Musings From A Recovering Child of the Bible Belt

Growing up just slightly to the west of the Bible Belt’s proverbial buckle I entered adulthood with a strong knowledge of the Word of God. That’s the bright side.  The other side of that shiny buckle is that I grew up with a lot of ideas that were touted as “Christian” that were really just cultural.  The culture was so entwined with Christianity that it was very difficult to see them each for what they were.

 One funny example is what were known as “The Blue Laws”.  These laws prohibited certain commercial activities on Sundays.  Car sales are still prohibited!  All of this, thanks to the Puritan heritage that still influences our culture.  Never mind that there is nothing in the New Testament stating that we are bound to the Old Testament laws of the Sabbath or that these laws, when first established in the colony of Connecticut, allowed for the militia to force people to attend church and forbade everything from working to wearing lace.  

As a young adult I moved with my husband to New York City.  I was somewhat amused at the fear exhibited toward Southern Christians.  I knew they had little to be afraid of, but maybe the militia thing was still haunting them.  For the first time in my life I started to see the difference between culture and Christianity.  I happily discovered that I could wear jeans or shorts to church without being looked at like a heathen!  It was not because these people were disrespectful of being in church or because they simply weren’t “raised right”.  It was just a practical matter.  We all walked a long way (by suburban standards) to get to church.  We dressed for the weather and for wherever we were going after church, which was usually Central Park.

I later moved to Ohio and then to North Carolina.  I’ve ben in a lot of different kinds of churches.  I’ve noticed that churches have their cultural expressions as well.  I’ve learned to appreciate the differences.  The different churches addressed in Revelations had different strengths and weaknesses.  Jesus had something to say to each of them on both counts.  I’ve been to churches in several countries other than the United States.  Those experiences are eye opening as well.  

Lately my eyes have been opened further.  There is a purity in our personal relationship with Jesus that comes when we recognize that we really are not of this world or the cultures we live in and neither is Jesus.  The Lord has taken me aside lately and helped me to examine my heart, beliefs, assumptions and mind sets once again.  He wants us to have a Kingdom of God mindset first, rather than an earthly regional or even denominational (i.e. Texan, Baptist, Eastern, Northern, American, Episcopalian, non-denominational etc.) mindset.  We are all shaped by our culture and he placed us where we are and has given us certain experiences to teach us certain things, but ultimately, our identity has to be in Him and as Citizens of His Kingdom, and although it is molded it cannot be grounded in our culture, Christian or otherwise.  When we are not Christ centered, we tend toward pride and egocentrism or on the other end of the spectrum globalism.

So, if you dare, ask the Lord to show you the things that you may have accepted as “The Gospel Truth” that are really only cultural at best and unscriptural at worst.  It’s a needed exercise at some point and it makes us much more usable by God to those of all cultures and nationalities.

 

^{Luke 17:21}Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Living The Call Internet Broadcast

Several months ago I got an e-mail from someone I didn’t know. I read it and sent it to my friend/PR Rep Robin with a note saying that I was wanted for an interview. Robin called me on the phone a few days later.

“Kelly,” she said in her matter of fact way, “They don’t want to interview you. They want you to host a show!”

“Oh, no. Huh-uh” I stammered.

Robin just laughed at me and said, “I knew you’d say that. You’ll do it.”

Well, Robin was right. Here I am today launching my new show Living The Call. This is part of the call God has given me. Being in the public is not at all my idea of how I would choose to live, but I learned a long time ago that it’s not about me. So I am stepping through the door that God has opened and will do whatever I can to bring stories of God’s faithfulness to many.

Mickey Robinson is my guest today on Living The Call and his story of God’s faithfulness is truly amazing. Mickey died in 1968. You don’t want to miss the rest of this story! Tune in at 1:00 p.m. EST to World Talk Radio. Here is the link:
http://www.modavox.com/worldtalkradio/vshow.aspx?sid=1613

Living the call on our lives is always a challenge but never boring!

The Secret To A Joyful Life

Passage John 15:9-11:
9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!

And there it is! The “secret” to a joyful life is no secret at all. The bottom line with God is always love. Knowing we are loved by God and living in that place of love fills us with life and joy!

We wander around so often wondering why we can’t find joy but Jesus is so plain about it all. He even tells us how to remain in love so that we might remain in joy. It is through obedience.

