Hide and Seek with God

O Lord, You have examined my heart
and know everything about me. 
You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my every thought when far away.
-Psalm 139:1-2 (NLT)

So often we go about our days, behaving however the moment strikes us, not really worried about how our behavior may bless or grieve the heart of our Heavenly Father.  It is easy to slip into a mentality that God only knows about the things we show and share with Him.  But as the psalmists says, God knows our hearts, He knows our very thoughts.  Not just the ones we share with Him.   And the beauty of that is that He still loves us despite it all.
We play an interesting game of hide and seek with God, although in reality there is no hiding and we should be seeking Him.
How different would our days look if we remembered that every thought and action is seen by God?

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Have you ever looked into the mirror and wondered what God was thinking?  Or questioned whether you really looked like God intended you to look?  After all the Bible says we are created in the image of God.   I think the picture of the Evil Queen is a perfect example of how we sometimes look at ourselves and the world we live in.  She wanted to be the best...perfect in the sight of the world.  She wanted to know what would make her that way, give her that standing.  The truth is that there is never enough to make you perfect in the sight of the  world, it will always ask you to have more, do more, or be more... to please it.  
How often do we ask the world, "Am I perfect in your sight?" and if not what do I need to do to get that way.  In reality who we really need to ask is God..."Lord, am I perfect in YOUR sight?" and if not we need to be like David and say  "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." - Psa 139:23-24 NLT  The only reflection we should trust is the reflection that is seen through the eyes of Christ.  He will ask us to do more, be more for His Kingdom.  He wants perfection, but only because He wants us to  be our best.
Here's to a new view and a true reflection.

Are You A Chameleon?

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."  Romans 12:2 NIV

We tend to think that to be a chameleon means that we blend into our surroundings, but that is not always true.  God created some chameleons to stand out.  In doing so, these lizards are actually defending against their enemies.
I believe that God created and challenges us to do the very same thing.  When we no longer conform to the world, we actually engage the enemy.  It is only in engaging him, the one who seeks to destroy us, that we can truly begin to defend and claim the life that God has planned for us.  If we blend in, we are not a threat to the enemy's plan, nor are we a productive member of the Kingdom.  
I challenge you to be the chameleon... no longer hiding and conforming, rather boldly claiming who you are and why you can stand out.  

For Such a Time?

“If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. What's more, who can say but that you have been elevated to the palace for just such a time as this?"

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:

"Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I am willing to die." (Esther 4:14-16 NLT)

It always amazes me how God works all things together for HIS purpose.  I marvel at how HE positions us in places and with people.  We can try to figure it out and work towards an end that we conceive, but if we truly seek GOD'S heart and walk in His will the picture is much bigger and more colorful than we could imagine on our own.
I am always struck by the obedient and bold heart of Esther.  She knew that what GOD was doing went beyond what she was capable of in herself.  It would take her so far out of her comfort zone that it was nearly unfathomable.  She also knew that she needed to seek HIM who would guide and strengthen her and that in HIM all things were possible.
Esther was willing to die for whatever GOD wanted her to do.  We struggle with merely stretching outside the cozy box of our lives. I pray that I am willing to be positioned and that I would recognize it as HIS will and not my own.

"God, position me as YOU see fit.  Guide my feet, my words and my actions.  Take me beyond anything I can imagine. I want to be used in "such a time as this," with the boldness, determination and strength of Esther."

Are You God-Tight?

I recently had a conversation with my 'son' who is currently stationed in Kentucky, far from home and feeling very vulnerable to world around him.  Although he is neither mine biologically or legally speaking, he has been divinely planted into my life.

In our talk he compared his recent journey to that of a submarine with leaks. 

Our lives can be compared to that of a submarine, if we are not "God-tight" we will begin to take on the water we are surrounded by. It then becomes necessary to look for the 'leaks' and patch them.  This can only be done if we ask the Father to reveal where we are weak and what we need to do to fix the damage.  Sometimes that damage affects others and we need to help mend the 'holes' we have created in their subs.  As we take on the 'water' of the world around us we also have to be aware that we need to remove it from with in our lives.  There will be times when the task whether it be filling holes or baling water will be too big for us to do alone.  We will need the help of others that God places in our lives.  And then there will be times we surface and still other times when we simply rest in port. 

We all need to strive to keep our 'submarines' God-tight, a daily task.  If we are not diligent we will begin to be weighted down by the water we take on, making it harder and harder to surface.

"Don't copy the behaviors and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is." Romans 12:2

Love Is a Battlefield

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged.  It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.  1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT

"Love is a battlefield..."  Oh how does the phrase from a classic 80's ballad ring true.  We have such a worldly view of what love should be and when we enter onto to that battlefield, so often we are unaware of the damage that can be received. 
God set love apart. When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was He told them....
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind.  And love your neighbor as yourself. 

These verses from 1Corinthians 13 are the essential characteristics of love.  I am especially drawn to the last verse...
Love never gives up...
Love never loses faith...
Love is always hopeful...
Love endures through every circumstance.
If you love it....fight for it.

Stand Firm

"So take a new grip with your tired hands and stand firm on shakey legs.  Mark out a straight path for your feet.  Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame, will not stumble and fall but will become strong."  (Hebrews 12:12-13  NLT)

I have often drawn strength for myself from verse 12 in the passage above.  We are going to become battle weary, tired, in need of rest....
Yet we are encouraged to continue to fight.  And although I have read the second part of this scripture I had not really let it take root until recently.  We not only need to fight on, hold ground, take hold for our own survival, but there are others who depend on it.  I have been weary recently, in need of rest and ready to withdraw.  I have experienced the need for a new grip and the physical and spiritual results of having shaky legs, yet the battle still goes on and I am painfully aware that there are others whose lives may depend on whether I choose to fight or not.

We fight for Him not for ourselves.  We gain ground for His Kingdom, and follow His orders.  May we all continue to hold the ground we've claimed and regardless of our tired hands and shaky legs may we mark out a straight and narrow path, helping those who may be weak or lame so that they will grow strong.