Does God speak?

When some people say “God told me to” and then embark on a new adventure, whether it’s leaving everything to move to a new location or breaking a relationship to pursue something new, they appear to be foolish. It seems foolish because when they get to where they’re going they are humbled and return to where they came. They use God as an excuse to do what they want.

There are four camps people fall into. 1. Those who say “The Lord told me so” without truly seeking Him; 2. Those who don’t seek the Lord; 3. Those who heartily seek the Lord; and 4. Those who don’t believe God speaks into the lives of His people, especially about mundane issues.

With all the false claims from people about the Lord speaking into their lives, seeds of doubt are sown into other believers. People don’t want to look foolish and they don’t want to give their faith a bad reputation. What’s sad about this is God does want that kind of involvement in our lives. He wants us to call on Him with the big and small matters. He wants to guide us and lead us and encourage us and discipline us when needed.

As David danced before the Lord as the Ark of the Covenant was returned to its place in the tabernacle, so ought we be. When David was ridiculed by his wife for what she saw as inappropriate behavior, David replied with, “And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight”(2 Samuel 6:22).

While God does not call us to be fools, He does tell us that the world will call us fools if we live for Him. Even so, He directs us to live by faith and not by sight. God wants to move in our lives and have us be obedient to things he asks us. Living by faith is not foolish.

And remember, when God is falsely credited for things you didn’t involve Him with, it’s His name that gets slandered. By the grace of God, live your life overflowing with the love of Jesus. But whether you do or whether you don’t, be honest. God will not be mocked.

Sovereign

It seems to me that when Christians talk about God’s sovereignty it is often in reference to the church and church-like activities. That is why obstacles are obliterated so rallies can be held in major stadiums. That is why missionaries continue to receive financial support when the individuals giving are experiencing a recession, trying to do more with less. That is why His church still stands.

But what about all the other areas of life? Do you believe that God is sovereign over your workplace, over your community, over your country?

I was thinking about this the other day because if people truly lived like they believed God is sovereign in and over all things, lives would be changed. When God is sovereign and all things rest in his hands, then all things are his. Businesses are His. Communities are His. Governments are His. The church is God’s very special institution, but all things are His.

Daniel’s prayer and understanding of God’s sovereignty has always spoken to me, it is so beautifully put:

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him. I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of You, for You have made known to us the king’s demand.”

I started thinking about this after hearing a challenge to reach lost people in the workplace during several recent sermons. Doing God’s will isn’t just about serving on a committee at church or volunteering during an outreach event. His is everything and we are His stewards. When it comes to bearing His name, the ministry in the workplace, the community, the government, etc., is just as important as the ministry in the church – they all belong to God. I think it’s time to remember that.

I love words

I love words. I love the expression and meaning of them, and I love to read and learn from the styles of different authors. I am a word geek.

I’ve been watching The Truth Project with a Bible study group. This week’s session was on the “American Experiment” and it dealt with the biblical truths and principals our founding fathers firmly believed were the only foundation a government of a free people could be run by. During this video, Noah Webster is briefly spoken of.

I believe Noah Webster and I could have been kindred spirits if we lived during the same age (there’s an unspoken bond between word lovers). Most people know that Noah Webster wrote America’s first dictionary. Any man who has that kind of vocabulary and understanding of the English language and the proper expression of it has my deepest respect. But what really touched me was the reason he felt called to do it.

This is how it’s presented in The Truth Project: Noah Webster believed the fact that God spoke the world into existence is profound. If God chose to speak, then words are important and their meaning is important.

Webster’s dictionary was published in 1828. This dictionary is special because it defines (or strives to define) words in such a way that agrees with God. After all, if a definition of a word does not agree with God’s definition of the word, then it’s a bad definition and should be thrown out. For example, this is what the 1828 dictionary defines truth as:

Truth, n. 1. Conformity to fact or reality; exact accordance with that which is, or has been, or shall be. The truth of history constitutes its whole value. We rely on the truth of the scriptural prophecies. My mouth shall speak truth. Prov 8. Sancitfy them through thy truth; thy word is truth. John 17.

Can you imagine having this dictionary in schools, libraries, homes and offices to teach people the meaning of words? It would be radical.

For all you fellow word lovers, Noah Webster’s 1828 dictionary can be searched online here. Eat your heart out!

Putting out fires

Some days go  better than others. Monday was one of those “other” days for me. People were bailing on their responsibilities, leaving me to deal with the mess, and I was extremely frustrated.

When working for a manufacturing company, tradeshows are a huge part of life. I am the tradeshow coordinator, whether I like it or not, so I get to manage all the details and make sure things happen in the right place at the right time. I’ve got it down fairly well and things don’t go wrong as often as they used to. However, there is one unknown factor that I can always count on causing issues. People.

In the grand scheme of things, I realize that one bad day isn’t going to keep me down forever, but in those hours of constant chaos and putting out fires, it feels like the trouble will never end. Here’s the situation. My company is exhibiting at a local tradeshow this week and there was a schedule in place to cover all our needs. That schedule was tossed aside when people higher up on the corporate food chain decided they were not able to live up to their end of the deal. I spent the entire day running around trying to find people to help me fill in those holes.