I think that part rubs us the wrong way. We don’t like to obey. Our flesh is not into humility and submission. We’d rather think that we have more to do with our own joy. We’d like to think that it is our choice and we create it. Those things are only true within our submission to God first.

We sometimes make choices without really consulting the One who knows and loves us best and think we are choosing for our own happiness, but eventually we find that living for our own happiness does not lead to true joy. We humans are curious creatures. We often fight hardest against the things that will bring us what we desire most. Sometimes it is so uncomfortable to abide and obey. It is just counterintuitive that out of obedience true joy springs and overflows.

I know that Jesus has more joy than most. The scripture speaks of Him in the psalms as having more joy than His brothers, yet we know that He experiences sorrow and anger and grief as well. It leads me to believe that joy is not so much an emotion as we often think of it, but rather a state of being and that, that state is maintainable and can remain constant even in the midst of very diverse circumstances and emotions.

A Time To Mourn

Thw Bible says that there are seasons for mourning. September 11 marks the most significant time of national mourning since my birth. It was so sudden and jarring, and for my family, very close to home. There are times, and this was one of them, that comfort cannot be found. There were no words to make us feel better, we simply had to mourn.

We had to feel the shock, and pain and vulnerability. We had to cry. We had to get angry at injustice. We had to hold onto each other and be held by God. I remember that part so well; holding on. In times like those, everything that we know is sort of up in the air, there is nothing we can do and our only recourse is to be. We just have to be in pain and be together and as we cry out to God we find that He is not expecting anything more of us and is perfectly willing to just be with us too.

When we can just be with Him, something changes. The circumstances don’t, but somehow, eventually, the edges are softened, our hearts are calmed and at some point we start to hear that still, small, voice once again and we gain strength for the next moment. Mourning is a slow and tedious process but if we give in to the process, we find that the process works. It is the vehicle we have been given to bring us from shock and despair to celebrating life again.

Today we remember what happened and the people we lost but we are not mourning in the same way. Other times of mourning will come. They always do. In the mean time, we need to enjoy the seasons we are in and always spend time just being with God so that we know instictively where to go when we are blinded by pain.

Psalm 56:8:

8 You keep track of all my sorrows.[a]
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each one in your book.

Keep Your Chin Up!

The God of all things and all people is not the least bit shocked when we, personally or collectively, experience disturbing times and events. He is still on the throne when our heads are spinning and our hearts are broken. He knows that we are merely flesh even while we are reeling from the circumstances that cause us to recognize that fact ourselves. Jesus was painfully aware of how difficult it is to live as a human and how we would feel when the world around us is behaving like, well, the world. And he told his friends that things would get worse before they got better. Then He told them to keep their chins up.

Luke 21:28 Now when these things begin to occur, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption (deliverance) is drawing near.

God is not trapped by the time and space we live in. He wants us to know that the things on Earth are only a shadow of things that are real. He knows, and so does the enemy, that if we really grasp that reality we might be shaken but we will never be moved from the place of strength, joy and hope that we have in Christ. An eternal perespective is one of the keys to overcoming especially in the days we are now in.

2 Corinthians 4:18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

This is why we close our eyes during prayer. I always say that I can see better with my eyes closed! So what is it that He wants us to see and fix our gaze on? It is Jesus! He wants us to see Him and his beauty. Whe we see Him, nothing else matters at all!

Acts 7:55
But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand.

That’s what we have to do; stay full of the Holy Spirit and gaze staedily into heaven until we can see clearly. When get a glimpse of the things of heaven we hunger and thirst for God, nothing else is even remotely as important. Our perspective is totally altered by the beauty of His presence.

Psalm 63 1 O God, you are my God;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in your sanctuary
and gazed upon your power and glory.
3 Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
how I praise you!
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
5 You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
I will praise you with songs of joy.

6 I lie awake thinking of you,
meditating on you through the night.
7 Because you are my helper,
I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you;
your strong right hand holds me securely.

Encouragement in Perplexing Times

2 Corinthians 4:8-10 8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

The circumstances that we are facing right now that seem to press relentlessly and the stuff from tragedy to annoyance that pushes until we are knocked to our knees are the very things the Lord allows to bring death to our flesh and life to our souls and to souls around us. Sometimes I think God gives us little reprieves, but not for long.

