Father.

By Grace Alone,

Tracey

Have you ever considered wrinkles as a gift?

I know what you’re thinking…”This woman has lost her mind!” I never thought of my wrinkles as a gift either, a curse maybe but certainly not a gift. Not, that is, until the Lord graciously revealed it to me just the other day.

I made an appointment with the dermatologist to talk with her about options to “improve” the appearance of my wrinkles, the loooong horizontal ones that span the width of my forehead to be exact.  So many of them in fact, one could mistake it for a sheet of notebook paper… college ruled.

On the drive to the appointment I began to review in my mind all of my “flaws” that I wanted to discuss with the doctor.  I thought, “Ok, I don’t want to forget to mention the furrows between my eyebrows.”  I looked in the rear-view mirror and much to my surprise those furrows that I remembered weren’t furrows at all.  Instead, the faintest of vertical lines remained.  How could this be? They were there, I distinctly recall agonizing over them not too terribly long ago.

Immediately my heavenly Father, full of grace spoke to my heart.  “I have put a new song in your mouth (Psalm 40:3).  The anger and heart of stone you once possessed that caused those furrows has been turned to a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 11:19) full of joy, laughter, and hunger for my Word.  You once were blind but now you see (John 9:25).  In their place you now have horizontal lines of wonder and amazement which are outward signs of joy and peace.”

Which direction are your “outward signs” going?  Do you wear symbols of God’s loving kindness in the form of laugh lines and crow’s feet?  Or do you display furrows of pain, anger, or disappointment?  Allow our precious Savior the opportunity to turn your mourning into joy with His comfort and cause you to rejoice rather than sorrow (Jeremiah 31:13).

By Grace Alone,

Tracey

We have flipped the script to believe that it is God who refuses to understand, breaks His promises, is heartless, and has no mercy (Romans 1:31). But His word clearly explains that it is WE who have suppressed the truth.

When I first read this passage I think about a scene from a movie, worse yet, a scene from New Orleans during the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. Stories about pilfering, loitering, vandalism, rape, murder, and violence. Realistically, that is not how we change. The aftermath of Katrina resulted almost overnight, but not the downfall of a nation. It has happened over hundreds of years. Maybe from the beginning. As soon as settlers set foot on this soil our forefathers set up a foundation of freedom. That freedom allowed us to begin the cycle of Romans 1:21-22: 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. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And God, in His infinite pursuit of mankind sends messages of love, encouraging us to pay attention but we’re unresponsive, indifferent, and unaffected. Blinded by the lie that we ourselves have created about our Lord.

Initially Tuesday there was worry, a little panic, a little gasp of the heart throughout the east coast. But, the newness wears off and we retreat back to the comfortable, the familiar. The nudge from God became just a memory all but forgotten. The lie takes back over and the event subsides into the past. We adapt our lives to include the happening with little to no change at its recognition.

If God is sovereign, and He is – then the incident has significance. Nothing in His plan is random. His every decision has purpose.

If God is sovereign, and He is – shouldn’t we be prostrate on our face asking for the purpose, searching for answers, begging for forgiveness?

If God is sovereign, and He is – shouldn’t the cry of our  patriotic heart be, “What…what Lord are you trying to communicate?”

But, we’re unconcerned, casual. We see few speaking on His behalf and when we do, the acknowledgement gets dismissed, ridiculed, judged, but rarely defended. It’s as if we’re Noah building the ark. God said…but no one believes. Or, we see only the obvious…that there are famines and earthquakes (Matthew 24:7)  and refuse to acknowledge the source of God’s anger, and His righteous judgement (Romans 2:5). Even with the recognition of His authority we refuse to turn from sin.

My prayer is that we will not be apathetic to His contact. He IS kind, tolerant, and patient. He gives opportunity to recognize His character and repent (Romans 2:4). But, if we continually refuse, it is we who are storing up horrible punishment for ourselves.

Do we hear Him as He speaks through our circumstances, our happenings, our incidences or do we dismiss them as merely coincidences? Foolish and futile, darkened or connected, discerning and attentive…we all have a choice.

By Grace Alone,

Tracey

How do you expect to hear from God? Do you have your own preconceived idea about how God will give you direction, comfort, confirmation? There are times when He will speak to us very directly and without question. But, there are also times, more often than not, that He will speak to us in unconventional and unique ways. The keys to hearing Him during those times? Simple…we must stay connected to Him and we must be awaiting His voice, remembering that it will come without an audible word.

