Debbie's Perspective

Just my thoughts of the day.

Nov 28

30 Days in the Christmas Story: Day 4

by Debbie

In Day three we talked about the prophecy given about Jesus in Isaiah; a prophecy given about 700 years before Jesus stepped onto the world scene. Today we are going to begin our look at Jesus’ entry as we examine Matthew chapter one.

“All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.” Matthew 1:17 (NLT)

Maybe you’re different, but I always skipped over the long genealogy in verses one through sixteen. I mean sixteen verses of hard-to-pronounce names are not in my top reading desires, but they serve a very important role in proving that Jesus was qualified to be the Messiah. He had to be in the line of David, and He was.

Backstory matters. We all want to know how a story really began. Although Matthew doesn’t give me all the details I’d like to know, he does start with some important ones.

“This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.” Matthew 1:18-19 NLT

Joseph and Mary were engaged to be married but being engaged in that day was not as casual as our engagements are now. To be engaged or betrothed as a Jew at that time meant that a contract had been signed, agreements had been made, and they were basically married except she remained with her parents, usually for a year, as her betrothed went to His father’s house and built on a room to bring his bride home. Once that was finished, and his father said he was ready, he would go get his bride, and there would be a final ceremony and consummation of the vows. Mary was in the waiting time; a virgin contractually bound to Joseph.

Now she’s pregnant. A true scandal. Adultery was punishable by death at that time. Joseph could have had her stoned, but God had chosen a righteous man for Mary, and he didn’t want to disgrace her publicly. He decided that he would break the engagement quietly. Joseph didn’t know he was going to play a key role in the protection of Mary and the Messiah she carried. God had other plans as we’ll see in tomorrow’s reading.

Today’s truth is God didn’t just choose Mary to be the mother of Jesus; He chose Joseph as well. Mary couldn’t do this alone.

Thoughts on Faith

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Nov 27

30 Days in the Christmas Story: Day 3

by Debbie

“For a child is born to us, a Son is given to us. The government will rest on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of His ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen! Isaiah 9:6-7 (NLT)

“For a child is born to us…” Jesus had to be born if He was going to identify fully as a human. He became a man. Only a man could be qualified to be the Messiah our Savior and High Priest. He was fully man.

“…a Son is given to us.” Jesus is also the eternal Son of God. David Guzik says in his commentary of this verse – Jesus had to be perfect and infinite to offer an infinite atonement for our sins. The humanity of Jesus had a starting point. He is fully God and fully man. The Son was given, and at that moment, human nature was added to His divine nature.

This is a very familiar prophecy about Jesus. The hymn is running through my head. I can hear the Christmas choir singing it right now. Of course, on this side of the timeline looking back, we understand it. We know it’s Jesus he’s talking about. We know He’ll come as a baby in a manger, start His ministry at 30, do many amazing miracles, be shunned by the Jewish leaders, and eventually be condemned to death. He will be crucified and will rise again from the dead. Through all of that, He will try to get His disciples to see and understand that He is ushering in a Kingdom that is not of this world. 

I can see how the disciples and all who had been looking forward to their Messiah coming were thinking that He would come and set up His government here on earth, wipe out those pesky Romans and everyone else who were oppressing them. But Jesus was coming for so much more. He was coming, not only to set the Jewish people free but to set all men free, Jew and Gentile. They thought their oppressor was a foreign government. Jesus knew that governments come and go. Nations and kingdoms rise and fall. It was sin, the original sin that had unleashed sin and death into the world to bring darkness and oppression that had to be vanquished. Then and only then could those who believe in Jesus and what He was going to do, and what He has already done for us now, be set free and enter a Kingdom that will never end. A Kingdom and a government that rests on His shoulders.

The last line in verse seven above says, “The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” And He did. Jesus fulfilled this prophecy that was given about Him seven hundred years before He walked the earth, and He also fulfilled over three hundred prophecies about the Messiah. When we see this fulfillment, we can rest assured that everything else written in His Word will come to pass. It may not look like what we were imagining, but it will be even better.

Today’s truth is, God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, can and will fulfill every promise He’s made. His Kingdom will never end.  He will rule from the throne of David for eternity.

Thank you Jesus that we can put our full trust in You.

