Transformation is defined by Webster's as an entire change in form, disposition, character or outward appearance. The expectation of transformation is integral to the life of a believer, especially a new believer. Many of us can articulate what that transformation was like as we left our old self behind and embraced the new creation we became. Question: do we continue to expect extravagant transformation as we mature in our faith? Do we truly walk in the knowledge and the actions that we are ever growing in Him and hence walk with increasing power?
I experienced a transformational weekend these past few days. The Lord spoke more clearly than ever about His expectations for my life and my calling as His. I am humbled and amazed when He uses those around me to confirm what He has been speaking into me. This awesome journey began during a long car ride in which my husband and I had time to listen to a John Bevere study entitled Extraordinary. We are always challenged by a John Bevere teaching and this was no exception. The content was deep and right on - we are called by God to live extraordinary lives. Then Sunday I was blessed by a message by Pastor Dale Evrist of New Song Christian Fellowship in Nashville. Although Pastor Dale had never heard the teaching Extraordinary he literally quoted John Bevere. I looked at my husband with wide eyes communicating, "Did you hear that???" Then in my daily devotions this morning, there was the message again. I knew then I had to share with all of you what I had heard.
2 Thessalonians 1:11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. Although this is only one sentence it embodies so much of what we should be living. Consider first the phrase, "worthy of his calling". God has individually called us. When I researched this in the Strong's concordance, I discovered that this particular use of the word appears predominantly in the New Testament. Those who are members of the New Covenant do indeed have a distinctive calling that did not exist in the Old Testament. We have been called by the Lord to be the embodiment of the Great Commission. Every believer is called to pursue it. Not only is that a responsibility, but it is a privilege. Note - we are to be worthy of his calling. Worthy denotes an elevation in my mind. This is not just an ordinary vocation, but a significant one that requires worthy living.
Now notice that the power comes in when we are walking in the fulfillment of every good purpose of yours, not just a couple, but every one. That is strong language! However it is not under our power, rather His power in us. Read it again: he may fulfill every good purpose. What a shift in perception. This is not what we want to do, not what we think we can do, but opening ourselves for him to utilize us as His conduit to accomplish every good purpose he had in mind for us. Of course, we cannot ignore the qualifier - "good". That is a lens through which we need to keep looking as we make decisions concerning our lives.
As much as that knowledge excites me, it pales in comparison to the next phrase: every act prompted by your faith. There is that all encompassing word "every" again! More importantly though is how the every act occurs: it is prompted by our faith. Holy Spirit living within me will be prompting me to do what God has purposed in my life through specific acts. Faith - that incredible power plant inside of us - have you ever considered it from that perspective before? I have been very aware of Holy Spirit living inside of me, and I have been gaining a deeper appreciation of how immense His power is. Had I really processed the extent of it though? No, I really do not believe so. The dawning of a new awareness of how I have been called to live is upon me. I feel as if I am standing on the edge of a great release of His power through me as the conduit. I make no mistake; I have no power of my own. The power that flows through me is HIS and HIS alone. But He desires to have me be His instrument of implementation here on this earth, now in this time.
Cap off these insightful scriptures with one more. Ephesians 3:20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. I have Holy Ghost bumps all over me! Infinitely more than we might ask or think. Beyond my comprehension is how I interpret that. Once more, it is His power at work within us, but what He is going to do with that power will basically blow us away. We cannot even begin to fathom what He has planned. I am ready, Lord, let's get to it!
More than ever before, I want to release the limitations that I have placed on God being able to work through me to accomplish the miraculous, the unimaginable, the stupendous! My heart's desire is that He will find in me a willing and open vessel that facilitates the flow of His presence, glory and power wherever I walk. My visual for weeks now has been a path behind me of burned foot imprints left by His Shekinah glory and power. Let His presence be physically and spiritually felt whenever I enter a room. Let His heat precede me and linger when I have left. Lord, here I am - send me!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Listen for the But
We have often heard messages taught about God's "but's". But's are consequential words that are usually associated with a change of circumstances. Frequently in the Word, we encounter the phrase "but God..." which lets us know how God reversed the situation and came to the rescue. You can hear the echoes of "but God" in people's testimonies. It is powerful and can be life changing for folks. There is another side to the but's though, one that is not as frequently considered. When those "but's" come into play, we have to be listening very carefully.
