The Needed Portion

Often times, we come to the Lord seeking a portion, but we do not receive the portion we expect. 

Many mornings I will sit at His feet, with expectant desire for a certain answer or encounter. I will go to the Lord in prayer, looking for answers or comfort. I will have an idea in my heart about what I need, I will have a picture in my mind of what I desire and what the fulfillment of that desire ought to look like. But there are so many times that the Lord does not perform the way I expected. 

No one knows how to meet our need better than the Lord. And I have found that more often than not, His way is far better than what I expect. We ask of the Lord based on our reason, but He answers us based on His understanding. I reach out for a crust of bread, and He hands me back seeds and a shovel. I ask for rain, and He gives me drought to make the roots reach deeper into the soil. 

The Lord answers our prayers, but He answers them in a way that will mature us into sons. A child reaches for a crust of bread and receives bread from their loving father, but that same loving father teaches a son how to grow enough bread to feed multitudes. Tender shoots may require regular rain to establish themselves, but deep roots are required for a mighty oak that cannot fall. And deep roots require times of drought. 

Thank you blessed Lord for not always giving us the portion we expect, yet always the one perfectly needed. 

(Luke 10:41,42) “Martha, Martha,” the Lord replied, “you are worried and upset about many things. But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.”

(Gal 3:29-4:4) And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise. What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he is the owner of everything. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the date set by his father… But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons.

(1 Cor 13:9-12) For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. Now we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

Watching Over His Word

 

“One of the many differences between holy angels and mankind, is that holy angels have absolute trust in God’s character and sovereignty.”

That was the word that the Spirit shared with me as I contemplated all the intimate things that go on behind closed doors in the house of the Lord. Intimate moments that transpire between human souls and their Maker. Moments that will only and ever be known by those who are beloved by their Beloved. Moments of clarity, moments of refreshing, moments of revelation— moments that simply cannot be expressed in human words, so they remain moments suspended, like a bridge, between the mind of God and the sanctified soul. Moments when God is at work, undetected by most, in our midst. 

Even though the mountains may crumble into the sea, I am not afraid, because the One Who is working will continue to work until He accomplishes all He has envisioned in us (John 5:17; Phil 1:6;2:13). The mind of the Lord will be carried out among His called and chosen and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it. The Lord will have His broad plain, regardless of how many mountains try to rise up across the landscape. Because the Lord is “watching over His word to accomplish it” (Jer 1:12). 

I don’t need to know how all the puzzle pieces fit together, because I know that the Lord is watching over His word to accomplish it. I don’t need to know what prophecy will look like when it’s actually carried out, because I know that the Lord is watching over His word to accomplish it. There are many things I don’t need to know, because all I really need to know is that I can trust the Lord to watch over His word and accomplish it. 

May we not be so very different from the holy angels, as we all put our absolute trust in God’s character and sovereignty.

(Is 40:3-5) A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

(Ps 46:1-3) God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth is transformed and the mountains are toppled into the depths of the seas, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

(Jer 1:11,12) And the word of the LORD came to me, asking, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” “I see a branch of an almond tree,” I replied. “You have observed correctly,” said the LORD, “for I am watching over My word to accomplish it.”

Which Is Greater?

One gives generously, one labors strenuously, one prays faithfully— which one does the greater work?

The one who labors strenuously, implores the Lord of heaven to provide the means to carry out the work he’s been called to. The Lord answers that call through the one who gives generously, making it possible for the one who labors to labor. The one who prays faithfully, asks the Lord to cover them both with protection and to continue to inspire them both unto obedience. Which one does the greater work? 

Without prayer, neither the laborer nor giver would be moved to respond to the Spirit (Luke 10:2). Without the laborer, there would be no fruit harvested. Without the giver, the laborer would have no means to provide for His own family or the Lord’s. The praying one prays for the felt needs and spiritual needs of others to be met. The laborer carries out the practical outworking of that prayer. The giver makes the practical outworking possible. Which one does the greater work?