Christmas Thoughts on Faith

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Nov 26

30 Days in the Christmas Story: Day 2

by Debbie

On Day 1 we explored the fact that Jesus existed before time before He was born into the world. While we can see Jesus throughout the Old Testament, we are exploring the touch points of Him as Jesus the man. The next stop we should take is one of the prophecies about His coming.

“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.” Isaiah 9:2 (NLT)

Didn’t we just read in Day 1, John 1:4, that His light brought light to everyone? – “…will see a great light. …a light will shine.” Jesus, Himself says in Revelation 22:16, “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star.” Jesus is the light that will shine on all men.

Why is Jesus being the light of the world so important? In chapter eight of Isaiah the prophet is warning the people of Israel and Judah of the coming Assyrian invasion that would eventually take them away to Babylon. In verses 20-22, he tells them that if they don’t follow God’s instructions and teachings but contradict them, they are completely in the dark. They are told they will be weary and hungry. They will look up to heaven and down at the earth, but wherever they look there will be trouble and anguish and dark despair. They will be thrown out into the darkness. Whoa! Is there no hope?

 “Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever…” Isaiah 9:1 (NLT)

Deep breath. Sigh of relief. So, when will this end? Well, the prophecy that comes next won’t come to pass for about seven hundred years. But it will come. Those who are plunged into deep darkness will see a great light when Jesus comes; God incarnate, God with us. Only He can bring light back into the world. Only He can save the people from the deep darkness they’ve been plunged into.

It wasn’t just the people in Isaiah’s time. They remained in darkness for seven hundred years looking for a Messiah who would come and save them. On this side of Jesus’ coming, there are still those who are walking in deep darkness without His light even though His light is right there to shine on them. 

Today’s truth is that we are all plunged into deep darkness without the light of Jesus. If He did not come, there would be no hope of walking out of deep darkness.

Thank you, Jesus, that You did not leave us helplessly wondering in darkness.

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Nov 25

30 Days in the Christmas Story: Day 1

by Debbie

This Christmas season I thought I would take a journey through the Christmas story and make note of the new insights God gives me. I’d like to invite you to join me over the coming days as I look at a story that is so well-known that it’s easy to skip over important truths. I hope you’ll join the journey. Let’s dig in.

“In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself.” John 1:1 (AMP)

You may be saying, “Wait a minute, where’s the angel talking to Mary or the manger with the wise men and shepherds?” Well, that’s not where this story begins. It starts in the beginning, before time, before creation, before the world was made and there was nothing. Jesus was there, not the man Jesus, but the second person in the Godhead Trinity. Wow! That’s a hard one to wrap my head around, but a spiritual truth I need to know to fully understand the incredible story that unfolds as He enters our world as a man.

Before Mary, before the manger, before the wise men and shepherds, there was the Word, and He was with God in eternity, and as God, equal to the Father. He wasn’t a created being. He wasn’t a lesser god.

“He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone.” John 1:2-4 (NLT)

Today’s incredible truth is that before Jesus became God incarnate – the most high God embodied in flesh, in human form – He was. He didn’t just show up on the scene the day He was born or even the day He was conceived. He was there before there was a beginning.

I look forward to tomorrow to see where the Holy Spirit leads us next. 

Christmas Thoughts on Faith

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Dec 14

He Obeyed

by Debbie

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ~ John 1:1
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. ~ John 1:14a

Everyone knows that Joseph was Jesus’ earthly father, but he has always seemed to me to be this character in the background, kind of just along for the ride in the whole story. That really couldn’t be further from the truth. Joseph was a major player in this redemptive plan.

There may not be much written about him, but the things that are point to someone who was just as carefully chosen to be Jesus’ parent as Mary was. In my last blog post – She Believed, I talked about some reasons why I thought God chose Mary for this assignment… she knew God’s word, she believed it already, and when the angel spoke to her, she believed him.

If we take a look at Joseph’s part in the story, we will see that while Mary believed, Joseph obeyed.

So why was it so important for Joseph to be an obedient man? Mary just had to believe what the angel told her, and then the Holy Spirit overshadowed her and she became pregnant. Joseph, on the other hand, not only had to believe what the angel would tell him in his dreams, but he would have to take action.

It was just as important for Jesus to have an earthly father as it was for him to have an earthly mother. In that day, a woman couldn’t survive without a husband. Mary would need a good man to provide for her and her baby as well as keep her safe in very perilous circumstances.