I needed help and help wasn’t easy to find. Just when I was ready to tell people what I really thought, however blunt and unprofessional it was, I got help from an unexpected source and almost instantly the wind was put back in my sales. I breathed a sigh of relief and thanked the Lord for coming through for me.

Then I stopped. In the midst of all that frustration I never paused long enough to seek out the Lord. I didn’t pray for guidance, I didn’t pray for patience and I didn’t ask Him for help. Even though I was upset and frustrated, I tried to handle it on my own.

I am so thankful that God’s faithfulness to us doesn’t depend on our performance. In that moment when help arrived, I knew in my heart that the Lord heard the unspoken plea in my heart and came to my rescue, because He loves me. It reminds me of 2 Timothy 2:11-13:

“This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”

Dear God, Help me to be faithful in the good times and bad!

Learning to listen

I struggled over whether or not to post this but much of what I say is generalized so I hope you read this with a grain of salt and know that my intent is not to be down on anyone but to share what the Lord has used to convict me…

Begin Post:

It seems like the Lord is trying to teach me a lesson about listening. A few things keep playing over and over in my mind and I’m beginning to think that this might be an area in which the Lord would like to do some stretching…

First, I’ve been getting really frustrated by people who don’t give you a chance to finish a statement before going on about what they think and why. It starts with a simple, every day conversation, or maybe an issue that needs to be addressed, and before you know it you feel like you have to go back and restate what you’ve said because it’s been completely twisted. Some people have a way of talking around an issue so their opinion gets justified and yours gets compromised. So frustrating!

Second, I was listening to Family Life Network and the program being aired was about women in violent relationships and why they often don’t say anything about the abuse to other people. Do you know what the #1 reason for women not talking about their problems is? Other people don’t listen. Oh, they’ll hear it and they’ll probably have a lot to say about it, but few people will zip their lips and listen with a compassionate heart.

Third, I was talking to my mom about whether or not people actually keep things in confidence if they’re part of a sensitive conversation. I was more or less just curious because it seems like talking is a favorite pastime for most people. I was encouraged after sharing about certain men and women we know that can take what’s said in confidence and keep it in confidence.

Fourth, it seems like people are so busy telling other people their opinions – in conversation, in writing, in formal and informal ways – that the power in having a voice becomes greater than that’s person self-control and discernment. Not all things need to be said. I bet that if people were to listen back to all the things they’ve said and read through all the blogs/posts/emails they’ve written, they would be a little surprised about what all those things say about them. I've become more conscious of what I say and how and will continue to bear that in mind as I write.

The Bible has a lot to say about taming the tongue and being quick to listen but slow to speak. A reflective study of the book of James is a good check for Christians, and one I must admit I need to do again. It is really easy to get caught up in all the conversations surrounding you that you soon leave behind a lot of the character God has been developing in you. And I’m guilty of it.

So, I’m taking it as a personal challenge to do less 'empty' talking and more listening. Any other takers?

God's good design

I am thankful for the way God designs a marriage to work. The husband is the head of the home. The wife is his helpmate. Together they make up a team. I like being on the team.

Yesterday was a full day. Mark and I were off to church by 8:20 for worship practice. At 9:15 my sister and I taught Sunday School. The church service started at 10:30. We left church around 12:15. Once home, I did my work out, baked bread and Mark and I prepared and ate lunch together.

Feeling the urge to move around, I went for a walk while Mark rested up after a weekend of visiting with his best friend from out of town. On the walk, I began thinking about everything I wanted to get done at the house, especially since I’m hosting the Mother’s Day meal this year. So after the walk, I got to work cleaning our sunroom – vacuuming, wiping off dirt, rearranging. I took our big wooden swing outside so I could sand it down before we reapply the stain. Sanding done, at least the first round of it, I went to get Mark to help me take it back inside.

At that point I wasn’t feeling so strong and full of energy any more. And that’s when I needed my teammate.

After cleaning myself up, I began to empty the dishwasher only to discover that all the glasses in the top rack didn’t rinse properly. Not a big deal normally, but when I’m tired everything feels more overwhelming. I showed Mark a glass with soap residue and preceded to rinse out all our glasses before drying them and putting them away.

And Mark, I’m not sure if he sensed my frustration or was just being nice and helping out (he usually does), came and helped me put away the rest of the dishes. At that point in time, that’s exactly what I needed him to do. I needed him to help me out. I needed to be able to tag-team it to get things done so I could relax, knowing our home  was taken care of.

From that moment on I was so full of appreciation for my husband. I appreciated that he chose to help me instead of filling his time with something else. I appreciated that he chose to spend time with me instead of play a computer game that evening. Because that’s what it means to be a partner in marriage. It’s about doing life together and helping each other out. Even when help comes in the form of being a shoulder to lay my head on as we unwind at the end of the day. I need that shoulder.

So I thank God for His design and for my husband. And I’m thankful for the reminder of how well things work when we do it God’s way.