Luke 3:16
John answered them all by saying, I baptize you with water; but He Who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of Whose sandals I am not fit to unfasten. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

Baptism with fire is a reminder that we have been accepted by God (a very good thing) to be living sacrifices (a not so fun thing) unto Him. When we first realize that the Lord accepts our lives as holy sacrifices it is an overwhelmingly humbling honor. Soon though, our flesh catches on to the whole thing and is crying out for mercy and pleading its case to be allowed to live. We would make all kinds of exceptions and excuses but The Holy Spirit is ruthless when it comes to our flesh and sin. We would try to talk our way out of crucifying the flesh in just about any way we could, but Holy Spirit is, well, holy. And His mercy toward us is so powerful that He won’t have mercy on our sin. He is single minded in His efforts to bring us freedom and present us as a spotless bride to Jesus.

The methods He uses are not always easily understood by our human minds and emotions. The places He allows us to tread and even leads us to are not always what we had in mind when we signed up for a journey to the promised land. In those times it is most important not to become offended at God and angry with His ways. He knows where we are going and what it will take to get there. More importantly, He knows the people we will cross on the way and has directed our path as much for them as for us.

2 Corinthians 4:11-12
11For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. 12So then death worketh in us, but life in you (those around us).

Integration of Revelation

This has been a weekend of extremes and opposites. I have gone from the deepest trenches to the highest heights and I am feeling conflicting emotions and thinking conflicting thoughts.

It started on Friday morning with a Skype call from Ukraine. I was able to speak to one of my dear friends for the first time in nine years with the help of another Ukranian friend acting as the interpreter. My friend Natasha said her heart was beating so hard she thought it would come out of her chest! The whole time was just saturated with Holy Spirit. By the time we prayed at the end of the hour, the presence of God was so strong that all I could think about was how awesome it must be in Heaven. I remembered why I never wanted to leave Ukraine.

Friday and Saturday night were spent at a conference. The Lord felt so close and our minds were filled with truth. Somehow, in between all that there was a lot of “stuff” happening. Things to deal with and figure out. Things that were honestly way beyond our ability and human wisdom to tackle.

By Sunday, we were just physically wiped out, emotionally drained and like I said before, a little confused. I decided it was best not to even give my feelings a chance to speak. This morning as we prayed, I had a clearer understanding of what had happened, why we felt the way we did and what God was after in all of this.

When I was a kid, older Christians would describe part of my weekend as “mountain top experience”. Then they would sort of pat us on our heads and tell us that we have to come down. The coming down is always the hard part. The confusion of that whole process was answered by what God revealed to me today. He showed me that although we have to “come down” and live our every day lives, He doesn’t want us to leave everything He imparted to us on the mountain behind.

The words He had me pray today were, “Give us integration of revelation.” When He opens the Heavens and imparts to us things of the Spirit, it is not so we can leave and say. “I met with God. How cool.” He opens the Heavens and gives us revelation so that those things of Heaven change our spiritual DNA and become a part of who we are. As the the nature of God becomes more amore a part of who we are, then His Spirit has more influence in the Earth and on the people with whom we are in contact. Be encouraged to reach for the Heavens but don’t stop there; let God integrate what you find there into who you are and then impart it to others.

2 Corinthians 4:6-7

6For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Giving Out and Filling UP

Yesterday I left to run errands and stopped along the way to enjoy some “me time”.

Just as I was about to take the first sip of my latte, I was approached by a local reporter and his cameraman.  They wanted a few comments about the recent banking news.  I obliged.  Then I called my friend to catch up and just as I was leaving to go do my errand a guy backed into me in the parking lot while I was just sitting there!  Just then the phone rang.  A bit rattled, I skipped that call and called my husband.

Feeling better, I called my friend whose call I had skipped.  It turns out he needed prayer for his wife.  But before we got to pray another call came in.  It was a teenager I know.  She was crying and on her way to the hospital, so I prayed for her.  Then it was back to my other friend to finally pray with him.

My prayers felt more powerful than they have in months!  I couldn’t help but think of how Holy Spirit is more than happy to breathe on us when we step out of ourselves and take part in the lives of others.  Even though unusual things were happening around me, some of them interesting and some upsetting, everything quickly faded when I focused on what God was putting before me.

