Looking at the "Up" side of "Down"

While going through a very rough patch in my life, I prayed and asked the Lord, "Why do we have to go down?"  Immediately in my mind's eye, the image of a diver on a diving board flashed.  I could see their feet on the end of the board and the board bending "down" and then suddenly springing back up as the diver was propelled high into the air to perform his flips. 

No sooner did that image flash by and another took its place, it was a gymnast running down and bounding onto a trampoline before leaping over the pommel horse.  I noticed their feet, in the "down" motion just before they leaped high in the air over the obstacle in their path.

The Spirit of God whispered to my heart, “to achieve what they need to do, they have to go down before they spring up.  They needed that brief downward motion to enable them to fly higher than if they would have attempted the maneuver from a flat, even surface.”  My heart soared as my spirit grasped what the Holy Spirit was sharing with me.

Recently,  I was contemplating this, and I couldn't help but think about Peter when he had gotten out of the boat...He was walking on water, something that to my knowledge no one else besides the LORD had ever done before or since.

I’m sure many of us have heard it taught that Peter went down because he took his eyes of Jesus.  This is a powerful lesson to us all; but if we look further, although Peter sunk, Jesus did not leave him there, He pulled him up!  And, not only did he pull Peter up; He walked with Him all the way back to the boat.

Matt 14:28-33 NLT
Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”
“Yes, come,” Jesus said.
So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.   But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”
When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.

I can imagine after this walk, Peter’s faith grew as he realized that Jesus is with us in the storm and He remains with us until we are safe and the storm stops.  What the enemy means to use to destroy us; Jesus walks on it with sweet Victory not stopping Him from accomplishing what He said He will do!

We will all encounter times where it seems we are sinking, but we can take heart that our Savior doesn’t just get into the water, He rises above it and pulls us up to walk by His side.

I can honestly say, on this side of the storm, that my Faith in Christ is stronger now than before the storm began.  I have seen the faithfulness of God to walk with me during the midst of the storm and His faithfulness to lead me through it until I am safe.
Artist rendering By Yongsung Kim

There's A Hole in Your Bucket...Fix it!

Last week I read a devotional from Kim Potter at  A New Thing Ministries, about the "tipping point."  (Check out the link and sign up for her daily devotional, you will be blessed!)

Kim spoke of how she was given a fountain that had a little cup that would fill up with water and when it was full, it would tip over and pour out in abundance.  As I was reading this the Holy Spirit spoke to me about the saturation point before a flood.

We have had an abundance of rain lately and many areas are under a Flood Warning.  He spoke to me that the flood comes when the ground becomes so saturated that it can no longer absorb any more water. 

I meditated on the saturation point and then today, I was praying about the tipping point and asking the Lord as to when that would be, because I know my husband and I had been faithfully tithing and sowing and I was confused as to why we hadn't experience our "tipping point."

I no sooner asked the question, and I heard a song from my childhood, "there's a hole in the bucket, Dear Liza, Dear Liza, there's a hole in the bucket, Dear Liza, a hole."  To which Liza sings back, "well, fix it Dear Henry, Dear Henry, Dear Henry, well fix it Dear Henry, Dear Henry, fix it!"  They continue to sing back and forth and end up realizing that in the end, they need a bucket without a hole.

A big ole light bulb turned on in my Spirit and I remembered that the Word addresses this issue in Haggai 1:6 NLT:

You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes!

The Lord was angered that the children of Israel had seen to their homes as the Lord's Temple lie in ruins.  They immediately repented and began the task of rebuilding the Temple.
I just love it when the Lord uses practical experiences to get His point across.  It made me realize that if I wasn't experiencing the tipping point, then the problem wasn't on God's end, it was on mine.  There was a hole in my bucket and I needed to fix it!  When we spend time with the Lord, He is faithful to show us exactly how we are poking holes in our buckets.
It could be in our deeds,  our motives or even in our words.  Malachi 3:8-10 tells us how that when we don't give our tithes, we are stealing from God.  But when we are faithful to bring our tithes and offerings; God says that,

“I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! NLT

Malachi 3: 16-18 NLT also reminds us to not speak against the Lord, that He has recorded all who honor Him and that He will remember them;

“On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child. Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

In every instance, all that was needed was to repent and obey.  What a blessing it is to know that it's not hard to fix the hole, you just have to FIX IT! 

The Finish Line

But me, I’m not giving up.
    I’m sticking around to see what God will do.
I’m waiting for God to make things right.
    I’m counting on God to listen to me. — Micah 7:7 The Message

With peace in our heart,

we’ll finish what we start.

This race we now run;

won before it begun.

All because you came,

You came to this earth;

A miraculous birth.

You came to the cross;

To save all who are lost.

You paid the price,

Your life given for us;

A Holy Sacrifice.

Overwhelm me LORD

Until the time came to fulfill his dreams,
    the Lord tested Joseph’s character.  Psalm 105:19 NLT

You overwhelm me with your faithfulness.
You overwhelm me with your love.
You overwhelm me with your blessings
that flows from Heaven above.

You surround me with your presence.
You consume me with your fire.
You, my Lord are
my heart’s only desire.