My body has hands that work, eyes that discern, and a heart that feels. How can I work without accurate discernment? How can I discern void of emotion?  What good is emotion without hands to carry out what my heart compels or my eyes discern? Which one of these does the greater work? All three are called to a great work. All three are equally needed… 

… because there are no side characters in God’s kingdom. 

(1 Cor 12:18-21) But in fact, God has arranged the members of the body, every one of them, according to His design. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you.” Nor can the head say to the feet, “I do not need you.”

(John 21:20-22) Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them… When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain until I return, what is that to you? You follow Me!”

(1 Cor 3:5-7) What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted, Apollos watered, but God kept it growing. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

No Side Characters

“I guess I’m just going to be a side-character…”

I read these words written in a student’s journal entry yesterday. This child was expressing their frustration and despondency about feeling ignored, cast aside, and un-included, and it touched my heart deeply. Few among us can truly say they have never felt the sting of rejection, or the longing to be included and accepted among brethren. It is a painful, universal struggle all of us experience to some degree or another. 

During my prayer time yesterday, the Spirit brought to mind Jesus multiplying the fishes and loaves. He pointed out that there was no shortage of religious “food” being shared in the land of Israel at the time, but the only food that could truly satisfy the people, passed through the Lord’s hands by way of a child. Jesus took the meager portion of a child and multiplied it to satisfy the longings of thousands. So today, as I share my response to my student, I share a child’s portion that perhaps the Lord will multiply to fill the spiritual hunger of multitudes:

…”There are no side-characters in God’s kingdom… there’s just a whole lot of people trying to figure out their fit and purpose. Some are just louder than others. Some are more awkward than others. Some develop more slowly, some mature more quickly. So many souls, going in so many directions, with so many perspectives and notions of what God wants from them, or how He wants us to be. But Jesus already gave us the answer to all of that…

He said ‘Follow Me…’ and ‘Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another’ (John 13:34; 21:21,22)”…

(John 6:9,11; Matt 15:37) “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but what difference will these make among so many?”…Then Jesus took the loaves and the fish, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted…They all ate and were satisfied…

(1 Cor 12:24,25) …But God has composed the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its members should have mutual concern for one another.

(Rom 12:3-5) Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and not all members have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Resting In His Plan

I asked my daughter to sweep.  

I gave her a job to do, and the first thing she wanted to know, was if I had asked her sister to do a chore too. I told her not to worry about her sister, to just focus on what I had asked her to do. Then she asked, “Momma, how much do I have to sweep?” And before I could answer, she asked, “Do I just have to sweep the dining room, or the kitchen too?….What about the hallway?” She wanted to know my plans. She wanted to know exactly what I had in mind. And in that moment, I saw so much of myself in my own child. 

I thought about all the times I’d been like that with God. All the times I’d been more worried about what other people were doing, rather than focusing on what the Lord had asked me to do. All the times I wanted to know exactly what His plans were, because I wanted to be given  answers more than I wanted to grow in faith. “Why, Lord?”… “When, Lord?”… “What next, Lord?” 

I’ve asked all those anxious questions. At times, I even ran around in circles trying to answer them. Because just like my daughter, I wanted to know what to expect. I wanted to know the plan. But when I gave my daughter a job, all she really needed to know, was that there was a plan… and she was part of it… and I would be faithful to lead her through it… step by step…

… and that’s really all we need to know, too. 

(Ps 40:4,5) Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done, and the plans You have for us—none can compare to You—if I proclaim and declare them, they are more than I can count.

(Prov 3:5-7) Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

(Rom 8:27,28) And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

Enter His Courts

I have this picture in my bathroom. My momma gave it to me because she said it reminded her of me. 

