It's Not That I Can't, It's Because I Shouldn't

I enjoy singing. And that's, well, it's a bit of an understatement. I sing all the time, almost anywhere...but not this week. I haven't sang since Saturday. I could easily let this drive me crazy, but I refuse to. It's tough not doing what you like to do; it's even tougher when it's a gift and passion that God has given you.

You see, this past weekend I was involved in a drama our church hosted called "Heaven's Gates and Hell's Flames" from Reality Outreach Ministries, Inc. In this drama, I played a drunk in a bar whose 2 sisters tried to get her to go home with them; she'd already driven home drunk way too many times. One sister had a relationship with Christ and kept praying for her and telling her about Jesus--how He could change her life and clean up the mess she had made by her drinking and gambling addictions. The drunk refused help, left the bar, and was killed when she wrecked her car. The drunk went to Hell.

So, after acting like and talking like a drunk for 4 days, and getting in a car crash and going to Hell and back 6 times, my voice was almost gone. Yesterday and today it's been about 75%. On Sunday and Monday I pretty much wasn't allowed to talk in order to save my voice for the ministry "performances" each of those nights. After Monday night, well, I've been talking since then. But not singing. It's not that I can't sing, though. Okay, so it may not sound all that great yet, but I can still sing. However, I'm not singing because I shouldn't yet. (And Karen would possibly slap me if she heard of me singing before my voice is 100%.) If I sing now when my voice is not fully healed, then I could further damage it, or it may just take longer to heal. Normally I wouldn't really think about it, but I'm on set for back-up vocals for praise and worship at church on Sunday. (I'm backing up Karen, and that's why she would slap me if I'd sing now. Ha!) So, since I shouldn't sing yet, I'm not. And it's not easy, let me tell ya.

This is not the first time I've been in this position of  "it's not that I can't, it's because I shouldn't". In middle school I lost my voice during the week of our Spring Show. No talking or singing (even during dress rehearsal) until show time that week.

Then there was high school, when I purposely didn't audition to be in our show choir junior year because I knew it wasn't time. It wasn't that I couldn't audition, because I probably would have made it, but it was because I shouldn't audition--my King told me it wasn't the right time. That was really tough. Every time that choir performed my junior year, I almost cried. Yet, my King wanted me to wait until my senior year to be in that choir. And I lived out a dream during my senior year of high school.

Now, let's go back to the drunk in the bar scene. Since she could still drink, she did. Since she still had the keys, car, and ability (although altered and impaired) to drive, she did. The only thing that would have stopped her from gambling or drinking or driving would have been if she could not do them. But she could, so she did.

Do we just not do some things because we can't? Well, yes, we do. However, sometimes it's more because we shouldn't. Sometimes we shouldn't because we could get hurt. Sometimes we shouldn't because it's not time. Sometimes we shouldn't because it could cause someone else to stumble. Sometimes we shouldn't because it would be bragging. Sometimes we shouldn't because we don't really have the means. Sometimes we shouldn't because God has something better.

Sometimes we shouldn't because it's sin. And it's not because we can't; it's because we shouldn't.

God gives us the ability to choose to sin or not to sin. And, many times we sin because we can.

However, I want to choose not to sin--not because I can't sin, but because I shouldn't. I want to honor King Jesus with every word that I speak and every thing that I do. And this is not only because I should; it's because I can.

Thankful for...what?!

I'm thankful for a lot of things, and some of these things aren't the "normal" things people are usually thankful for. I thought I'd share some random ones with y'all:

I'm thankful for:

--Christ knowing my every thought
--cold weather
--dogs and other animals
--slugs
--cicadas
--crickets (I enjoy listening to them, and feeding them to preying mantises when I have them)
--squirrels
--the sounds of bugs
--Robin (the tick-covered German Shepherd puppy at La Casa Grande)
--lotion
--sports
--the game of Monopoly
--cheese
--MILK
--spiced cider
--fried bananas
--family
--friends
--pine cones
--Dominican coffee
-- etc.

What's something random or strange that you're thankful for?

From a Bloody Mess to the Throne Room of the King

We’ve been studying the book of Romans in Powerhouse, and recently Pastor Kathy talked about the blood of Christ in Romans chapter 5. For those who have a relationship with Christ, talking about His blood isn’t something new. Yet sometimes we forget its significance and it becomes commonplace to us.

