Looking like a Fool!

What would you think if I said I don't mind looking like a fool? - We are told not to be fools right? Well what about if I said I don't mind looking like a fool when I am praising God?
Okay, okay, yes, we are told not to be foolish. "A wise child brings joy to a father; a foolish child brings grief to a mother." Proverbs 10:1. But I didn't say BE foolish, I said LOOK foolish, and really the only one you will be looking foolish to is the one who is judgmental, not confident enough in their own faith, or the one who doesn't trust in the Lord at all.
God wants us to praise Him with all of our might, with all of our soul, and with all of our heart, and if that means looking like a fool to others, then DO IT! "Praise God, all you people of Israel; praise the LORD, the source of Israel's life." Psalms 68:26. We are to praise Him because He gave us life, not just breath, but eternal life. Isn't life alone enough to praise Him to the point of awkwardness or foolishness?
Now, I've been to my fair share of college and NFL football games where I witnessed people acting like fools for their team and a lot of the time I took part in it. There was screaming, yelling, going half naked, painted from head to toe in team colors, wearing cheese on your head...come on, isn't that foolish? I've also been to way too many crazy concerts and watched as women decide it would be okay to throw their panties and bras up on the stage or men and some women make mosh pits where they beat their bodies up against one another just to celebrate their favorite group or team. So, if we are willing to look foolish for this, shouldn't we be willing to look foolish for God?
This is not a new question. This has been debated over time. Even in the old Testament, David, newly annointed King of Israel, was rocking and rolling, conquering kingdoms, marrying wives, bringing back the taken Ark of the Covenant. He didn't do all these things quietly, with his hands by his side, his head hanging low...NO....David began dancing and singing, acting crazy, praising the LORD. When as soon as He walked into the Palace his wife Milcah sees him and gets furiously embarrassed over his actions. But, "David retorted to Milcah, 'I was dancing before the Lord, who chose me above your father and his family! He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the LORD. So I am willing to act like a fool in order to show my joy in the LORD." 2 Samuel 6:21. David said he had all the reason to act like a fool, he was appointed by God above others and he needed to praise Him, and the good news is, so were we. "He made us his kingdom and his priests who serve before God his Father. Give to him everlasting glory! He rules forever and ever! Amen!" Revelations 1:6.

David did it; God appointed us; Feel free to look like a Fool for the Glory and Praise of the God of the All Creation! 

Power in the Weakness

"Teacher,' his disciples asked him, 'why was this man born blind? Was it a result of his sins or his parents?" John 9:2.
Did you realize that people still question someone's misfortune being a cause from their sin? And I'm not talking the consequences of a sin, I'm talking a miscarriage, cancer, being born blind, being born deaf, being born without a limb. These are all flaws, but not of our sins. Usually it is legalists that try and tell us we have this flaw because of some past sin either on our own right or our families sin, but sometimes we do this even to ourselves. Have you ever wondered why you are the way you are, why you of all people have a flaw that hinders you from doing something you enjoy, or what have you done that has caused you or someone dear to you to suffer an illness or a misfortune? Well Jesus tells us things of this sort have nothing to do with sin. "It was not because of his sin or his parents' sins,' Jesus answered. 'He was born blind so the power of God could be seen in him." John 9:3.
When I had my miscarriage my first few weeks of thought kept going back to everything I could have done differently. I even thought, maybe God is punishing me for all of my past sins, not allowing me to have another child, but in the mist of all this I realized God wasn't blaming me or punishing me, he was carrying me. "Praise the Lord; praise God our Savior! For each day He carries us in his arms." Psalm 68:19. And He was carrying me so that He could prepare me to stand on my feet stronger than before, ready for the task He had set ahead of me. "All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me, because there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end." John 9:4.
We can't allow these hindrances to become excuses for the work God has planned out for us from before we were born. We must use our hindrances to glorify Him, and He will bless us in a way that will make our deficiency seem like a new blessing. God gives us things that we may see as blemishes, problems, and hindrances to be used to show His power and majesty. He created each of us special, with a preplanned agenda, and if we allow our flaws to hold us back we can't glorify Him in the way He wanted to use us.
My miscarriage ended up becoming a way for me to grow closer to Him, so that He could speak to my heart, heal my inner feelings, and create a testimony to Glorify Him.
Your flaws and my flaws are not a sin of the past, but a blessing for the future. Look to Him to see how He wants to use you and work with the end in sight! Because in the end He made the Blind Man See, He gave me Twin Girls, and He will make all of us perfect in our weaknesses.
 "⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me." 2 Corinthians 12:9.