Your holiness compels me.
Your faithfulness endures.
Your grace restores me,
to the place I knew before

Your mercies renew me.
Your joy gives me strength.
Your peace consoles me.
It is you that I adore.

 I will not fall in the face of this storm.
I will stand tall knowing that my roots are firm.
I’m grounded in your promises.
You are my refuge and my strength;
and through it all, I will stand tall.

The winds howl.
The storm rages.
Doubts fill my head.
But I know that with you on my side,
I have nothing to dread. 

 

I rest assured.
Knowing, I’m grounded in your word.
You are my refuge.
My place of power
in this midnight hour.

I see the streaks of your Glory.
A new day is dawning.
I lift my hands in praise; knowing
that I will stand tall.
I will never fall;
because I‘m grounded in the promises
of your Amazing Word.

Talk is cheap...DO!

We have all heard the saying, “Talk is Cheap!”  Truer words have never been spoken.  All we have to do is turn on the TV, our computers or smartphones and we can see evidence of people saying one thing and doing another.

Even the Word discourages us that we shouldn’t merely offer words; but back them with our actions:

Little children, let us stop just saying we love people; let us really love them, and show it by our actions. Then we will know for sure, by our actions, that we are on God’s side, and our consciences will be clear, even when we stand before the Lord. 1 John 3:18-19 TLB

Yet, how many of us have been guilty of this very thing?  On any given day, we hear people share a need with us and we’ll say, “I’ll pray for you.”  When more often than not, in this age of excess we have the very thing that they need, but we don’t want to part with it because of a ‘what-if-I-need-it-someday?’ mentality.

Have we ever considered that the reason we are hearing about the need, is so that God can work through us to meet the need?
We are the hands and feet of the Body of Christ.  I have walked on this Earth for decades and I have yet to see money falling down from Heaven.  The only time I have found in the Word that God rained down from Heaven something that would meet His people’s needs was when manna rained down to  feed Israel in the wilderness.  Not to say that God wouldn’t do it again if He had to, but since we as Believers are on this Earth, the LORD shouldn’t have to, He should be able to work through us.  I have personally been on the receiving end when someone was faithful and obedient and met a need that I had and it overwhelmed me and blessed me in ways I could not find words to describe.  Most importantly, it reminded me that God saw and heard my cry and came to my rescue.
I encourage you the next time you encounter a moment when a need is presented, search your heart and ask yourself the question, ‘do I have what this person needs?’  If the answer is YES, then be quick to obey and GIVE IT, trusting that when you have a need for it, Our Daddy God will be faithful to provide it.
James 2:14-18 TLB also encourages in like manner with these words:

Dear brothers, what’s the use of saying that you have faith and are Christians if you aren’t proving it by helping others? Will that kind of faith save anyone? If you have a friend who is in need of food and clothing, and you say to him, “Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat hearty,” and then don’t give him clothes or food, what good does that do?  So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. You must also do good to prove that you have it. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good works is no faith at all—it is dead and useless.  But someone may well argue, “You say the way to God is by faith alone, plus nothing; well, I say that good works are important too, for without good works you can’t prove whether you have faith or not; but anyone can see that I have faith by the way I act.”

Wow, that last line really leaps out at you; we show that we have faith in God by acting.  When we are quick to obey and meet someone else’s need, we are essentially saying to Our Daddy God that, ‘I trust that when the time comes, you will provide for me as well.’  Relying on a full pantry, closet, garage, etc is not living by faith; it is trusting in what you have stored up. The Word is also has something to say about storing things up in Luke 12:22-33 NLT:

Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?  And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?

 “Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.  And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

 “And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. ³¹ Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.

 “So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.

 “Sell your possessions and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it.  Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

Now, I am not saying it is wrong to have things; we just have to check our heart and make sure our things don’t have US!  The surest way to check that is to ask ourselves the question, ‘am I willing to sow this into someone else’s’ life if the opportunity presents itself?’  If the answer isn’t YES, then my friend, your things have your heart and the only thing or should I say person that should have your heart is the one who created you and died for you.  That’s right; He did not withhold even His own life from us.  He gave it willingly because we had a need.

Grilled cabbage....who knew?!!!

While down in TN, staying with our friends one of our favorite times was when our hosts would fire up the grill and we would feast on grilled meat and veggies. Mmmm, grilled veggies! Now, most of us know the old stand-byes: mushrooms, peppers, onions, zucchini, asparagus and corn.
But this time, my friend pulled out two heads of cabbage, one red and one green and I was like, "whoa, really? Cabbage on the grill?" She laughed and said, "trust me, it's AH-Mazing!" 
And it was...oh, how it was!
Grilled Cabbage:

1 small head of cabbage
1/4 c butter melted or olive oil, or both
1/2 tsp of Salt, 
1/2 tsp of Pepper, 
1/2 tsp of Garlic powder 
1/2 tsp of Onion powder
Heavy-duty Foil
Clean and core the cabbage, cut into 1/8 wedges. Place on double squares of foil, season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with butter or olive oil. Fold foil over cabbage and crimp edges tightly. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 20 minutes or until tender. Open foil carefully to allow steam to escape. Yield: 8 servings.