As I dried my hair yesterday and morosely contemplated my dirty house and all my unfinished tasks, I looked up at this picture and thought, “That giant stain on my carpet next to my nightstand is probably still gonna be there when I’m walking into heaven like that.” Arms outstretched, face gazing at the glory of the Lord, as I enter the eternal peace and presence of Christ….and that big ‘ol carpet stain still there, right next to my nightstand because I never got around to cleaning it. 

The Lord reminded me that my dirty carpet isn’t gonna matter when I’m walking into heaven. Then I started thinking about all the other things that take up our thoughts each day that aren’t gonna matter either.  Yesterday morning, I may not have spent time cleaning my carpet stain, but I did have my prayer time. I did read my devotional and contemplate the spiritual truths that were shared in it. So the stain on my carpet may not have been cleaned, but some stains on my soul were. 

As I gazed up at my picture, I began to imagine all the things that are going to be left behind when we finally make our walk into the eternal presence of the Lord. All the things that seem to matter now, that won’t matter then. All the things we spend our time on currently, that will bring us no eternal reward on that day. All the burdens we carry here, that we will not bring with us there. 

Because when we finally enter His holy courts, the only thing we will bring with us, is praise. 

(Psalm 100:3,4) Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and bless His name.

(Ps 84:1,2,4) How lovely is Your dwelling place, O LORD of Hosts! My soul longs, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God…How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You.

(Psalm 95:1,2) Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout to the Rock of our salvation! Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him in song.

Divine Sandpaper

It’s going to be the little things. 

Very rarely does God deal with me the way I think He will. I understand that He uses our circumstances to shape us, so I often find myself anticipating some major catastrophe or life-upheaval to be used as His tool to shape me into the image of His Son. But I’ve come to realize, that most of the time, the tool He uses is the little things.

Every day my husband gets the eggs from our nest house. And every day he brings them in and puts them in one of these cartons with the pointy end up…and it drives me crazy because I’ve told him multiple times that eggs are supposed to go into the carton with the fat end up. But each day, here they are…. pointy end up. And that’s just one of the many dumb, random things I face each day that test my temper and my patience in ways that head-on conflict never could. 

Whether it’s a dog-chewed shoe, muddy footprints up my stairs, a rude person at the store, my lost car keys, or a house-full of unsharpened pencils with no erasers— I have found that a steady trickle of minor irritations accomplish a far deeper work in me than intermittent calamities. Somehow those little pieces of circumstantial “sand” are able to penetrate far deeper into my inner man than a boulder-sized crisis. And all those little irritations act like divine sandpaper, steadily smoothing away any thorny temper and sharp-edged ego. 

Oh Lord, thank You for all the little things You use to shape our character to look more like Yours. 

(Rom 8:29) For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.

(Gal 5:22,23) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

(2 Per 1:4-7) …He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature…For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.

Conflict Of Natures

Sometimes I feel like I’m two different people: who I am in the Lord, and who I am without the Lord at work in me. 

There’s a weird duality to a person who is being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Once we are born again, we are still ourselves, but we are also something else. And it is that “something else” which begins to go to work upon our “self.” We are simultaneously put to death and given new life. And as we walk out these incomprehensible truths of our new nature, we live in this strange limbo-land of fullness and lack, of losing to gain, of strength in weakness, of now but not yet— a paradoxical people who belong to a paradoxical kingdom. 

I may often share wonderful things poured into me by the Lord, but behind all that still lurks work to be done in me by His Spirit. There are times when I truly reflect the nature of my Master, but there are also times when I do not. I once heard a Native American proverb that spoke of two wolves inside of us all—one good, one bad. And a child asks his grandfather which one will win? And the grandfather replies: “Whichever one you feed.”

Jesus tells us that He is the Bread of Life, and those who consume Him will have eternal life. As we consume His words and actively seek His presence through prayer and private worship, He gradually gains victory over every inch of who we are, until the day comes when there will no longer be two natures at war within us, but one nature that has conquered us, subdued us, and brought us into the glory set apart for us since “before the creation of the world.” 

Oh Lord, may that nature be the one we feed. 