“Me time” is really important but sometimes, the only way to get filled up and re-charged is to give it all away.
So, if you are like me and can sometimes get into a “funk” make the best of every opportunity to pour yourself and God’s love and power into the lives of others. It’s the best pick- me-up around!

Luke 6:38
Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Not of This World

1 Timothy3 Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them. 

Just in case your head is so far into the sand that you haven’t come up for air in a while or you have somehow managed to remain in so kind of proverbial bubble, the world has not  been operating in a “business as usual” mode for quite some time.  I don’t write about it often because I hate to point out the obvious and my true desire is to focus people on Jesus.

Today, though, it feels like the obvious is screaming to be noticed amidst the circus of distractions.  Even the worldliest take notice when over a half dozen celebrities die in one week.  Of course we’ve lost count of the men, women, and children who have died in recent wars and new wars seem to threaten daily.  But that’s not all.  There is just a sense of urgency in the Heavens, so to speak.

Many of us have sensed these things coming and know this is just the beginning.  I think that it is time to call the Body of Christ to focus on our purpose in the Earth.  We are not citizens of this Earth.  We are residents of the Kingdom of God and are only here to demonstrate His love and power.  Things are going to get tougher in some ways, but that will only give us greater opportunity to shine the light of Christ.

If we are going to shine His light, however, we must make it a priority to draw close to God, walk in holiness and humility and be single-minded.  We cannot indulge our flesh and walk in the power of God. We are going to need His power in the days ahead both for ourselves and for those around us.  There is no more time to dabble in the things of God.  The time is now to : 

8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

James 4:8-10:

Mac is Back!

Hi everyone!  I’ve been away so long that I feel like I need to introduce myself or something!!

There has been so much going on and right in the middle of it my computer went on the blitz!  It was very disturbing.  I am certain that if I had to give up my Mac or my wheelchair, the chair would just have to go.  I called Mac support and we went through this whole thing and the tech guy gave me dreadful news.  He thought it could be water damage.  And that’s not covered!  Was that possible?  Could be, I thought, since I use my laptop as a dinner tray.  I was crushed!  So I made an appointment with the Genius Bar at the Apple store.  Those are the computer geeks for Apple who actually diagnose and fix their computers.

I got out a couple of days later in a torrential downpour from a tropical depression to take Mac in for the appointment.  We got there early only because I had the time wrong.  We finally got called in for our appointment.  The “genius” at the bar was not as stereotypically geeky as I had imagined, but she seemed smart enough nonetheless.  I told her my water fears.  She told me that would cost around $850.00.  I tried not to panic and shot up a quick prayer for Mac.

The “genius” did a quick examination of Mac and after several Hmmmm’s told me that Mac’s symptoms did not match what she typically saw with water damage.  Good news!  She said if I left Mac there, it would take about 12 days to get to him and then they would call me and tell me the diagnoses.  She wanted to know if I could go without a computer that long.  I thought about it.  Twelve days is a long time, but I had to have an operating computer so I turned Mac over to her.

Then I remembered I had my Ipod Touch in my purse!  I asked her if she could set up my e-mail and facebook on the I-Pod so that at least I had that while Mac was away.  She did and I left feeling very connected (finally) and very 21st century.

Then a miracle happened!  Two hours later I got the news that Mac had no water damage and that everything had ben repaired and I could come get him (free of charge!).  So Mac and I are back, working together again.  All is well.  :)

The Answer to the Prayer was Prayer

Today I am really thankful to be home with nothing pressing to do at the moment except to press into God and the moment.  I love to go and do but in my heart of hearts I am more of a “be-er” than a “do-er” and there is no place I’d rather be than in the presence of the Lord.  Besides, it is in these quiet moments that I finally get to engage in my other passion; writing.

I love having this time to reflect and share what God has been doing.  Most of you know that my healing is coming at a more rapid pace now.  Once I got to the gym and saw how much healing had taken place since the last time I’d worked out, I really almost couldn’t believe it myself!  I knew this was the time to focus on my healing like never before because it was no longer something to pray would manifest.  It was already happening in a visible way and time to pray into what we were seeing.

I know from experience how effective healing prayer is, especially in a situation like mine so I tried to gather some people to “soak” me in prayer.  It just was not coming together, but I kept trying and kept going to the gym and watching the healing progress.