Recently as I was studying I encountered the following scripture: Matthew 17:22-23 One day after they had returned to Galilee, Jesus told them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed. He will be killed, but three days later he will be raised from the dead." And the disciples' hearts were filled with grief. My first thought was, "They weren't listening to the but!" Then the Lord said, "And how often do my children do the very same thing?" Think about the scenario for the disciples. They had been following Jesus and hanging on His every word and deed. They were most likely mesmerized by His wisdom and His power. They had yet to really understand the power or even the deeper concepts that He shared with them in intimacy when they were alone. Suddenly He throws this news to them - betrayal and death! Those words sent shock waves through their systems. No! This could not be true! Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. Who would possibly be able to murder Him??? They missed the but and their hearts were filled with grief.
Here were disciples who had watched Jesus in action. They had seen people raised from the dead. Being raised from the dead meant life! However they could not process the last phrase in Jesus' words because their focus was on the tragedy of losing Him. Their emotions were now in control of their minds. Their ears and brains had ceased to function for the moment. If they had waited to react until after they had processed all that Jesus had to say, their reaction might have been very different. Although the thought of Jesus being killed would be very upsetting, the mere idea that he would be raised from the dead would be incredible to anticipate. But they weren't thinking along those lines, and their hearts were filled with grief.
Have you ever had a "but moment" with God? I have ~ quite a few as a matter of fact, but there is one that stands out strikingly against the backdrop of my life. I had just moved to Atlanta to start my life over. Within a few short weeks I had realized that this wonderful job I had relocated to take was not going to be so wonderful after all. There were clearly huge conflicts with the personalities that were in leadership and I was powerless to make the changes that were needed for the organization. I vividly recall sitting on the bed in my studio apartment and crying out to the Lord. I was alone with no friends, no family, no church support system. It was God and me. Pure and Simple. I sought understanding from Him and He provided, although there was a huge BUT.
Prior to moving a dear friend and prophet of the Lord had shared with me a vision that had been given to him by the Lord for me. In that vision there had been a very difficult mountain climb that was culminated with a surprise decent. The rest of the details of the vision are not important at this juncture, because that night as I sat crying on my bed, the Lord spoke. He reminded me of the vision asking if I remembered. Then He told me I had to trust Him because in spite of what had already transpired in my life to free me, I was still ascending the mountain and there was even more pain ahead of me. The climb would be very difficult, BUT He promised me that there were blessings in store for me along the way that I would not even be able to imagine. He was so right about the difficulty of the months that were ahead of me. However if I had not heard the rest of the sentence, I would have gotten very discouraged. Instead I was able to focus on the future and not the present and persisted through those very difficult times.
The blessings did come and still are. Are the difficult times over? Those times are, but more have come along the way. That is life. If we are only listening to what we can understand through our initial grasp of the situation and the input of our five senses, then we will surely struggle. Listening to all that He tries to explain or just share with you provides power and strength that only He can provide. We can do nothing on our own strength. If we think we can, then we are falling into the same trap as listening to only part of what is being said to us. We need the complete heart of God within us. We need the wisdom and discernment that following Holy Spirit brings us. We need the full agape love that the Lord has bestowed on us and through us. We need the Alpha and Omega - the beginning and the end, not bits and pieces of Him.
One more scripture for you: James 1:21-15 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.Without taking all of the verses together with the "but's", we will surely miss the mark. Hearing the word is not enough, we must be doers of the word. We need the entire message the Lord is giving to us and we must live out the entire word, trusting Him in all things, knowing that He has a righteous plan for our lives. Are you listening to the But's in your life?