(Gal 5:16,17) So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

(John 6:35-51) Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst…At this, the Jews began to grumble about Jesus because He had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”…Jesus answered…”It is written in the Prophets: ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from Him comes to Me…I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And this bread, which I will give for the life of the world, is My flesh.”

(Eph 1:3-5) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will…

Requirement Of Rest

God rested. 

I felt crummy at work yesterday and I just wanted to be at home in my jammies and my bed. As I worked at my desk, I whined to the Lord, “I just want rest.” And as I began to think about the human need for rest, the verse from the creation account in Genesis popped into my mind…”[God] rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished” (Gen 2:3).

All my life I’ve known that verse. But when it popped into my mind yesterday, I thought how strange it was for us to be told that God rested. As difficult as it may be for us to comprehend, the truth is that God doesn’t need rest. As I contemplated that truth, I wondered why Scripture tells us that He rested from all His work, as if He was tired and needed a break. And then the Lord gave me clarity. 

God didn’t rest from all His work because He needed to. We are told that God rested from His work because He was giving us an example. It wasn’t because of His need that He rested, but because of ours. God needs to neither work, nor rest, but from the very beginning He gave us His own example of both. He gave us an example of work that is good and fulfilling, and then a time of contented rest and satisfaction. 

Oh Lord, may we follow Your blessed example of both work that is worthy, and rest that restores. 

(Gen 1:31;2:2) And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good… And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work. 

(Eccl 3:1) There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…

(Mark 6:30,31) The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to Him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, [Jesus] said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

(Mark 2:27,28) Then He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Unconscious Glory

Mrs. Lisa makes me feel loved. 

Each day when I go to pick up my lunch from the  school cafeteria, our lunch lady, Mrs. Lisa, has my salad ready to go— complete with fork, knife, and a few napkins, neatly placed on top of my salad. She doesn’t have to do that. She could just put my salad on the fridge shelf and I could grab my own fork, knife, and napkins from the bins on the counter. But every day, she takes the extra minute to neatly arrange all I will need for lunch and place it on the shelf… and it’s just a simple, little, random thing that comforts me and makes me feel loved. 

Mrs. Lisa doesn’t do that because she’s trying to make me feel loved. She does it because that’s who she is. Unless I told Mrs. Lisa, she would have no idea of the positive impact she makes on my day, doing something that is so unconsciously natural for her to do. And it’s little things like that when I see Jesus the most— I see Him shining through someone because that’s who they are, not necessarily because that’s who they are trying so very hard to be. 

Strangely, as we mature in the Lord, our reflection of Him seems to become more and more unconscious. Often times, I’ve found the greatest impact I’ve had in someone’s life wasn’t because I was trying to, but simply because of some unconscious thing I did that came naturally to me—Christ poured Himself into a vessel, and the vessel poured Him out. So, it isn’t the vessel that is seen, but what has been poured into it, because it isn’t the vessel that people need, but what’s inside. 

Oh Lord, help us to stay focused upon relationship with You, so that we may be filled with the oil of Yourself as You help us to be true vessels of Who You are.  

(2 Cor 4:6,7) For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.

(Ex 34:29-33) When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD…and they were afraid to come near him…[so Moses] put a veil over his face.

(2 Cor 3:18) And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Sharing Scraps

 

We are so quick to run off and share a morsel, when the Lord has yet to finish sharing a banquet with us.

I have been so guilty of this. During my prayer time this morning, the Lord began to pour beautiful truth into me and the first thing I wanted to do was stop praying and write it down so I could share it. Then I asked myself, “If I were sitting at the Lord’s feet, would I jump up to run off when He was in mid-sentence? Or would I sit in reverence, drinking in His words until He was done teaching?” And I began to lament all the half-understood truths and half-learned lessons I’ve shared over the years. 