In comes Joseph.

In Matthew 1:19 we see that Joseph is a good man. We also see that he is kind because he doesn’t want to disgrace Mary publicly, but plans to break off their engagement quietly. The law actually gave him the right to have her stoned. Whew! Thankfully he was good and kind.

But, in the midst of his own thoughts on divorcing her quietly, an angel appears to him in a dream and tells him to go ahead and take Mary for his wife because she is telling the truth, and to name this child Jesus. Then it says that when he woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary for his wife, and that he named the child Jesus. Did you see that? He did it when he woke up. He didn’t wait around; immediate obedience.

Matthew 1:22-23 – All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through His prophet:
“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! And they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”

This isn’t the end of it, though. In Matthew 2:13-14 it says that an angel appears to Joseph again in a dream after the wise men have left, and tells him to get up, flee to Egypt with Jesus and Mary, and to stay there until he is told to return. He leaves that night with Mary and the baby. Again, immediate obedience.

Matthew 2:15 – …This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”

A third time the angel comes to him in a dream and tells him that he can go back because those who are trying to kill Jesus are now dead. So, he gets up and heads back to Israel. When he’s afraid to head back into Judea, he’s warned in a dream and leaves for the region of Galilee.

Matthew 2:23 – So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

That is a man of action! He doesn’t hang around, he doesn’t discuss it with anybody, he just gets up and does what he is commanded to do with no arguments. It couldn’t have been easy leaving everything behind each time and heading to unknown places with no family or friends.

Every time Joseph was obedient he took part in fulfilling God’s plan of redemption through His son, Jesus. Yes, he was definitely a major player in this story and not a background character.

We’ve seen that Joseph was a good man, a kind man, and a man of action through obedience. He was dedicated to protecting Mary and Jesus. He’s not mentioned in the great hall of fame of faith filled men in Hebrews, but I have to believe that he is part of the great cloud of witnesses that are surrounding us.

His witness of obedience still echoes through time.

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Nov 12

SHE BELIEVED

by Debbie

As I thought about the coming Advent season this morning, I decided to read the story of Jesus’ birth to begin to prepare my heart.  It always amazes me how the Lord can show me new things in a story I’ve read or heard multiple times.  Today He amazed me once again.

Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you! ~ Luke 1:28

Mary was favored.  Why?  What was it about her that caught God’s attention? Why did He choose her to be the mother of His son? Did she do something special or did He just pick her out of a group of girls her age who were descendants of David?

I read on. I found some clues to why I think God chose Mary.

The angel of the Lord visited her and told her that she would conceive a son, name him Jesus, he would be great, would be called the Son of the Most High, be given the throne of David, and would reign over Israel forever.  Wow, pretty incredible stuff! She didn’t ask about all of that, she just wanted to know how it would happen; not all the great stuff, but how was it physically going to happen to her?  She was a virgin. She was saying, “What will I have to do to conceive this baby? How will it happen?”

Once she was told, she agreed, even though the ramifications to her could have been devastating. She would be pregnant and not married. Her fiancé, Joseph, would know it wasn’t his. Would anyone believe her story? She could have been stoned for adultery, but she still said yes.  Why?

I think the answer comes in the next few verses.

One thing Elizabeth says to her jumped out at me.

You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.” ~ Luke 1:45 NLT

This is happening to her because she believes that the Lord does what He says, but this verse doesn’t say “will” do, it says “would” do. It doesn’t mean that she believes that the Lord will do what the angel said He would do.  The next verses in the beautiful Magnificat reveal the deeper belief Mary had.

Luke 1:46 – 55 ~ Mary responded,

“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
For the Mighty One is holy,
and he has done great things for me.
He shows mercy from generation to generation
to all who fear him.
His mighty arm has done tremendous things!
He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
He has brought down princes from their thrones
and exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
He has helped his servant Israel
and remembered to be merciful.
For he made this promise to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his children forever.”

There it is right there!  Mary knew the covenant promises of God and she already believed they would come to pass. She didn’t just know them, she believed them.  Her praises are filled with references to the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets.

Mary wasn’t just another Israelite girl who was the right age and of the right lineage.  She was a girl who had her heart filled with the Word of God! So when God called on her to be the vessel to bring His son into the world, she was ready and willing.

