Encouraging Deep Roots

I've been hearing a lot about surrender lately in my reading, my prayers as the Holy Spirit speaks to me, in different messages I've heard. Philippians 2:3-8 ~ Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross. Surrendering to God requires humility and a laying down of my will.  It is daily - moment by moment. It means setting aside my pride and my need for others to notice. It means staying in a hard place in my life until the Lord has taught me...

I was reading in Galatians this morning when I came across this little verse in chapter 5. Galatians 5:25 says, " Since we live by the Spirit,  let us keep in step with the Spirit." I was reminded of the game, follow the leader, that we used to play as a child. The point of the game is to follow behind the lead person and imitate whatever they do as you follow behind. If doing it correctly, you will move as one unit.  As we walk in the Spirit we will put away those behaviors that belonged to our former way of life and will begin to see the fruit of the Spirit developed in our life. Our lives will reflect joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. But Paul gives this reminder to keep in step with the Spirit. In other words, our lives should be so reflective of the Lord that we move as one unit - much like the game of follow the leader. Paul makes it very clear in this passage that every attitude, action and word we speak is to be ...

I lay away in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday, unable to sleep and stressed about a situation. Psalm 23 began to run through my head and as I recited it to myself I walked through the verses and what they mean.  The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack. He gives me everything I need. He watches over me. He is my protector and provider. He is my defender. He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. I find this verse interesting since the pastures of the Old Testament wouldn't look like pastures here in the states. They weren't green and lucious. They were just intermittent tufts of grass near where moisture collected by the rocks.  So the sheep had to keep moving to find nourishment. That's true of our lives. As we follow the shepherd we will have moments of nourishment and rest, but we need to keep moving to grow.  Shepherds didn't drive the sheep, they led them. God isn't pushing us forward, but He leads us and it's ou...

Psalm 73:28 ~ But as for me, God’s presence is my good. I have made the Lord  God  my refuge, so I can tell about all You do. I fell exhausted into bed last night. I had an over-the-top busy, and yet, wonderful day. It started with breakfast followed by a children's moment in the service, a "hosanna" parade, children's church and then an Easter egg hunt following the service. I didn't really want to do it, but made myself go for a two mile walk yesterday afternoon so I could get some exercise in.  There have been so many wonderful things happening lately, but I was reminded once again as I lay in bed reflecting that the only thing that really matters is coming into God's presence. That is the reason I can enjoy any of the things I experience in my life and it is also the reason I can be okay when difficulties arise.  When all of our activity, wonderful moments and accomplishments are stripped away, can we still say God is enough? I believe that to be true. Tho...

We are entering into Holy Week and the events that lead up to the death of Christ. One of my favorite celebrations is the celebration of Palm Sunday.  I love the symbolism of this event and enjoy celebrating it. As I was reading this morning and looking at this passage of Scripture again, something new struck me. Mark 11:7-11 ~  The disciples brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and he sat on it. Many people spread their clothes on the road, and others spread leafy branches cut from the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest heaven! He went into Jerusalem and into the temple. After looking around at everything, since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve. Jesus enters into Jerusalem on a young and borrowed donkey that no one had ever ridden. It was untamed and yet, willingly submitted...

The past few years I have put together prayer stations  for Good Friday for our church. This is a time when people can come and visit the different stations which will be set up around our sanctuary. It's a time of reflection and prayer. There is usually some sort of activity at each one. As I work on the stations this year and am  reading the account of Jesus' death and resurrection, I am amazed at how rich these passages are.  This year's prayer stations will walk the congregation Jesus' time in the Garden of Gethsamene and tie it to Psalm 23. I always enjoy working on these type of activities because it also speaks to me as I prepare. Some beautiful preliminary observations as I work through this: Jesus, the Good Shepherd, faced his darkest valley and is with us when we go through our darkest valley.  The disciples struggled to stay awake and kept falling asleep and we are told the Good Shepherd gives us sweet rest. Jesus was the living water sand the Shepherd lea...

  I was asked to write an article for a women's ministry recently and was given the verses and the topic to write on. I was looking forward to doing this until I pulled out my bible and read the scriptures and discovered they really had nothing to do with the topic. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people cherry pick verses out of the Bible to make them mean what they want them to mean. Good exegesis is the critical, systematic interpretation of a text to discover its original, intended meaning, rather than imposing your own personal biases onto it. The seminary I attended hammered that home to me and yet, I see people doing the opposite all of the time.  Some activities and questions to ask yourself as you read a passage are the following: Read the entire passage. Keep in mind that the the headings, chapter numbers, and verse divisions in modern Bibles are not original to the text. Sometimes you have to read more than the chapter. You can use the following categ...

I have many unfinished projects laying around my house. Quilts I started and never finished. Writings that I started and  they sit on my laptop, and piles of paperwork waiting to be filed. I have some good intentions that I never followed through on in my life. However, the one thing in my life that I don't want to leave unfinished is the ministry that the Lord has given to me. That nudge from the Holy Spirit to keep pressing on and finish my race is the thing that motivates me each day.  There are many distractions that threaten to derail the completion of the task and to veer me off course. Things such as worries about my family or other issues, distractions going on in the world,  my own failings at times, other people's opinions about what I should or shouldn't be doing, and  on it goes. These distractions can keep me unfocused or wanting to throw in the towel.  And yet, I want to press on and continue to follow the path that God has given me. He has given m...