While in Romans 5, the Holy Spirit added some things to what He had Pastor Kathy teach us, and He used one of my favorite passages of Scripture once again.

Ezekiel chapter 16 talks about  Israel’s infidelity to God. And although that’s the overview of the passage, there is way more in it than Israel’s harlotry.

A Bloody Mess

Verses 1-6 talk about how when Christ first comes to us, we’re a mess. “As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you...No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you...And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!...” (verses 4-6) Christ sees us struggling in our own blood—our own sin.

Each of our sins requires a blood sacrifice, and that’s a bloody mess. In Exodus and Leviticus God tells us the details of this, and these weren’t simple. Certain animals were to be sacrificed for certain sins, and each animal had to be perfect—or at least as perfect as the person could find, or buy, or trade for. The people could not sacrifice the animal on their own, either. The animal had to be brought to the tabernacle, and killed. Then the priests would sprinkle the blood as the Law instructed, burn the parts of the animal the Law instructed, and do whatever else the Law instructed. God gave specific instructions that had to be followed properly.

Just think about it, though. What if we lived during that time? How many animals would have to die because of our sins? How many times would we have to find a perfect, certain animal to atone for the sin we committed? I don’t know how there were enough of those prefect animals.

And think about what the outside of the tabernacle looked and smelled like. There was lots of blood and there was almost always, if not always, the stench of burning flesh. And our sin causes that.

Becoming Clean

Yet, in Ezekiel 16:7-9, God tells us that He picks us up from out of our own blood, washes our blood from us, and anoints us. Here is where Romans 5 comes in to play. Verses 6-9 of Romans 5 say, “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” Jesus Christ was, and is, the final blood sacrifice, and it’s by His blood we are made clean from our sins.

Pastor Kathy taught us more about what blood, and Christ’s blood, actually does. Blood brings oxygen to every part of our bodies while taking away carbon dioxide and other waste. And that’s exactly what Christ’s blood does. His blood brings us life by His death on the cross, and it takes away the garbage of sin. His blood truly does clean us.

Also, water constantly flows in and out of our bloodstream in order to equalize  the fluids inside and outside of our bloodstream, constantly working to keep our bodies balanced. This is like how Jesus is constantly working in us. We don’t realize it, but He’s always doing something in us.

Blood is always regenerating itself, just as Christ is always making us new (2 Corinthians 5:17). His Word is always fresh and alive (Hebrews 4:12).

Something else blood does is maintain the constancy of our internal environment; it helps keep us stable. Christ does that, too. He’s the source of the peace and joy that remains in us no matter what may be going on in our lives and in the world.

Blood really is amazing stuff.

Entering the Throne Room

Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” One of the things this reminds me of is Esther. She went boldly before the king more than once, but not without proper preparation.

The first time Esther went before the king was for the “beauty contest” the king held in search of a new queen.  To prepare for this Esther, as well as the other women, basically spent a whole year at the palace spa. They spent a whole year being pampered and being made as beautiful as possible: “six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfumes and preparations for beautifying women” (Esther 2:12). An entire year! Esther spent one whole year preparing to go before the king. And she went boldly, found favor with the king because of her beauty, and became queen.

The next time we see Esther going before the king was to save her people, the Jews, from being destroyed. Again, she prepared carefully. This time she asked that all the Jews fast and pray for 3 days and nights as she and her maids did the same (Esther 4:16). And again, Esther went boldly into the king’s throne room and found favor in his sight.

In both instances, the king actually made it possible for her to boldly come into his presence. He was the one who held the “beauty contest”. He was the one who provided everything, including maids, for Esther to spend a year being made as beautiful as possible. The king was the one who made her queen, gave her the means to get a message out to all the Jews, and gave her maids that fasted and prayed with her.

Ezekiel 16 echoes this in verses 10-14. God gives us everything we need in order to be able to approach Him, and to be beautiful for Him.

First of all, the blood of Jesus Christ makes it possible to even go before Him, Back in the Old Testament only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and he could only go in once a year. (The high priest also had to prepare to go into the Holy of Holies. If he did not do exactly as the Law of God told him to, he’d be struck dead and dragged out by a rope.)