Another key to how Mary continued in her calling, even through the challenges it would bring, came in another part of the story.

After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.  All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.  The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them. ~ Luke 2:17 – 20

Mary kept her heart and mind on the right things; the things God was doing, the promises He had made. She could see them being fulfilled right before her eyes because she was watching. She was highly favored and chosen because she believed that the Lord would do what He said, and she was willing to put action to her belief.

Thoughts on Faith

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Sep 14

10 Things Esther Taught Me About Obedience

by Debbie

crown 2

She was just a girl; a nobody. While she was being chosen by the king to be his wife, God was choosing her to save His people.  She was chosen for a purpose; to fulfill a plan… for such a time as this.

Esther 4:14 –  “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

Esther was an obedient “Yes” girl. Reading her story this morning gave me some clear insights into what it means to be radically obedient when it comes to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

1.  She accepted the fact that she was called.

After hearing about the decree that all the Jews would be destroyed, and the news that she was being asked to go and plead with the king on their behalf, she was fearful. She counted the cost, but said yes anyway.

God calls believers in many different ways every day, but one calling all of us have been given is to go and make disciples of all nations. We are called to share the gospel – every one of us.

When I think I can’t make a difference I’m forgetting that I’m a child of the Most High King. I’ve been chosen for such a time as this. Will I accept my calling and say yes?

2. She knew the danger she faced and planned accordingly.

The king hadn’t called for her in 30 days. She couldn’t just go to him any time she wanted.  Without the king’s favor she would be killed. Everything would be lost in that one moment if she wasn’t prepared.

Preparation and planning is paramount to my success.  I need to know my audience and how to win their favor.  I need to do my homework.

3.  She knew she wasn’t going in her own strength.

Esther knew she needed to be in the right position with God.  She humbled herself fasting and praying for three days before she even attempted to go before the king.

Spending time with Jesus; worshipping Him, reading His word, and praying equips me with everything I need to go where He is sending me.  I must have my spiritual house in order first. But, Esther didn’t take a year, a month, or even a week to get ready. I can’t use the excuse that I’m trying to get prepared so I don’t mess things up.  It’s time to humble myself before the Lord, ask Him for help, and then GO.

4.  She surrounded herself with like minded people.

Esther asked her uncle, Mordecai, to gather all the Jews that could be found in Susa and have them fast for three days.  She would also have her young women fasting with her.

Strength comes from other believers who stand with me in this calling. Surrounding myself with others who will encourage and pray with me helps me lose the fear of what others think and step out into my calling.  Obedience is much easier with the support of friends.

5.  She was willing to do what she needed to do no matter the cost.

After having everyone fast and pray, she resolved to do what she was called to do: “Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”

The cost I face isn’t the loss of my life, but sometimes I protect myself like it is.  There are believers in other countries who face much more dire circumstances for sharing their faith than I do.  My cost is having someone think I’m weird, crazy, a Jesus Freak, too radical, narrow minded, etc.  Are these really what I’m unwilling to pay for the eternal life of another person?  My resolve must be – if I perish, I perish.

6.  She built credibility and favor while she allowed God to prepare the heart.

The king accepted Esther with his golden scepter and she was in.  When he asked her what she wanted and offered her up to half of his kingdom, she could have told him then, but she knew he wasn’t ready for her message yet.  She set her plan in motion, and allowed God to prepare his heart.

The king’s heart was prepared when he called for the book of memorable deeds and read about how Mordecai had saved him from a wicked plot on his life.

If I want people to hear my message, receive it well, and do something with it, building credibility and favor with them is necessary.  Does my life show evidence of what I’m asking them to believe? Sometimes my greatest testimony is in what I do and not in what I say.

7.  She knew her enemy and devised a plan.

Esther knew that Haman was behind the decree to destroy the Jews. She knew he was powerful, and she couldn’t discount him, so she invited him to the banquet with the king.

Satan is a formidable enemy.  The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8 – Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Jesus says in John 10:10 – The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;

But

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

The God of angel armies is on our side, and we can walk in confidence that He will give us strategies to overcome the enemy.

8.  When the time was right she spoke humbly but without fear.

After all of Esther’s preparation she finally had her chance to tell the king what she wanted.  Her humility showed her respect and honor for the king, but her confidence in speaking left no doubt what she was asking for.