Trading The Truth About God For A Lie, Part 1

As my thoughts and time with God this morning settle, He takes me back to Tuesday. Just a couple of short days ago. Around one in the afternoon I was sitting at my kitchen table and the floor beneath me began to shake. At first, just enough to get my attention but within a few seconds, vigorously. My thoughts of the origin ran from the generator, to the washing machine, to an airplane flying over. And, just as quickly as they came they were replaced with the truth… an earthquake.  My initial reaction…“the girls!” I ran through the house scooping them up and dragging them to the closest doorway. Fear must have been written on my face; they panicked. We stood in our hallway for what seems like minutes gradually making our way back into the kitchen, tip-toeing as if the wrong step would cause the floor to crumble underfoot. For a few seconds more we peered intently at a bottle of water in which one of the girls had placed a freshly picked rose. The water moved even though we were all painfully still. When it stopped, we breathed.

It must have made an impression on the younger girls. Each of them woke on Wednesday morning to tell me of dreams they had had about tornados and boat accidents. I didn’t give the tremor much thought on Wednesday but this morning is different. My mind is on the Source. My mind is on the motivation of the Source.

On Tuesday I read through Romans 1 with a critical heart, displeasure at words unfitly spoken about a friend, seeing only the sins of another individual but God, ever the Rabbi has allowed me to I see with spiritual eyes the depth of the passage. Our spirit cannot see when WE are in the way. My flesh was calling for judgement of another; however, The Holy Spirit living within calls for recognition of my own shortcomings and the shortcomings of our nation.

As I read back through the Scripture I realized that we have dismissed His graciousness. We have become indifferent to His kindness, His tolerance, and His patience (Romans 2:4). Our nation has traded the truth about God for a lie (Romans 1:25).

By Grace Alone,

Tracey

My husband has a saying and I just hate it but I’m going to share it with you anyway!  It’s this:  when you’re green, you’re growing but when you’re ripe, you’re starting to rot!  I think it’s the mental picture that gets me.  I can almost see those little fruit flies buzzing around!  The point is that as long as we are teachable, we will continue to grow but when we think we’ve got it all figured out … well, how else can I say it … we begin to stink!   Writing this week’s Dose of Encouragement has been one of those growing experiences for me.  I hope God has used it as a little spiritual fertilizer in your life as well.

Let’s put some flesh on what we’ve talked about this week.  One of my favorite women in Scripture is Rebekah.  She was a real woman just like you and me.  I suspect that there were times when she sensed God’s presence so intensely that she could feel His strong arms carrying her but at other times, she ignored Him and dashed out in her own strength.

You know the story . . . Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Issac and God led him to Rebekah.  After they married, she became pregnant with twins and cried out to the Lord because there was such a struggle in her womb.  The Lord told her:  Two nations are in your womb and two peoples shall be separated from your body; and one people shall be stronger than the other; and the older shall serve the younger.    Jacob (the younger) took advantage of an opportune moment and stole the birthright from Esau.  Issac was old and getting blind and wanted to bless Esau as the older son.  Rebekah heard his plan and where do you think her mind went . . . older will serve the younger . . . YIKES! She had to do something quickly because God’s plan was just about to be foiled!  Her desire to see God’s will accomplished took her to a place of deception and trickery.  She ran ahead of God.  She had what appeared to be good motives but consequences were severe:  1) She never again saw her son Jacob; 2) There was strife between her sons; 3) Laban, her brother, deceived Jacob and his family life was full of conflict; and 4) Jacob was exiled for years from his family.

Because of the promise of God, the older would have served the younger.  Rebekah didn’t need to resort to trickery and deception.   I wonder how God would have pulled it off but we’ll never know because Rebekah had an attack of the But First Syndrome … ‘But first’ I have to fix this!

Learning to live out our faith is a day by day process accomplished by spending quality time at the feet of Jesus and trusting Him to do what He says He will do.  Allow the Master Teacher to teach you today!

Running the race,

Tami

WHAT?  Conformed to His death??  How is that going to help me have balance, peace and purpose in my life?  Honestly, I think that’s the key to it all!  Just to review, we started out this week describing the But First Syndrome and moved on to talk about ordering our lives by keeping the main thing the main thing.  Now today, we want to see the value of being conformed to His death.