Since Jesus was, and is, the ultimate sacrifice, His blood provides the atonement and covering needed to cleanse us from sin. In addition, the veil separating the Holy of Holies was torn, no longer  separating us from God (Mark 15:38). This is the only way that we can enter the throne room of our King. It’s only because of Christ shedding His own blood for the remission of our sins (Hebrews 9:22) that we can even come close to approaching the God of the universe. And this is why we can now come boldly before the throne of grace.

Okay, so now that we can enter the throne room of our King, how should we come before Him? Yes, we can go before Him just as we are, but is that really how we should come before our King? Is that how we show Him the honor that He’s due?

He gives us all we need to be able to be in His presence, and to be beautiful before Him. Going back to Ezekiel 16:10-14, God not only makes the way for us to come boldly before Him, but He also gives us the very best so we can be our best for Him. He gives us His Word, His Holy Spirit, His joy, His peace, the many gifts and talents and abilities we each have. He makes our beauty perfect.

However, it’s our choice if we’re going to use what He’s given us, and it’s our choice how we’re going to use these things. Are we going to use what our King has given us to bring honor and glory to Him? Are we going to prepare ourselves and make ourselves as beautiful as we can to show Him our thanks for all He’s done for us?

Or, are we going to be like Israel and use all of God’s gifts for other purposes (Ezekiel 16:15-49)?

Whatever we choose to do won’t change the everlasting covenant our King made with us (Ezekiel 16:60-63). The covenant He made with His blood still stands. And He wants to bring everyone from a bloody mess all the way into His throne room. (2 Peter 3:9)

“Nothing But the Blood”

Matt Redman

Your blood speaks a better word
Than all the empty claims

 I've heard upon this earth
Speaks righteousness for me
And stands in my defense
Jesus it's Your blood
What can wash away our sins?
What can make us whole again?
Nothing but the blood
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
What can wash us pure as snow?
Welcomed as the friends of God
Nothing but Your blood
Nothing but Your blood King Jesus
Your cross testifies in grace
Tells of the Father's heart to make a way for us
Now boldly we approach
Not by earthly confidence
It's only  by Your blood

caught up

I am now caught up on reading blog posts from friends. I've been caught up with softball since April. I'm getting caught up on getting ready to leave for the Dominican Republic in about 2 weeks. I'm not caught up on reading books for this year. I'm not caught up on writing letters by any means this year.

I guess there may be some catching up to do!

Memorial Day: We Are Free

"The Star Spangled Banner"

Our National Anthem

We can sing this because of what the many men and women who have served in our military have done for us, and because of what many of them are still doing. We have a nation of our own because of them. We are free from many things because of them, yet we are free to take it all for granted and we are free to complain. We are free from many things thanks to these many men and women, yet we are free to forget the sacrifices they've made, and are making, to give us these freedoms.

"I Am Free"

by the Newsboys

We can sing this song because of what Jesus Christ did for us. We are free from slavery to sin because of Him, yet we are free to be enslaved. We are free from eternal death thanks to Him, yet we are free to choose our own destiny. We are free from many things because of Christ, yet we are free to forget the sacrifice He made to make us free.


On Memorial Day we remember and honor all those who have served, and are still serving, out country. although we may not always remember or think about them, someone is. A parent, child, husband, wife, grandchild, friend--someone will always remember.

Jesus Christ always remembers, too. He mourns for your loss more than you do. Matthew 10:29-31 says, "Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."


Each person, each soldier, is so valuable to Christ. We are each so valuable to Him that He died a brutal death for us. He gave the ultimate sacrifice so we could live. (John 3:16-17) He mourns when our soldiers are injured or die in battle. He loves them more than we ever could. He loves them so much that He doesn't want any of them to perish. (2 Peter 3:9) He wants them all to come to know Him as their Savior so they'll live with Him forever. He wants us all to know Him and be with Him forever.

If you're a family member or friend of someone who has been, or is, in the U.S. military, don't despair. Although America may have seemed to forget about your soldier and what he or she has done, Christ hasn't forgotten and He never will.


If you are a veteran or current soldier, don't despair. America may have seemed to forget about you and what you've done, but Jesus Christ hasn't and He never will.

Jesus Christ won't ever forget about the sacrifices our soldiers have made, and are making, for us--because He made the ultimate sacrifice for them.