Confidence in what I know to be true is the key to sharing the gospel without fear.  When God brings an opportunity to share His truth, speaking with respectful confidence will cut through any misconceptions the enemy has devised.

9.  She knew the decision wasn’t hers to make.

Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request.  For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated.”  When the kings eyes were opened to the truth of what was happening he wanted to know who the culprit was.  Esther was quick and lethal in pointing out the true enemy. It was then the king’s decision to make.

True humility is one thing that can’t be faked.  Humility comes when I honor and respect the person enough to leave the decision to them.  All I can do is be obedient to what God is calling me to do and share from my heart, then leave the decision to them.

10.  Blessings come with radical obedience.

In the end Haman was hanged, Mordecai was honored, the Jews were saved from annihilation, and Queen Esther was given the house of Haman.

Radical obedience always brings God’s blessings.  When I accept His calling on my life and realize that I am not my own, but I’ve been bought with a price, it becomes clear there is so much more for me and everyone else than I can see in this temporal world.  Blessings of peace, fulfillment, and purpose fill the empty places. Fresh vision for the eternal brings understanding and wisdom. Esther changed her world through obedience to her calling, and I have an opportunity to make an impact in mine as well.  Won’t you join me?

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Sep 5

#FreshVision

by Debbie

Blog picture heart-made-with-hands

James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

“Mom, I made the team!” my daughter excitedly exclaimed.

Wow, what a difference a few days makes.  If you read what I wrote last week in A Life Interrupted, you know that my daughter’s heart was broken when she was told she had been cut in the first round of tryouts for her middle school volleyball team.

She came home sick after the third day of hard tryouts and missed the first round cut announcement.  Since we couldn’t get in touch with the coach, she started calling her friends.  After three girls said she had been cut, the tears began to flow.  The dream she had been working toward was dashed.

Sometimes the dream we hold in our heart isn’t really on the path God has for our lives.  We want it to be, but God has something better for us; a different plan – we just can’t see it while we are holding onto a dream we don’t want to let go of.

This is a time for fresh vision.  This is a time to submit ourselves to God, lay it at His feet and open our heart to the new place He wants to take us. We also must resist the devil’s attempt to beat us up and cause us to question God’s love.

On Tuesday morning the next round of tryouts was scheduled, and we decided that since she hadn’t heard about the cut from the coach, we needed to verify it from the source.  She showed up at tryouts and found out that she hadn’t been cut after all.

Some dreams can be lost because of what others are telling us.  We can trust them and believe they are helping us, but we run the risk they are wrong.

Our answers must come from the source.

God is the only one who holds our future in His hands. He is the only one who knows what tomorrow brings. We must submit to Him and allow Him to lead us where He wants us to go.

A fresh vision from God breathes life and passion back into our lives; back into our dreams. Fresh vision stirs our hearts and sets things into motion driving us forward into the plans God has for us.

Lay your hopes and dreams at the feet of Jesus, and ask Him to give you a fresh vision for them.  Ask Him to show you if the ones you’ve been holding on to aren’t His.

Resist the devil because he will be quick to tell you that your dreams don’t matter to God.

The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. ~John 10:10

The great news is the devil will flee from us when we resist him.

Last week we were weeping at the loss of a dream.  This week we understand even better that Jesus is our only source for the answers to our heart’s deepest desires because He is the one who puts them there, and He is the only one who can give us the fresh vision to see them through.

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Aug 31

A Life Interrupted

by Debbie

Blog curvy road

Romans 5:2b – 4 ~ And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character; and character, hope.

My heart is aching this morning.  In one moment my daughter’s dream of playing on her middle school volleyball team was dashed when she was cut after three hard days of tryouts.

My mother’s heart weeps for her, and as I groped through my mind for something comforting to say to her to make it all better, the scripture I had been studying all week continued to play through my mind. We are to rejoice in our sufferings, but today we are weeping. Is that wrong? How do we get to a place of rejoicing?

Does God weep for us when life’s sufferings tear at our hearts; when life doesn’t go the way we planned or thought it would?

John 11:33-35 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.  Come and see, Lord,” they replied.  Jesus wept.

Jesus knew that he was going to go to the tomb where Lazarus lay dead and raise him. He knew that the outcome was going to be good, and in a short time all those who were weeping would be rejoicing, but at that moment those he loved were broken hearted, and it broke his heart.