Every now and then I will take a passage of scripture and re-write it in own words. This morning as I was reading in Psalms I felt the need to do this with Psalm 73. It helped my anxious thoughts. Psalm 73 God Alone When all is falling down around me - God alone. When the world is in chaos - God alone. When injustice reigns - God alone. When innocent people are accused and enslaved by bad ones - God alone. When it seems as if evil is winning - God alone. When I am in despair - God alone. When wicked people mock & gloat - God alone. When I have to be strong for others and it seems too much - God alone. When I stumble and fall - God alone. When I fall prey to envy and discouragement - God alone. When others fall away - God alone. When I feel helpless - God alone. When I'm hurt - God alone. 💓💓💓💓💓 God alone because He is all I have.  God alone because El Roi sees. God alone because He is my strength. God alone because He is all I need. God alone because He is righteous and jus...

I had a follow-up appointment at the eye doctor this week and it was busy in the office. When I came out of the exam room there was a crowd of people around the receptionist desk. There was an Amish family, a few older and younger people and the waiting area was full of people too. It was noisy and kind of chaotic. As I waited my turn to check out, I heard the nurse call a man's name and then heard a rattle of chains. I looked to see a prisoner, dressed in a black and white striped prison outfit and shackled at the hands and feet being led by two police officers to the exam room I had just come out of. It was a bit of a shock as he was out of place. I do know the Amish family is front of me looked extremely uncomfortable! And I didn't feel much more at ease either as he was paraded right in next to me. I certainly wasn't expecting that to happen. I commented to my husband on the way home that he must have commited some sort of major crime as I couldn't imagine someone w...

A friend gave me a book for Christmas called, The Red Sea Rules, by Robert J. Morgan. It's a meaty little book that I've been enjoying. It has also landed me in the book of Exodus and the story of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt.  They come to the edge of the Red Sea only to find their way blocked by the water and with Pharoah and his army in hot pursuit. And in typical fashion, the Israelites begin to freak out! They are frightened. In verses 13-14 of chapter 14 we read the following: But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation He will provide for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you must be quiet.” Those two phrases stand firm  and be quiet  jumped out at me because when I'm anxious and worried about something those are the two things that I don't do! Instead I'm full of internal chaos and keep mulling the situation over and over in my mind. Mose...

I recently discovered that I have cateracts and will need cataract surgery in January. They've scheduled the two dates and will be working on my left eye first, which is the worst of the two. I've noticed the past year things have seemed a bit cloudy, but thought it just meant I needed new glasses. It's hard to read unless I either hold the book right up to my face or have a very bright light on it. I purchased a magnifying glass with an LED light built in which helps, but something definitely needs to be done. I'm amazed that modern medicine has made it so I will be able to see without glasses. I'm actually looking forward to not wearing them for the first time since I was 6 years old. I'm looking forward to having my dim sight be replaced with clearness. I'm looking forward to that spiritually as well. When I look  at different circumstances in my life it's easy to feel discouraged. I have to remind myself of how God is at work despite the difficulties...

Hilary of Tours ~  "Busyness is a blasphemous anxiety to do God's work for Him." I've shared this quote here before and it is a good reminder for me as I continually seek to create space in my life. At times my busyness in ministry is an internal sense that if I don't do a particular activity then it will seem as if I am ineffective.  But here is the lesson I'm learning. God does not need my activity to work and accomplish His will. He is at work despite my busyness.  Jesus says the following in John 5:19-20, "I assure you: The Son is not able to do anything on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does these things in the same way. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He is doing, and He will show Him greater works than these so that you will be amazed." Jesus Himself stated that He could not do anything independently from the Father. He came alongside the Father to work in tande...

I've been in a few cities in the United States that have traffic lights with crosswalks. At these crosswalks you have to push a button in order to have the light change color. Once you push the button it takes a few minutes for it to change from green to red and there is a recorded voice that says, "Wait!" over and over again. It can start to grate on your nerves hearing it repeat the word continuously, but the reality is if you don't wait there is a chance you will get hit by a car. Impatience can have devastating effects! Yesterday, I was in a prayer group of other pastors and ministry leaders and as we were praying a retired pastor prayed the phrase, "Waiting is the ministry, Lord." That resonated with me because it's been where I've felt stuck the past year or so. I feel like I'm in a waiting pattern and at times, feel very impatient.  The truth is I don't like waiting and I don't like it when God seems silent. It feels as if nothing ...

Ministry can be tiring and there can be moments of wanting to throw in the towel. But then there are also those moments when someone's life is changed and I think, "There it is." "This is the reason I keep pressing on." There were a few of those "aha" moments this past weekend. I opened up my Bible to read this morning and this was the passage I landed on.  Psalm 116:12-14 ~  How can I repay the  Lord  for all the good he has done for me?  I wil take the cup of salvation and call on the name of the  Lord .  I  will fulfill my vows to the  Lord in the presence of all his people. God has been so good to me despite my inadequacies. I want to continue to press into the calling He gave me so many years ago. His goodness is there even when I forget to recognize it.  It's there in the good times and the bad. It's there when others praise you or when they criticize. It's there in times of abundance or times of scarcity.  David is asking a q...

The fog was hanging in the valley as I went for an early morning walk yesterday. It was still and peaceful and incredibly beautiful.  I was reminded once again of the importance of disconnecting from the blaring voices of social media and just keep my focus on the Lord. It's been a stressful week in many ways which revs up my anxiety, and I know that it is important for me to stay connected to the source of my strength. I received a text from a friend who was going through a difficult time with someone and asked for prayer navigating the relationship. As I was walking and praying for her, I felt my anxiety calming down, and God reminded me that I need to be an instrument of His peace. That simple act of praying for another was the catalyst for my own inner peace. God's word tells us that being a peacemaker is the task of anyone who is a Christ-follower. We can read it over and over again in Scripture. Matthew 5:9 ~   "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called ch...