To all those who have ever served in our military, who are serving, and who will serve: THANK YOU! It's something I could never do unless called by God. Thank you for every sacrifice you have made, are making, and will make, for me. 

To Jesus Christ: Thank You for Your Sacrifice in my place. Thank You for truly making me free.

Church in the Dirt league game #2

We got skunked! 10-0 or something like that. We didn't even get to play the whole game. Oh, well.

League: 1-1
Overall: 3-3

I had 2 nice singles, and a pop-out. My league batting average is now: .500.

It must have been my night to run, because that's all I felt like I was doing in the game (played left-center), and then after I ran around with my 3 year old 2nd cousin at his sister's soccer game. :)

M.C.E. Church in the Dirt (league game 1)

For those who don't know, I play on my church's Co-Ed slowpitch softball team, M.C.E. Church in the Dirt. This is my third year, and I fall more in love with it each year. If you'd like to know more about our team, the Embassy Express (Softball Edition), the May/June edition of our church newspaper, should tell you much of what you'd like to know. And, I love our team! We have a blast!

Anyway...

New Life Tournament back in April:
2-2, we came in 3rd out of 7

League game 1:
won 11-6, now 1-0 in league play
Colleen made a great catch in right field. I caught, and made an out. I was up to bat 3 times: struck out, triple on errors (otherwise would have been a single), popped out. So, I guess my batting average in league play is .333.

Overall record:
3-2

How could Jonah sleep?

Jonah 1:1-5,
Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah  the son of Amittai saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me." But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. But the LORD sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.


How could Jonah sleep? Not only was there a huge storm, but he was also running from God. God is Peace, and how could Jonah sleep when running from Peace?

How many times do we sleep when in the midst of disobeying God? In the midst of not listening to Him? If we could do it, then why couldn't Jonah? It doesn't matter how small or how great the disobedience is or what it is--it's still disobedience. And how can we sleep? Beats me, but we've done it. At least I have.

Dear Jesus, wake us up, keep us alert!

Bread, Fish, and Oil: Jesus Christ is More Than Enough

Bread, Fish, and Oil: Jesus Christ is More Than Enough

by Rachael Ann Clanton, April 2012

I have heard and read the account of Jesus feeding more than five thousand people with just five loaves of bread and two fish a number of times (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-13). I’ve also heard and read the account of Jesus feeding more than four thousand people with seven loaves of bread and a few small fish (Matthew 15:32-39; Mark 8:1-9). Once back in 2008, when my youth pastor was preaching about the feeding of the five thousand, a specific part caught my attention, and it still does. One of the verses that exhibit this attention-getter is John 6:11. It says, “And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.”[1] Jesus provided a buffet of bread and fish for the people, including His disciples. They could all eat as much as they wanted. Considering there were at least 5,000 people, I’d say Jesus provided a lot of fish and bread. He actually provided more than enough, because there were twelve baskets of leftovers.

Why this stands out to me is because it reminds me of the account of the widow and the jar of oil in 2 Kings 4:1-7. A widow went to the prophet Elisha seeking help. The creditor was soon coming to take her two sons to be slaves as payment of her debt, because she had no money or other form of payment. Elisha asked the widow if she had anything in her house, and she told him she had a jar of oil. Elisha told her to borrow every available jar possible from all her neighbors and pour out her jar of oil into each of them. The widow obeyed and, “it came to pass, when the vessels were full, then she said to her son, ‘Bring me another vessel.’ And then he said to her, ‘There is not another vessel.’ So the oil ceased.” (verse 6). God provided enough oil to fill all the jars the widow could find.

 Each jar was full of oil, just like each person was filled with as much bread and fish as they wanted, but what if there were more jars? Would the oil have continued to flow? Or, what if the people wanted more bread and fish? Would there still be some left over?