We know as believers that the story for us ends well.  We know that there will come a day with no tears and no sorrow, and we will be in the presence of our Lord and Savior for eternity.

But, in the moment when life interrupts us, our hearts are heavy and we still have to walk it out.  We still have to persevere through the pain.  As we persevere through that pain, life lessons are learned and we are never the same.

If we allow Jesus to lead and guide us through those places, and allow Him to do His work in us as He molds the twists and turns of our life into the direction He has for us, then character will be built, and hope will spring forth to a new season; a new calling.

How can we move through those places and continue to persevere when our heart is breaking?  How do we #stickwithit when we just want to give up?

Lysa TerKeurst says in her book What Happens When Women Say Yes to God, “A real sign of spiritual maturity is looking to God not for comfort and convenience, but for purpose and perspective.  Comfort and convenience lead to complacency. On the other hand, purpose and perspective lead to the perseverance that is evident in those living a truly devoted life.”

God has a purpose for our life. He has a purpose for the interruption that has just moved us in a new direction.  He loves us more than we could possibly love our own children, and I can’t imagine more love than that; more desire for their welfare and good, but He does.

We can trust that He isn’t withholding or causing something in our life because He wants to see us suffer – no, He is hurting with us.  We trust that He has a perfect plan that He is working out in His timing, weaving it all together into a beautiful tapestry to bring Him glory, and to equip us to do what He is calling us to do.

That’s what it really is all about isn’t it? Bringing God glory by fulfilling the calling He has on our life.

We may think that the twists and turns of life are interruptions, but I think they are just the turns in the road God is leading us down as He is equipping us for every good work (2Timothy 3:17).

I don’t know why my daughter didn’t make the team, she’s a good player and has the skills, but I have to believe that God’s purpose and plan for her don’t include that dream.  This could be that turn in the road that leads her down a new path where He wants her focus to be.

So, I will hug my daughter and weep with her today, but we will also rejoice knowing that it will be okay because God’s plans for her are perfect, and we will watch expectantly to see what new adventures He is leading her to tomorrow.

 

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Aug 8

#PALMS UP

by Debbie

OBS palms up

I walk up with hands clenched, held tightly across my heart. These things are important to me. Some of them are my life itself, I think. How can I f

reely release them? It’ll cost me way too much.

Then I look at the hands held out to receive it all. There is something there already. I look closer. Scars. Nail scars. The ultimate price paid for my life. My eyes meet His. There is only love there. He’s not asking for these things to steal them

away from me; He’s taking them into His care.

This is freedom I’m gazing at. Why am I holding tight to this? Although I feel like I just stepped over a cliff and I’m free falling, my hands open and release everything into His. Things tumble out I didn’t even know were there.

Why am I so desperately holding on to pride, control, doubt, fear, anger? I guess with closed hands holding onto the things I love so much, it’s hard to see the other things that get caught up in that grip.

I turn my palms up and show Him their emp

tiness. He smiles and says, “Now you are ready.”

“Ready for what?” I ask. He won’t say, but just smiles at me with a twinkle in His eye.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. — Deuteronomy 6:5

When you read these words, it’s easy to pass over them and say, “Okay, I’m supposed to love God with all of me.” The problem is, that isn’t so easy.

Our theme this week in the Proverbs 31 On-line Bible Study is #Palms Up. Palms up ready to receive all that God has for us. But after reading and studying this verse over the week, I realize that palms up also means letting go of anything that I keep trying to hang on to.

All of me includes my desperate love for my family. The thought of something bad happening to my husband or my children sends a shiver o

f fear right through me. I’m supposed to hold on to them, right? No, #Palms Up, Lord.

As I examine my heart more closely, things rise to the surface that I know I’m holding on to as well; control is a biggy. Why do I hold on to these? #Palms Up, Lord.

All of these things and more ramble around in my heart vying for my attention and attachment.

Idols?

My head says, “No, I don’t have any idols.” My

heart says, “Anything you are choosing to hang on to that keeps you from freely giving your whole heart to Jesus is an idol.”

Over the last few days as I’ve come trembling before the Lord confessing that I’m scared – scared of what may come; scared that His call may cost me too much, Jesus has met me there with loving nail scarred hands assuring me that His hands are the only true place of safety.

#Palms up, Lord!

www.proverbs31.org

http://www.proverbs31.org

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