Let’s start with my husband’s favorite verse, Luke 9:23, “If any man wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross DAILY and follow me.”  Jesus goes on to say in the next verse, “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for MY sake, he is the one who will save it.  For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?”

Let me put that in a very practical paraphrase for:

I can say all day every day that I want to know Christ and walk more intimately with Him but if I constantly choose to fritter my days away and not surrender my time to His Lordship, then I may as well be spitting into the wind.  My words are worthless.  If I’m all about me, myself and I.   If I am constantly working on this project and that project, checking this email and that email, making this phone call and that phone call, reading this book and that book, watching this TV show and that TV show, running here and there all over town and not consistently obeying Him then I will end up living a very insignificant life.  I may wind up in heaven but will have no crown, nothing to offer my Jesus when I stand before Him.  I will also be forfeiting much of the abundant life Jesus promises in John 10:10.  When  I pursue my dreams, my goals and my desires, the irony is that I have, in essence, forfeited myself because I’ve missed God’s best for me.

Oh, precious friend, let’s determine today to lay down our lives and desires and chase hard after HIM with every fiber of our beings.  As we do, we will truly become conformed to the image of His death and know in great vibrancy the resurrected life!

Running the race,

Tami

Knowing the fellowship of His sufferings . . . now, THERE’S a priority for you! That’s DEFINITELY at the top of my to-do list!  You know, it might not be, but it should be.  Have you ever gone through a storm and thought you would surely drown, only to discover by the time the storm subsided that you were a much more proficient swimmer and wouldn’t trade the experience for anything in the world?

The Apostle Paul said it this way in Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

So often, we lose sight of the most important thing because we begin to focus on the catastrophe of the moment.  My friend and mentor Denise told me on more than one occasion:  Tami, it’s important to keep the main thing the main thing!  So, let’s look at that.

The main thing is to know Christ and if knowing Christ involves the fellowship of His sufferings then we must accept and embrace that there’s value in being acquainted with grief.  If Christ learned obedience through suffering, then how much more should we?  (Hebrews 5:8)  In the midst of our suffering (be it persecution, affliction, hardship, frustration, anger, fear, disappointment, pressure or anything else that is not going according to our plan), we can know Christ.  We have a great High Priest who understands.  How wonderful it is to know that our God understands our situation and has our best interest at heart.   Therefore, in the midst of suffering, we can look forward to the glory that is to be revealed to us, both in the middle of the storm and at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Let’s agree with Paul and fix our eyes on Jesus because He is the glory that is to be revealed!  The word ‘glory’ is a difficult one to define.  The simple definition is “a correct estimation or weight” but the working definition carries much more weight (no pun intended!).  Eyes that are fixed on the glory to be revealed to us see that the ‘now’ is not all there is. The heart fixed on the glory to be revealed to us knows that when Christ, who is our life, is revealed, we also will be revealed with Him in glory (Colossians 3:4) and the mind set on the glory to be revealed to us understands that believers are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:5).  Focus on the glory, dear one!

Running the race,

Tami

Yesterday, we looked at the first big rock that will ward off the But First Syndrome and it’s choosing to make knowing Christ intimately our daily priority.  I can give you some guidelines for an effective and productive quiet time but if your why is not there, the how doesn’t really matter.  Why do you want to know Him more?  Here’s a modern-day parable that might help you identify your why:

Sara rolled over and rubbed her eyes, trying to make out the fuzzy numbers reflecting on her ceiling.  11:00!  Holy Cow!  How could she have slept so late!  She found comfort in remembering that it was Saturday and aren’t Saturdays made for sleeping late?

Her comfy robe, fluffy slippers and steaming hot Starbucks coffee were going to be her companions for at least the next hour.  The first order of business was checking email.  Let’s listen in on her conversation with herself.:

“What in the world?  I don’t have a clue who sent me this e-vite.  Nissi@J-net.com.  I guess that one goes to the delete file.”

“Oh…that is the cutest forward…normally I don’t even open things like that but that is sooooo cute!  I just love those little kitty cat pictures”

“Here’s another weird one . . . Rohi1@Shepnet.com. Never heard of them!  I sure hope that none of my friends have a new email and just forgot to tell me but I’m filing this one in delete, too, even if it does say “opportunity of a life time!”  I need to get my Spam software updated!