My answer to these questions is yes. We’ll continue in 2 Kings chapter 4 to explore this further. In verses 8-37, God uses Elisha to raise a boy from the dead. The first portion of this account, verses 8-11, tells us that a certain woman talked with her husband and they decided to make a room in their house for the prophet Elisha. This way Elisha would have a place to stay when he was travelling nearby or through their town. Since Elisha was a prophet of God in the Old Testament, he was not only the word of God to the people, but he was also, in essence, God in the flesh to them. In a way, the family was not only making room for Elisha, but they were also making room for God. That room was even where the woman took her dead son and where God used Elisha to raise him from the dead. God filled that room through Elisha.[2]

This shows us that when we make room for God, He’ll fill the space. This fits with the feeding of the multitudes and the filling of the jars of oil. Which means, the more we give God to fill, the more space He’ll be able to fill—He’s still more than enough.

The last part of 2 Kings chapter 4 maintains this truth. Verses 38-44 describe how “the sons of the prophets” were in Gilgal with Elisha, and there was a shortage of food. Elisha tells them to make a pot of stew. One guy goes out and gathers some gourds from a wild vine, cuts them up, and puts them in the stew. What the guy didn’t know was that the gourds were not meant to be eaten, and while eating the stew, the “sons of the prophets” felt almost-suddenly ill, and said to Elisha, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” Elisha tells them to put some “meal”, or flour, into the stew and then to serve it to everyone. Not only did God “heal” the pot of stew, but He also provided food for over one hundred men from that one pot. And guess what. There were leftovers. Again, God provided more than enough.

There’s a bit more to the account of the healing and multiplying of the stew, though. God “healed” the stew before He had Elisha tell the sons of the prophets to feed the other 100 men. God did something similar in Exodus 15:22-25 when He turned undrinkable water into a thirst-quencher with a hint of sweetness. God “healed” the bitter water before Israel could keep drinking. And, yes, I believe there was more than enough of that sweet water than Israel could drink. [3]

God sure knows how to give and provide more than enough. However, before God filled and overflowed, the people had to do something. The disciples had to obey, distribute the food, and gather the leftovers. The widow and her son had to obey by obtaining vessels—they had to walk all over town to ask their neighbors if they could borrow jars, and then they had to transport them back to their house—and they had to pour out their small jar of oil. The family had to make a room for Elisha, either by building it or clearing out a space. The sons of the prophets had to obey by adding flour to the stew and pouring it into over a hundred bowls. Moses had to obey by placing part of a certain tree into the bitter water.

 Psalm 81:10 provides even more insight into all of this. It says, “I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” This requires an action from us—we have to do something.  We have to "open our mouths wide" in order for God to fill them. This makes sense, though. Feeding babies or young children is not easy when they don’t open their mouths. When their mouths are closed, the food ends up on their faces, their clothes, and the table instead of in their stomachs

How do we "open our mouths wide"?  What do we need to do?  Any action we take in being open to Christ, seeking Him, pursuing Him, and getting to know Him more can be seen as opening our mouths.  Things like reading the Word (the Bible), talking with Him (praying), seeking His will and not ours, memorizing Scripture, praising Him in all we do, etc.  There’s a difference between opening our mouths, and opening our mouths wide, too.  We can do the acts mentioned above and be opening our mouths.  But when we do them with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength—really digging in, going all out, pursuing Christ with passion, being transparent and totally honest with Him, being totally open to Him and His plans and timing—that's when we’re opening our mouths wide.

When we’re really hungry, we do more than just open our mouths. We usually open our mouths wide so we can fit more food into them. When we’re really hungry for Christ, we’ll do the same for Him. We can also choose what goes into our mouths. We can fill our mouths with junk food, healthy food, or a mixture of both. And some of those things don’t always make us full. What are we choosing to fill our lives with? We can "open our mouths" to education, the opposite sex, books, family, friends, church, TV, nature, etc., but none of that will fill us—only Christ can fill us up and make us full. Only Christ can fill our every need, not anyone or anything else. Only Christ can provide the bread and fish. Only Christ can provide the oil. Only Christ can heal the food and make the bitter waters sweet. Only Christ can fill the space we create for Him.

God tried telling Israel the same thing. In verses 8-10 of Psalm 81, Israel wouldn't turn back to God.  He wanted them to listen to Him and not follow, worship, or serve any other gods. He was trying to tell Israel that only He could fill them—only He could fill all their needs (material, physical, spiritual, emotional)—not the other gods. If Israel would have turned back to Him, God would not only have filled them, but He would have also filled them with the best there was—Himself, the Rock. Psalm 81:16 says, "He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; and with honey from the rock I would have fed you." 