On Tuesday I went to the gym and was blown away again at the rapid progress.  Tuesday night I did an interview for the In My Pajamas Show (you can listen to that interview at www.Blogtalkradio.com/inmypajamasshow) and shared what has happened and what is happening.  It’s always fun to give God glory for what He is doing!  He’s hard to keep up with, though, because He is always doing something new and it seems that the more we praise Him the more He gives us something to praise about!

I got home after the interview and got into bed when I got an unexpected phone call from a neighbor who I haven’t heard from in about a year.  She seemed really excited and was a little hard to follow but she mentioned that she was with Dennis Brown.  He runs the Healing Rooms in Charlotte and I am very familiar with him and I love the work he does, so I was starting to clue in.  Ten my neighbor asked if she could come pray for me.  I was thrilled!  This is exactly what I’d been needing and God had it all set up!  So I told her to come on over, thinking it was she and her husband.

Well, it was she an her husband and about eight other people plus Dennis!  Apparently, Dennis was teaching a class on healing prayer and praying for the sick and the entire class came and I became the object lesson.  How cool is that?  I had been asking for soaking prayer and there was a whole class meeting in my neighborhood just itching to lay hands on the sick and the Holy Spirit put me on their hearts at just the right time.  Of course God honored their prayers with His presence and I am certain we will get to see the results when I get back to the gym.

 This is happening so rapidly that I bought a little video recorder to take to the gym so I can start posting the results on YouTube. Stay tuned…

Matthew 4:24 (Whole Chapter) 
So the report of Him spread throughout all Syria, and they brought Him all who were sick, those afflicted with various diseases and torments, those under the power of demons, and epileptics, and paralyzed people, and He healed them.

News From the Gym

I have good news on the physical progress front.  I am making rapid gains with my once paralyzed arm.  The muscles have returned at different times, so some are stronger than others, but all are making progress.  I can lift up to 20 pounds with the tricep but only three to five with the bicep.  Although I use no weight at all on some of the deltoid exercises, I am still getting stronger.  I am able to raise my arm  enough to make it parallel with the floor.  Just several months ago I could not raise it at all.

I’ve also begun to use my torso muscles and my abdominals, even if just a bit.  Today was especially good because I was able to press my right foot into the trainer’s stomach! Nothing yet with the left leg, but again, this is still a huge improvement!

In a practical way, this translates into my being much stronger and more independent when I transfer to and from the wheelchair, my arm is not in pain, and I can simply do more with my left arm like grab my seat belt and give better hugs.  :)

God is good and I am so thankful for how far He has brought me.  On the other hand, the cry of my heart is still, “More Lord!”

Something To Praise About

Psalm 26:7
That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. 

 

For years we prayed for the paralysis to reverse and for my body to get strong enough so that I could exercise and gain more strength.  Many people urged physical therapy way before it would have been useful.  Somehow they thought if I just moved around at a place with therapists that the paralysis would go away.  There are a lot of reasons that wouldn’t work, but the simplest way to put it is that the myelin sheaths on my nerves had to regenerate.  I had to clear my body of the toxins and give it time to heal.  Most doctors would say that it would never happen anyway. 

I’ve been healing all along, it’s just not always been very visible.  First, I got the use of my bladder, then I regained feeling, then slowly, excruciatingly slowly, the paralysis started to reverse.  I was able to breathe better, then sneeze and eventually cough a little.  I regained the ability to sweat, not something many knew I had lost.  My left arm started to get some return. My crippled hand started to open.  I slowly got more and more strength from my neck to my hips.

I had home therapy twice. It was really productive, so much so that I would be sent back to a rehab hospital.  The first time the rehab hospital didn’t accept me and the second time I decided to learn to drive so that I could get to therapy.  The next time I was much stronger and made progress but had to stop to focus on kids and my book.  

Last week I decided it was time to get stronger.  I didn’t want to be back in the hospital for many reasons.  I wasn’t sure where to start so I “Googled” wheel chair body building and found an amazing young man’s website dedicated to helping everyone, even people in wheel chairs, get as strong as possible.  I was excited.  This is what I wanted to do!

The only problem would be to find a place that was accessible with a wheelchair and to find a trainer who could work with me.  Two day later I told a friend my plans and she told me about a gym that was owned by a man who happened to be paralyzed.  I was ecstatic!

