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Psalm 27:13
13[What, what would have become of me] had I not believed that I would see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living!
What would have happened indeed?! I know what would NOT have happened. I would not have had the peace and joy of the Lord through the many trials I have experienced. I would not have my son, Josiah and the multitude of testimonies that I now have.
What about you? What kind of blessings has the Lord poured out on you in this Earth? What are you still waiting and believing for?
One of the biggest lies the enemy has convinced Christians to buy into is that they have to wait until they get to Heaven to experience God’s goodness. If something is taking too long in human terms the lies start circulating in our heads. “Well, maybe God meant we’d see that miracle in heaven.” Then we become convinced of the lie and stop believing for what God has promised us here.
There are no miracles in Heaven. Heaven doesn’t need miracles because Jesus reigns there. This is where we need miracles; in the land of the living! How many miraculous stories have you heard about God providing food for people when there was none? Heidi Baker, a missonary in Africa, tells one such story. They had one pot of beans and over two hundred orphans to feed. Can you imagine her telling the hungry children, “Kids, don’t worry. You will be fed plenty in Heaven. Just be patient until then.”
That would be crazy! No, they believed God for a miracle and He showed His goodness right then! God wants to show you His goodness today. He wants you to have faith for that and more. He wants you to have faith for others, too. His heart is to pour out on the hurting and the lost and show Himself mighty through you as well as to you!
There is more goodness than we can imagine waiting to be poured out on us. He is the answer to every cry of our heart and everything that we need. When you believe it, you will see it in the land of the living!
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Deuteronomy 6:5
This was the first commandment, and according to Jesus it summed up all ten. That simplifies it, but it doesn’t make it any easier. Jesus preached a simple gospel that is most difficult to accept. He said leave it all behind and follow me. He said die to yourself and live for me. He said the world will hate you as it hates me. He said love your enemy, reach out to the outcasts, become of no reputation. It wasn’t a complicated messege, but it was hard to swallow.
That’s why we’re always trying to add to it or take away from it. We add rules here and there so we can feel like we’re doing rather than having to feel like we’re dying. We want to be noticed instead of being of no reputation. Our flesh resists the cross at all costs, but if we’ll just listen to His voice of love, we’ll count the cost and realize that the reward of knowing Him is more than worth the price we pay.
We have to continually examine our hearts. Are we really loving God with everything in us or are we flirting with the world on the side? Are we trying to impress “the right people” to get our way or on the flipside are we trying to shut people out in an attempt to protect our wounded hearts? Are we happy with our cliques or do we open our hearts to others? It’s really not so much about what we’re doing, but how we’re dying.
James minced no words when he said in chapter 4 4″You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” He stuck with Jesus’s method and made it simple, not easy. We can be a friend of the world, or a friend of God, but we can’t be both. We have to choose our enemy.
Loving God with all our heart, soul and mind means that those who love the world with all their hearts, souls and minds are going to hate us and persecute us. Jesus didn’t teach a course on How to Win Friends and Influence People. He said follow me. You’ll make enemies doing it. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. And He also said that if we choose Him, He would call us His friend. It doesn’t get any better than that.
And thou shalt love the Lord your God with all your heart…
1 Corinthians 12:27
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
Last week was an interesting week. We worshipped with parts of the Body in our area we usually don’t get to be with. Wednesday was Ash Wednesday. A day traditionally set aside to repent of our sins and sort of take spiritual inventory as the season of Lent (the 40 days before Easter) begins. We’ve been reading Exodus at home and I thought it would fit in perfectly with Passover. It all seemed like a great idea, until my youngest choked on the wine and announced to the other worshippers that “The grape juice is rotten!” My daughter and I started laughing. We couldn’t help it! No one else laughed, except the lady who had offered him the cup. Honestly, I think it made her day. Everyone else was probably slightly annoyed that now they would have to repent for being annoyed with us!
On Sunday we worshipped at a church that had guest psalmists. It appeared that this church was a little new to non-traditional forms of worship. They seemed genuinely delighted that the Lord responded so openly to their praise. It was refreshing to observe. I liked these people. They really loved being there with God. We were reacquainted with a few old friends and met some new ones as well. It was fun.
I want to carry in my heart the different aspects of God’s truth that various parts of the Body bring. Some churches are better at remembering the cross and some are really good at remembering each other. We have a church near us that really know how to bring in the lost and can celebrate baptisms like no one else! We need each part individually and corporately. Sometimes it is good to venture out of our comfort zones and embrace what God embraces in each of us.
We are still amazed and in awe of how God moved on behalf of the children at Blossom Garden Children’s Home in Montego Bay, Jamaica. His heart is so toward the children, and a part of that is in our hearts too, now. A day doesn’t go by without thinking of them. I am at peace knowing that they have diapers and formula and that more is on the way. In the photos you can see us with little Christopher, and with Mrs. Genus Brown, the director of the home. The other pictures are at Mega Mart where we bought the diapers and other things for the children.
We are still working to get everything set up for The Neighborhood, the non-profit we set up to connect individuals and corporations with orphanages like Blossom Garden. God has already started to open doors to reach the people who can help, and we have relationships with other orphanges that will benefit from future funds that come in. We will keep you posted on future developments.