The fullness of some truths take time for us to grasp. Our understanding increases in stages as we grow in maturity. I can look back over my life and see many nuggets of truth and scraps of understanding I was too quick to run off and share, before the Lord had ever finished bringing me into the fullness of them. This morning, I repented of all the times I surely cheated the Body of Christ by giving them less than what God had for them because of my own eagerness, impulsiveness, and impatience. Lord help me to be more like You. 

It is not wrong for us to desire to share the things the Lord gives to us, because His revelations are desperately needed in the Body. But at some point in our maturity, the Lord will begin to teach us of the patience of the Lord. Spiritual maturity necessitates learning how to wait upon and be led by the Spirit, because that reflects the character and nature of Christ. And since it is God’s will for us to be transformed into Christ’s image, it is also His will for us to mature into the embodiment of Christ’s character and nature. 

Which means we do not run off to merely share morsels, nuggets, and scraps, but we embody the patience of Christ which enables us to share God’s banquets. 

(Acts 18:24-26) [Apollos] was an eloquent man, well versed in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord and was fervent in spirit. He spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him in and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

(Hab 1:2; 2:1,2) How long, O LORD, must I call for help but You do not hear, or cry out to You, “Violence!” but You do not save?… I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the ramparts. I will watch to see what He will say to me, and how I should answer when corrected. Then the LORD replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it…”

(Luke 24:25,27,44,45) Then Jesus said to them, “O foolish ones, how slow are your hearts to believe all that the prophets have spoken!… And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself… Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.” Then He opened their mind to understand the Scriptures.

(John 16:12) I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it.

Seed And Soil Moments

 

We don’t get to choose our moments for God, but we do get to choose whether we will be obedient in them. 

There was a time when I was full of plans and intentions for the Lord. I had all kinds of noble aspirations and fruitful expectations. And a large part of my early ministry was fueled by a strange mixture of genuine desire to serve and please the Lord, and my own ambition. It was a mixture that would only and ever produce wood, hay, and stubble, and the time finally came when I had to put all those plans and intentions in the fire of the altar, and learn how to wait upon the Lord and be led. 

I have now learned that “gold, silver, and precious stones” are usually random, unexpected moments the Lord leads us to by His ambitions, rather than ours. And those moments are often simple “seed and soil” moments that may not seem spectacular at the time, but if we are obedient, will produce spectacular eternal fruit. 

I was reminded of this truth yesterday, as I wrote a personal note in one of my student’s dialectical journal entries. A student shared their struggle with faith, and I reminded the student of specific scriptures which tell us of God’s faithfulness and then I simply said, “Real faith is sitting in the dark trusting that God is sitting next to you, even though you don’t feel His hand.” 

It was a “seed and soil” moment— a “gold, silver, and precious stones” moment that I didn’t choose by my own ambitions, but was led to by the Lord’s. 

(1 Cor 3:11-13) For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.

(Isaiah 30:18) And therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore  He will be exalted … blessed are all they that wait for Him.

(1 Cor 3:5-7) What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role. I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

*copyright to “Dialectical Journal” belongs to The Daring English Teacher*

Facing Our Inadequacy

As a teacher, I sometimes struggle with the haunting thought: “What if my students face a future test and they fail because I have not adequately prepared them?”

I’m always thinking ahead, trying to anticipate what my students may face or deal with in their school years ahead, because the thought of them depending upon me to prepare them and me failing them in that preparation is crushing to my soul. They trust me to teach them what they need to know, and the weight of that responsibility often reminds me of my own inadequacies. And that is a good thing to be reminded of. 

I used to feel like I could conquer the world. I used to feel like I had a lot to offer God. I used to be full of strength and fire and passion for ministry, and for a long time I just assumed my strength, fire and passion was of the Holy Spirit.  But the Lord had to teach me that all that strength, fire and passion was my own and not His. And for Him to teach me that, I had to be emptied. And that has been a very hard school indeed. 