Faithful Disciple

Have you ever thought, "Am I truly being a disciple of Jesus?" Or have you ever wondered what your life should look like if you were being a faithful disciple? Jesus firms up all these questions in your heart when he was talking about the true children of God.
"Jesus said to the people who believed in Him, "You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my  teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31-32.
We are truly, fully disciples of Jesus when we obey His Word. "Disciple" defined is a student or follower; an adherent to the teachings of a particular teacher or school of thought.-Women of Faith NIV Study Bible. Just like being a good student to any teacher we must listen, understand, and obey our teacher. In the Case of Jesus we must follow after Him, and once we do this, once we become a disciple of His, we will know the truth "Jesus" and the truth will set us free. Like the Jesus followers in his day, you may be thinking, but I'm not a slave. Well Jesus says, anyone who sins is a slave to sin, but when we are His disciples, fully following after Him, we are transformed into His likeness, and no longer sinning and no longer a slave. Now, if we are being disobedient to God, sinning, then we are a slave, and Jesus also says, "A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever." John 8:35.
So, when we are being Jesus disciple we will know the truth, the truth will end our enslavement to sin, the chains will be broken that hold us to this world, and we will be the Children of God. The life of a faithful disciple will be in the family of Christ, the House of God, and the Kingdom of Heaven.
Our sins or disobedience to God only forge a gap, sometimes a trench, other times a ravine, and every once in a while a canyon between us and God. But when we begin to follow after  Jesus or turn back to His Word he will build a bridge strong enough and long enough to reach any distance filling us with His truth and adopting us into His family. The more of the truth we believe, the more we follow, the more we will look like Jesus, and the more we will resemble our brother, Christ.
"Then he said to the crowd, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow me." Luke 9:23.
Don't lose your life to sin, but gain new life, eternal life, by following Christ and being His Disciple!

Wisdom in the Silence

Don't you just abhor being taunted? I know I do, and there are some people in my life who just feel it is their life duty to pick and pick and pick at me. These people are wanting to see how long it will take me to crack my calmness and plain out rouse me.
These people knew me before my walk with Christ and knew at one point in my life I could be a real hothead. They want to be able to prove I'm still the same person I once was. Ultimately, they are trying to prove that God didn't do a major work in me (Philippians 1:6) and transform me into a new person (Romans 12:2). But God did! He is molding me into Christ's likeness, and no matter how much I am taunted, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I may mess up every once in a while, I might have a slip of the tongue on the harsh side, but I know God is working this all out. "The godly think before speaking; the wicked sport evil words." Proverbs 15:28.
Jesus is our example, and we should follow Him. When the Pharisees were trying to capture Him and use His own words against Him, Jesus was staying calm. The Pharisees were taunting Jesus, yet Jesus was ignoring them. "They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger." John 8:6. When Jesus was ready to speak he would only speak from Wisdom and calmness, not rashness on the side of rage. He knew that Silence was Golden, He didn't have to go to the AMC. "They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, 'All right, stone her. But let those who have never sinned throw the first stones! Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust." John 8:7-8. Jesus wasn't about to let them change His attitude of holiness to anger. He wasn't going to let their taunts drag Him to the ground. He was acting out of silence to be able to give Wisdom, knowing that His calmness would eventually break their pestering instead of them breaking His joy. "When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman." John 8:9.
When we are following Jesus fully, we should be transformed into His likeness. And if we are transformed into His likeness we should be more like "Him". So, the next time someone is trying to break the peace and joy that God has built within you, follow Jesus' example and remain silent. For in the silence Wisdom is grown!
¹⁹ My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰ because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. James 1:19-20.

I LOVE BREAD!

Confession time: I am a Carbaholic! Yes, I said it, I don't mind not eating meat because I love me some carbs. And my favorite carb is some good ole' fashioned Bread! I like all bread...any bread....But I do have some favorites as well. I love a loaf or 2 from Carraba's, some sourdough from Panera, a Bagel straight from NYC, and I could just go with 3 loaves of the wonderful hot sourdough bread from Mitchel's Seafood Market...mmm yummy! Even though I love all these breads, my favorite, the love of my life, is the Bread of Life...Jesus!
"Yes, I am the bread of life!" John 6:48.  I can eat and eat and eat of Him and never get enough. I don't need to wash Him down with a glass of ice tea or add any butter, cream cheese, or salt (if you know me well enough you know what I mean). Jesus, the Bread of Life, is the best carb I could need or ever want. He is just enough, Perfect in Every Way (as Mary Poppins would say). He is flavored just right and always multiplying, never ending. I never need to beg for more bread because He is forever providing. I don't have to purchase Him because He gives of Himself freely. His bread won't give me love handles, a pooch in the front, or a lump in the rear. The only thing He adds to my life is eternal life. "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; this bread is my flesh, offered so the world may live." John 6:51.
I have many friends and family that stay away from the dreaded carb, they like to stick to the Atkins diet with meat only, but in the eternal world meat alone is human effort. You have to raise the meat and kill the meat, but only the Spirit can give life. "It is the Spirit who gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life." John 6:63. So, if your diet of human effort is leaving you starving, why don't you take a break, and try the Bread?