I called the gym the next day and spoke with the owner.  He told me to come for a visit that day.  So I did.  John, the owner, wheeled around with me for a couple of hours figuring out how to modify a program for me!  It was so incredible to have someone who both understood the differences I presented with my handicaps and was a former runner up in the Mr. Universe competition and clearly knows what it takes to build strength.

Three days later I went back to the gym for my first work out.  I was really excited but had no idea the surprise I was about to get.  My shoulder muscles (deltoids) are still so weak that I cannot raise my arm up or out, so it appears that my whole arm is that weak, but once I started working with it I found that several of the muscles are quite strong.  I was able to use 10 and 15 pounds on several of the exercises! On some exercises the weight of my arm was more than enough, but every muscle worked!

I was so thankful I almost broke down in tears several times yesterday!  It has been a long journey, and there is still a long way to go, but this, as the trainer said yesterday, is no less than a miracle!

Thank you, thank you Jesus for what you have done for me!

 

Modern Passover

I love this season of  Passover, Good Friday and Resurrection Day.  I am in more awe at the magnificent plan of God every year!  This year I am a little more in awe because today is not only Good Friday, the day the Passover Lamb  was sacrificed, but it is also the 30th anniversary of a very special and personal passover.

Thirty years ago today one of the largest tornadoes in recent history ripped through Wichita Falls, Texas destroying thousands of people’s homes and killing 42.  Our home was destroyed while my parents,grandmother, dog, brother and myself huddled in a closet.  The chimney fell into our living room.  If it had fallen just inches in a different direction we would have all been crushed.  None of us even had a scratch.  

It seems that every year I live I am increasingly aware that it was surely the Hand of God that protected us.  Just before the tornado hit, my mom handed a Bible to my brother and told him to read Psalm 91. Many people talk about the noise of that enormous storm, but honestly, the only thing I ever remember hearing was the sound of my mother’s prayers. I hadn’t thought about it until this year, but ironically, the tornado hit during Passover.  

I look to that event as those in the Old Testament looked at the altars they built to commerate the Great things God had done for them so that future generations would know of the faithfulness of God.  So I write about this event and post the photos not to re-live a tragedy, but to show that God was faithful to His Word.  Everyone was hurt that day;  some more than others.  I mourn with those who lost more than just their homes.  Sometimes there is a bit of survivors guilt that makes it hard, but I must give God the glory for what He did that day for my family.

Sometimes the healing takes a long time.  The sting may never go away completely, but our God is a God of redemption and in the end, He makes all things beautiful.  For my family, the redemption came two years ago with the birth of my brothers son Ethan on April 10, 2007.  God has given us something to rejoice over on a day that is referred to as Terrible Tuesday to all who knew of it.  Thank you Jesus, Our Redeemer for keeping us alive to see your redemption in the next generation.

 

The photos from left to right:

1. The merged tornadoes on the ground

2. My street

3. My living room

4.  The four funnels just before they merged

Tempted By Fear

   I think one of the biggest temptations in the season we are in right now is fear.  I think too often we don’t even regard living in fear as sin.  It almost feels mean in our culture to think of fear as a temptation.  We tend to have a lot more mercy on someone who is being tempted by or in the grip of fear than someone, say tempted by lust, greed, or anger.  

I have a sense that we don’t as easily see the destructive power of fear as readily as we do some other sins.  What if we could see right away on our faithometer the effects of fear?  What if we could see the door opening and the enemy getting a foothold when we give in to worry?

For me, fear is a sign of two things; I’ve lost my focus and/or there is something in my life I need to surrender to the Lord.  Look at Moses as an example.  He had to have been terrified to go speak to Pharaoh, but he surrendered his life to God even to the point of death (Pharaoh could have easily accomplished that) and he kept his eye on the Lord.

Hebrews 11:27  
It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.

Our enemy is the master terrorist.  If he can get you in fear, and your eyes off the Lord then he can turn your faith to unbelief and he will have won.  The way to counter his attacks is to refuse the temptation, focus on who God is and what He has promised  and realize that no matter how bad things look, the enemy loses when we continue to put our trust in the Lord and love and obey Him.  The enemy simply cannot understand that kind of loyalty and he cannot overcome that kind of faith.

Hebrews 13:6 

So we can say with confidence,“The Lord is my helper,so I will have no fear.What can mere people do to me?” [ Ps 118:6.] 

 

Passage 2 Timothy 1:7:

⁷For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.