The quality of our fruitfulness in service to the Lord is proportionate to our recognition of our inadequacy. The more we understand our utter and complete dependency upon God for all things— and I do mean all—the more He will pour of Himself into our recognized lack. Austin-Sparks states, “..the more spiritual growth and maturity takes place in us, the deeper will be our consciousness of utter dependence upon God for everything in the realm of our relationship with Him.”

Therefore, when I face my own inadequacy to fulfill my calling, I am reminded of the One Who will be faithful to make me adequate. And that is a good thing to be reminded of. 

(2 Cor 12:9,10) But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

(2 Cor 3:5,6) Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

(2 Cor 4:7,11) Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us…For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that His life may also be revealed in our mortal body.

Saying I’m Sorry

My youngest daughter wrote an apology to her classmate. 

Her teacher told her that they will be celebrating “Friendship Day” in a week or so, and students could give each other cards if they would like. However, her teacher said if they give cards, they have to give one to everyone in the class. Since my 6 year-old daughter knows nothing about all the hype and commercialism of Valentine’s Day, she thought her teacher meant they had to write a card to each student in the class. And the first card my daughter wrote was an apology. 

My daughter had every intention of writing all 16 classmates a card, before I explained to her what her teacher meant. And I find it worthy to note that my baby’s first order of business was an apology. But here’s the thing you really need to know— her apology was to a classmate who is mean to her on a regular basis…I hear a lot about this particular kid from my daughter. So honestly, if anyone should be writing an apology letter, it would probably be him. But my baby reminded me of the clear teachings of Christ that many of us tend to wander away from. 

I know what it’s like to hang onto wrongs committed against me— to hold out for the justice or apology due me, to defiantly raise my banner for “fairness” against all “unfairness”. I’ve been down that road, and it only leads to the bondage of bitterness, resentment, and self-righteous indignation. Jesus knows that too. Which is why He commanded all who follow Him to forgive the unforgivable, to keep no record of wrongs…to “love others the way I have loved you.”

And I’m sure glad my baby gave me a much needed reminder of that. (*explanation of letter at bottom of post) 

(1 Cor 13:4,5 ) Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.

(John 13:34,35) A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.

(Matt 6:14,15) …if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

(Matt 5:43-45) You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. 

 

(Matt 5:38-42) You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also…if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

*Her letter says: “I am sorry for what I did when we were at gym. Can you forgive me? Write if you will forgive me.” (She stole his ball when they were playing in the gym)

Maturity Unto The Measure

 

This is Bentley, our 7 month-old kitten/cat. 

Bentley is at that in-between age where he looks more like a full grown cat, but he still has a lot of kitten behaviors inside. Bentley wants to sit on our lap like a mature cat, but he can’t be still. He is very active, wanting to explore constantly, and anything that catches his attention, he’s off to get a closer look. There is a part of Bentley that just wants to rest around the house unworried and untroubled like our other cat, but until he matures a little more, he will continue to have those fidgety and anxious kitten urges. 

If Bentley were to stay a kitten and never mature into a full-grown cat, he would never get to the place of unbothered rest exhibited by our other cat, Rudy. Rudy is always at rest. If you see him walking around, it’s usually just so he can move to another place of rest. And that’s because Rudy is a mature, full-grown cat. Even though Rudy and Bentley are both cats, they have very different behaviors simply because one is mature and the other is not. 

Scripture says that once we become believers in Christ, God’s ultimate purpose is to bring us to maturity— our destiny is not to be eternal infants, but to become eternal sons (Eph 1:5). As we grow in personal knowledge of Christ Himself, we grow in unity of the faith, and we “mature into the full measure of the stature of Christ” the Son of God (Eph 4:13). And one of the benchmarks of such maturity is complete rest in the Father, regardless of what work we are called to or what circumstances may surround us. 

So let us press on brothers and sisters, to full maturity, “attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

(Eph 1:5) He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will…

(Eph 4:12-14) …to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.

(Rom 8:18 ,19) I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the revelation of the sons of God.

(Heb 4:8-11) For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For whoever enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same pattern of disobedience.