Bring on the Rain

"From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky all that God had made. They can clearly see His invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God." Romans 1:20
How can anyone say that they have never seen evidence of God? Look Around! He has shown us His creation. Look at each other! He has shown us His likeness.
We as people can so easily justify athletes, actors, and billionaires as gods; And we can make cars, boats, and money as gods as well. But we have such a hard time seeing the One True God in the world around us.
Paul and Barnabas were traveling around preaching the Good News across the land when they ended up in Lystra. They came upon a crippled man who had been unable to walk for years. They noticed his abundant faith and immediately Paul said to him, "Stand up" and he did. The people of Lystra, however, witnessed this amazing miracle and began to comment how Paul and Barnabas must be gods (Zeus and Hermes to be exact.) These 2 men of God became very distraught and saddened by these comments. So, in their dismay, they tore their clothes and ran into the crowd preaching on seeing the Real Living God. "In earlier days he permitted all nations to go their own ways, but he never left himself without a witness. There were always his reminders, such as sending rain and good crops and giving you food and joyful hearts." Act 14:17-18. In our verbage they were saying, "Can't you see Him? We aren't gods, God is God, and He has left us with so many reminders."
Even the first Christians had a hard time realizing who God was, but Paul said, See the rain? God reveals himself throughout all of creation. Just recently  we have been in a major drought. A drought, so bad that the grass isn't even growing for the cows. I can't walk outside without having dust accumulate on my legs, my allergies going crazy, and my poor plants needing an extra dose of water without them withering. But when it rains, and every once in a while it does, my heart dances and my soul sings because all of my outdoor issues subside. God is revealing himself to me and to anyone else that is looking through these rain showers. How would I not be able to see Him fixing the problem at hand, a problem that is a problem to us, but that is just part of his creation to Him.
"You take care of the earth and water it, making it rich and fertile. The rivers of God will not run dry; they provide a bountiful harvest of grain, for you have ordered it so. You drench the plowed ground with rain, melting the clods and leveling the ridges. You soften the earth with showers and bless its abundant crops. You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance. The wilderness becomes a lush pasture, and the hillsides blossom with joy. The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep, and the valleys are carpeted with grain. They all shout and sing for joy." Psalm 65:9-13. And the earth is probably singing, "Bring on the rain!"
I can see God all through the rain. He calms us with its rhythm, He provides for us with its growing power, and He refreshes us with its cleansing showers. If you are having a hard time seeing God or explaining His Majesty or feeling His Presence....Pray that He will Bring on the Rain!   

Conquering the Giants

NINE FEET TALL! Now that's a giant of a man. When I think of big men, I think of men around my husband's size, 6'5, and I think about those little girls and boys at church that get afraid as he comes around. One little girl, that now loves Mr. Brett, used to cry every time he came near, and would hide behind her mom's legs, always peaking through to make sure Brett wouldn't get to close. And I can never forget what Hunter's best little buddy used to say when he was 4, "I bet Mr. Brett is taller than the mountains."(He's definitely from Florida.) But even though this can be very scary and /or humorous for little kids, Giants are in fact all around us.
As a small boy, King David faced his own giant. He had been out in the field tending to the sheep when his dad asked him take food to his brothers and the commanders of the army that were at battle. Being a curious youth, he walked right up to the battle as the Israelites were facing the Philistines because he was eager to get to the front lines and see the action. When all of a sudden, David sees Golaith, a giant, 9 feet tall. Goliath came out to the front and began to taunt the Israelites and mocked their ability to fight. At this point your average youth would tuck his tail between his legs and run back the way he came, but instead David decided to question his people. "Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?" 1 Samuel 17:26b. He was no coward, he had a courage that was definitely from God. David didn't care what the giant looked like, you don't mock his God. You don't come up to the people of God and threaten them! David trusted God fully.
Like any giant, he saw this puny little runt of a boy and laughed. He made fun of Israel even more for sending out a child, but David didn't care, he stood strong on his foundation of Faith. "David shouted in reply, 'You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord Almighty - the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." 1 Samuel 17:45. David didn't coward away or ask for more armies; he ran right at the giant with God at his side. "As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him." 1 Samuel 17:48. And David with the courage, strength, and power of God, defeated Golaith. "So David triumphed over the Philistine giant with only a stone and a sling." 1 Samuel 17:50a.
In life we are going to come across many giants. Giants of all different sizes and matters. These giants could be cancer, work, finances, drugs, family, alcohol, friendships, spouses, lack of faith, unplanned pregnancies, miscarriages, abuse, and the list could go on and on...And when the giant begins to approach us we may want to back down, but we need to take on the courage of David. We need to remember we have the shield of God's protection and the sword of God's word. We must trust in what we cannot see, even if all we have is a stone and a sling. God is mightier, taller, stronger, and fiercer than any giant that could come our way. "You formed the mountains by your power and armed yourself with mighty strength." Psalm 65:6. Our Faith will bring Him to our side. He wins every battle He is up against, and He beats down every giant in the way. Remember, we are never fighting alone. "Do not be afraid of the nations there, for the Lord your God will fight for you." Deuteronomy 3:22. The giant is going to try and tear you down by putting a fear in your head and a distrust in your heart, but if you stand strong on the Word of God, the foundation He has laid before you, nothing is impossible. "For nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:37.