“Here are 2 more email addresses that I don’t recognize:  JShalom@zion.net and Tsidkenu4you@celestialcity.gov.

“What is the deal?  I never have this much spam!  I sure hope I don’t have a virus from all of this junk mail.  Those addresses sound so … phony.  You would think that the sender could have come up with something that sounded more believable.  HA!  They didn’t pull the wool over my eyes!  Well, that’s all for now — nothing important, I guess.”

“Maybe I should just hit send/receive once more in case I get too busy and don’t make it back to my computer today.  Oh, what’s this?

messengerboy@HisCall.org  subject:  Your place has been taken by another.

What does that mean?  Click.

‘Dear Sara,

I invited you to come and dine with me as a daughter of the King of Kings, God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth.  You were on the VIP banquet invitation list but because you did not RSVP with a “yes,” your name has been erased from the guest list.   Did you not recognize me as Jehovah Nissi, my Banner over you that is love.  As your banner I would have lead you forth in the battles of life and you would have lived as more than a conqueror.  I revealed my self to you as Jehovah Rohi, your Shepherd.  Oh, how I longed to shelter you and protect you. As Jehovah Shalom, I alone can satisfy you with peace, not as the world gives but as only I, a loving Heavenly Father can give.  Surely, you should have known that it is only I, Jehovah Tsidkenu, who can give you righteousness because I am righteousness and have provided One Way for you to be righteous before Me: Yes, This is Jesus.  It is too late. Your place has been filled by another.’

Sara weeps as she realizes that it’s too late . . . her time was wasted.  What about yours?

Running the race,

Tami

Have you ever heard of the “But First Syndrome”?  Well, I’ve not been officially diagnosed with it (unless my husband counts as official) but I see the signs and symptoms every day.  Perhaps you can relate . . .  here’s a typical example:  I decide to wash a load of laundry and I gather the dirty clothes but first I must wipe down the bathroom countertop because it will only take a second.  As I finish that task, I go to pick up the laundry basket but first I notice that I could pop those shoes right in the closet and get them out of the way.  As I put the shoes in the closet I notice that it would only take a second or two to straighten the mess in there so I decide to hurry and do that but first I should go and get that last cup of coffee . . .no need to waste it . . . and the symptoms go on and on and on! By the end of many days, I realize that I got a lot of piddly things accomplished but those priority tasks remain on my to-do list!  So . . . what’s a girl to do?  That’s the subject of our Daily Doses of Encouragement this week so I hope you’ll tune in each day . . . whether it’s for yourself or a friend. 

Your First Rock

You may be familiar with Steven Covey’s popular example of determining priorities (It’s in his book, First Things First).  Basically, it’s a visual which demonstrates that you get more rocks in a jar if you put the large ones in first.   Our initial dilemma is determining which rocks are the large ones.  That sounds simple but it seems like there’s always someone or something vying for our time and attention.  I once shared with a friend that the most important things in life typically don’t have deadlines.

What would Jesus say is the most important thing?  Well…duh…of course HE would get it right!  He’s GOD!  So let’s see what the Apostle Paul had to say about the most important thing.  The first verse that comes to mind is Philippians 3:10, ‘…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”  That, my friends, should be inscribed on every page of our calendars and be in the forefront of our minds DAILY!

We find a list of ‘rocks’ in this verse:  1) to know Christ, 2) to know the power of His resurrection, 3) to know the fellowship of His sufferings and 4) to be conformed to His image.  Why?  That I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.  This may not look like your typical to-do list but it certainly gives you some big rocks to put in that jar!

Accepting God’s gift of salvation by trusting Jesus Christ as your Savior is only the first step towards knowing Him.  The Holy Spirit chose to use the Greek word for “know” that communicates to the reader that this is not just a casual knowing;  it is an intimate knowing that doesn’t happen casually.  It happens intentionally.  It’s a knowledge that comes from saying But first I need to talk to Jesus about it;  But first I have to hang out with Jesus this morning;  But first I’m going to do what Jesus would have me do.

You can purchase a ton of great books on prioritizing your life but there’s only one way to get that first one right and that’s by spending quality time with Jesus.  This happens when we plant ourselves firmly in His Word and intentionally obey His voice.

*Here’s a fun link that demonstrates this principle.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6m9WnNdpSw

Running the race,

Tami