God wants to fill us with the very best—Himself, His Holy Spirit—but we have to listen to Him and obey Him. We have to take action to let Him know we sincerely want Him to fill us.  God says that if we open our mouths, He will fill them. In other words, if we open our lives (eyes, ears, mind, heart, etc.) to Him, He will fill us. But, He will only fill what we give Him to fill—what we allow Him to fill. If we only give Christ a part of us, that’s the only part He’s going to fill.  It’s just like with the widow and the jars. The widow wasn’t given any more jars; therefore she didn’t have any more jars for God to fill with oil.

Yet although there weren’t any more vessels, the miracle didn’t have to stop there. Verse 6 of 2 Kings chapter 4 says the oil stayed (stood still) when there were no more vessels to fill. It doesn’t say there wasn’t any more oil or that there wouldn’t have been more oil; it says the oil ceased—it stopped flowing. If there would have been more jars, there would have been enough oil to fill those jars. And, again, look at the feeding of the five thousand in John chapter 6. Not only were the people filled, but there was also food left over. The people ate all they wanted, and there was more food than they could eat. If they would have wanted more, they could have eaten more. If there were more people, there would have still been more food. Jesus provided more than enough.

Nothing’s changed since then; Christ is still more than enough for us. He’s still willing to fill us with the oil of His Holy Sprit and the bread and fish of Him and His Word—after all, He is the bread of life (John 6:35). All we have to do is open our mouths, bring Him the jars, give Him every part of our lives. When we stop bringing Him vessels, He’ll stop pouring His oil into our lives. When we say we’re full, He’ll stop giving us His fish and bread. The more we want, the more He’ll pour and give—and there’ll still be more of Him than we can hold.

            We’re not done; there’s still more. Matthew 15:21-28 talks about how a Canaanite woman went to Jesus crying out for Him to help her demon-possessed daughter. Jesus didn’t answer her, and His disciples wanted Him to send her away. This woman didn’t give up. Jesus said to her, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table” (verses 24-27). Christ then told the woman that because of her faith, He’d give her what she desired of Him.

What does this have to do with Christ providing more than enough? Remember those leftovers? Crumbs can be leftovers, too, right? The Canaanite woman was satisfied with those leftover bread crumbs. She was thankful for whatever Jesus, the Master, gave her. And, check this out. People who were outsiders or not of a certain group were sometimes considered as dogs. In this case, the “dogs” were those who were not Jews—the Gentiles. Many of us are the “dogs”; we’re the outsiders, the Gentiles. “We Gentiles are nothing but a wild vine bringing nothing but bitterness to the pot. Yet don’t the nations—the outsiders, the dogs—get the crumbs, the leftovers, of Israel?”[4] Israel was, and is, God’s chosen people, but God allows us Gentiles to be grafted in and become a part of Israel because He doesn’t want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9). God has always sought to give Israel the best He has to give, and there’s always been more of Him left over.

This is shown even back in the book of Ruth. Ruth 2:1-3 says, There was a relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz. So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said unto her, “Go, my daughter.” Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. The rich owned the fields of grain while the poor would often go behind the reapers and gather whatever leftovers they could for food. Christ is the rich Master who owns the fields, and He’s the One who provides more than enough for us to gather.

Oh if we would be like that Canaanite woman and seek Christ’s best, yet be thankful and satisfied with whatever crumbs He gives us. If we would open our mouths wide in anticipation for the abundance of the bread of Christ and be satisfied with the crumbs from our Master’s table that make us full. If we would give Christ every vessel we have so He could pour out His Holy Spirit into our lives. If we would be willing to glean in the fields for whatever bits of Christ we can gather and hold onto.

He’d still be saying, “There’s more where that came from.”

And there sure is. Take another look at the accounts of God healing the bitter water and the pot of stew. God healed the bitter water before Israel was able to drink, and He healed the death in pot of stew before He multiplied it and sent it out to the 100 men. Christ can fill us up, but if there’s bitterness in the water and death in the pot, He’s not going to be able to use us and work through us as He’d like to. But when we allow Him to heal our bitter waters and the “death” in our pots[5], that’s when He’ll be able to multiply us and send us out. That’s when we’ll be able to share what’s in us with others—we’ll be able to pour out into other vessels the bread, fish, and oil that has made us full.

Sharing Christ with others shouldn’t be nerve-wracking, either, because when we open our mouths, Christ will also fill our mouths with the words He wants us to say. In Exodus 4:10-12, Then Moses said to the LORD, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say. Again, we are the ones that have to do something, take an action. We have to be willing to open our mouths in faith that God with fill them with His words. It doesn’t matter if we’re not good speakers, or if we don’t know what to say. All we have to do is open our mouths. And the wider we open our mouths, the more Christ will give us to say.

Jesus gave the multitudes as much bread and fish as they wanted. He filled as many jars as the widow and her son found for Him to fill. The Israelites drank deeply of that sweet water. Over one hundred men, plus the sons of the prophets, ate a satisfying meal of stew. Ruth gathered an abundance from the leftover grain. The Canaanite woman feasted on the crumbs from her Master’s table. And there continued to be more of Christ than each of them could ever want or need. He was more than enough for them.

And He’s more than enough for us.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

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[1] All Bible verses stated are from the New King James Version

[2] My comments on 2 Kings 4:8-37 are thanks to the Holy Spirit through Pastor Jeffrey L. Whittaker in “his” sermon entitled Making Room for God, God Making Room for Us from Sunday evening March 25, 2012, Michiana Christian Embassy

[3] Inspired by Healing and Feeding: From Moses to Christ, Pastor Jeffrey L. Whittaker, Sunday evening April 8, 2012, Michiana Christian Embassy

[4] Pastor Jeffrey L. Whittaker from Healing and Feeding: From Moses to Christ Sunday evening April 8, 2012, Michiana Christian Embassy

[5] Bitterness is fairly self-explanatory. “Death” here refers to whatever may cause harm in our lives or the lives of others. It refers to what causes spiritual “death” in our lives. It also refers to sin.

Never Dim: a song of the day

I'm in the midst of the long process of loading most of my cds on iTunes. (I got a new laptop back in December.) While doing so, I'm listening to the songs I've loaded while doing other things and this is one that sticks out today.

If you've never heard of this song, or even of the group The Waiting, it's okay. This song is from their 1997 self-titled album, and I haven't heard anything about them other than from this album, which I own.

Here are the lyrics:
Never Dim
I think I smell the sunset / Think I feel the close of day
Clean-shaven correspondents / Are all crowded at the gates
Smell the oil from their torches / Their voices growing more irate
Shepherds' staffs are crooked / Leading every crooked way
All the sheep lock their doors / Yeah, they're pulling down their shades
The faithful looking in their mirrors / The faithful growing old and gray


CHORUS:
But I look at You / You're eyes are clear and bright
See Your face / It's an amazing sight
Your glory, Lord / Is still a burning light
The light that all our faithless hands / Could never dim


Think I feel the sunset / Think I smell the death of day
People laughing at a funeral / People dancing at a wake
And all the seasons blend together / This bird's losing feathers every day


And everybody's tired, and scared /And begging unbelief
But You have yet to break a sweat / No, You're not afraid / You're not afraid


Think I smell the sunset / Think I feel the close of day
Shepherds' staffs are crooked / Leading every crooked way
People laughing at a funeral / People dancing at a wake


What struck me at first are the lines, "People laughing at a funeral / People dancing at a wake". One of my pastors, Pastor Jeff, mentioned last night while he was preaching how people don't dress up funerals (and others things) any more. There's a lack of respect and honor and consideration today, among other things. This prompted me to look at the lyrics.


I've heard this song a number of times, but I guess I hadn't really listened to it. I realized this while reading the lyrics. And this song talks about today--this is the world we're living in. No respect. No honor. Hate. Craziness. Chaos. Unbelief. Emptiness. Some leaders (some pastors included) leading others "every crooked way". (All the more reason to pray for our leaders!)


Sometimes we don't want to hear it, don't want to face it, don't want to live in the middle of it all. However, when we keep our focus on Christ, we see the Truth and know reality (John 8:32; 14:6). No matter what we do, try to do, or fail to do, we can't dim that Truth.The Shepherd won't ever lead us astray (John 10). Christ is the Light of the world (John 8:12; 12:46), and nothing we could ever do will change that. And there's our Hope (Colossians 1:27).

My Crochet Story

A friend posted about her adventures in  learning to crochet, and so I told her about my crochet story. I thought I'd share this random story with others who may choose to read it.

My crochet story:
Around 1994, my Grandma Graham taught me how to crochet on my birthday. Then my Aunt Helen bought me a bunch of yarn for Christmas that year. I only knew how to do a basic stitch, and I'm left-handed so I had to figure that out. Thank God I generally learn many things pretty quickly. So, I began making a blanket. Last winter I finally finished the blanket. IT took me over 15 years to crochet that thing. There were two main reasons it took so long. One, I didn't always have a lot of time to work on it. Two, I didn't have room to leave it out so I'd remember to work on it. That blanket even made it into a stage production during my senior year of high school. We performed the musical "The Music Man" and I was Mrs. Paroo. I actually crocheted on set in some of the scenes. Talk about multi-tasking!

God Provides What We NEED

In my previous post I mentioned Matthew 6:25-33. When we place God and His Kingdom first, He adds "all these things", which are food, drink, and clothes.

These are types of things we need. In verses 31-33 Christ basically says, "Look. Don't worry about food, drinks, and clothes. I know you need these things. Stick with Me, keep your focus on Me, and I'll take care of you." 

Then there's Philippians 4:19: "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

Both passages are so very true.

However, what are our needs? Are they simply food, drink, clothing, and shelter? A decent vehicle? A new washing machine? Money to pay medical bills? Someone to take care of the kids while you're working? A slug? A cicada?

Yes. I said a slug and a cicada. Back in the fall of 2005, during my last year of college, one evening I thought I needed a phone call or e-mail from a friend or something. It was a stressful time of the semester, and I needed something. I took a break from homework and studying to take a short walk around campus. God showed me a slug on the sidewalk. I smiled and picked it up. I like those slimy critters, and that's exactly what I needed. My King knew that. He knew I needed a slug. I was amazed. I didn't know I needed a slug, but Christ did. Before entering the dorm, God showed me a cicada on the ground in front of the door. Cicadas are one of my favorite insects, and my King knows that. I picked up that cicada with an even bigger smile on my face. I was amazed. I needed a slug, and Christ gave one to me. And He gave me a cicada as a gift. He gave me what I needed and more.

I was asking Christ for something I thought I needed, and He gave me something I needed. How many times do we ask Him for what we think we need? Matthew 6:8 says, "...for your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him." In order for us to ask God for what we need, we have to know what we need, right? Well, I guess not. Because even before we know what to ask Him, He knows our needs and what He's going to do about them.

What if what we really need is a far cry from what we think we need? What if what we really need is to simply spend more time with Christ? What if what we really need is to continue trusting Him? What if what we really need is to read more of His Word? Are we willing to allow Christ to give us what we need? Or are we going to overlook it and keep asking for what we think we need? Don't get me wrong, it's okay to ask. Christ wants us to ask (Matthew 7:7-8). But, while we're asking for what we think we need, are we missing God's provision for what we really need?

If I would have been caught up in being stressed out and hoping for something, I wouldn't have noticed the slug on the sidewalk--God's provision for my need. And, if I hadn't noticed the slug, would God have still given me the cicada? I don't know. The slug was a provision, the cicada was a gift.

I'll leave you with this:

Ephesians 3:20-21, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

God will provide what we need. And sometimes He'll amaze us even more when He chooses to give us a gift in addition to the provision.

When Making A Change

Change is inevitable, and many times difficult. Sometimes change sneaks up on us. Sometimes we're the ones wanting to make the change or changes. I've found that in whatever way change may come, it's always easier to accept with Christ's help. I've also found that when making a change, it works best when Christ is at the center and in the lead--not just of that particular change, but of my entire life. When making a change, it helps greatly if I don't rush it or try to make it happen on my own time. I do my best to be patient. I've found that allowing Christ to help make the change in His time and doing it His way is the best choice. Yeah, I know, that's not easy, either.

Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (NKJV) What are "all these things"? Anything I need (see verses 25-32). And sometimes even more. As long as I keep my focus on Christ, continue seeking Him (through talking with Him, reading His Word), and continue doing things His way, then the changes that need to made will be made--in His time. Everything will fall into place--not as I plan, but as Christ has planned.

And that's always better than what I've planned.