Recently as I was studying I encountered the following scripture: Matthew 17:22-23 One day after they had returned to Galilee, Jesus told them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed. He will be killed, but three days later he will be raised from the dead." And the disciples' hearts were filled with grief. My first thought was, "They weren't listening to the but!" Then the Lord said, "And how often do my children do the very same thing?" Think about the scenario for the disciples. They had been following Jesus and hanging on His every word and deed. They were most likely mesmerized by His wisdom and His power. They had yet to really understand the power or even the deeper concepts that He shared with them in intimacy when they were alone. Suddenly He throws this news to them - betrayal and death! Those words sent shock waves through their systems. No! This could not be true! Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. Who would possibly be able to murder Him??? They missed the but and their hearts were filled with grief.
Here were disciples who had watched Jesus in action. They had seen people raised from the dead. Being raised from the dead meant life! However they could not process the last phrase in Jesus' words because their focus was on the tragedy of losing Him. Their emotions were now in control of their minds. Their ears and brains had ceased to function for the moment. If they had waited to react until after they had processed all that Jesus had to say, their reaction might have been very different. Although the thought of Jesus being killed would be very upsetting, the mere idea that he would be raised from the dead would be incredible to anticipate. But they weren't thinking along those lines, and their hearts were filled with grief.
Have you ever had a "but moment" with God? I have ~ quite a few as a matter of fact, but there is one that stands out strikingly against the backdrop of my life. I had just moved to Atlanta to start my life over. Within a few short weeks I had realized that this wonderful job I had relocated to take was not going to be so wonderful after all. There were clearly huge conflicts with the personalities that were in leadership and I was powerless to make the changes that were needed for the organization. I vividly recall sitting on the bed in my studio apartment and crying out to the Lord. I was alone with no friends, no family, no church support system. It was God and me. Pure and Simple. I sought understanding from Him and He provided, although there was a huge BUT.
Prior to moving a dear friend and prophet of the Lord had shared with me a vision that had been given to him by the Lord for me. In that vision there had been a very difficult mountain climb that was culminated with a surprise decent. The rest of the details of the vision are not important at this juncture, because that night as I sat crying on my bed, the Lord spoke. He reminded me of the vision asking if I remembered. Then He told me I had to trust Him because in spite of what had already transpired in my life to free me, I was still ascending the mountain and there was even more pain ahead of me. The climb would be very difficult, BUT He promised me that there were blessings in store for me along the way that I would not even be able to imagine. He was so right about the difficulty of the months that were ahead of me. However if I had not heard the rest of the sentence, I would have gotten very discouraged. Instead I was able to focus on the future and not the present and persisted through those very difficult times.
The blessings did come and still are. Are the difficult times over? Those times are, but more have come along the way. That is life. If we are only listening to what we can understand through our initial grasp of the situation and the input of our five senses, then we will surely struggle. Listening to all that He tries to explain or just share with you provides power and strength that only He can provide. We can do nothing on our own strength. If we think we can, then we are falling into the same trap as listening to only part of what is being said to us. We need the complete heart of God within us. We need the wisdom and discernment that following Holy Spirit brings us. We need the full agape love that the Lord has bestowed on us and through us. We need the Alpha and Omega - the beginning and the end, not bits and pieces of Him.
One more scripture for you: James 1:21-15 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.Without taking all of the verses together with the "but's", we will surely miss the mark. Hearing the word is not enough, we must be doers of the word. We need the entire message the Lord is giving to us and we must live out the entire word, trusting Him in all things, knowing that He has a righteous plan for our lives. Are you listening to the But's in your life?
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Peter's Wife
Last week we considered Mary, Jesus' mother, and her role at the wedding at Cana. This week we will consider another woman of the Bible, one that has never been discussed in any of the bible studies in which I have participated. I must be honest with you at the outset: there is very little information about her, yet we know she was existed. Matthew 8:14 Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever. We know very little about the personal lives of the apostles through the Bible, yet they clearly had lives before Jesus came onto the scene. Imagine with me for a little while what it must have been like to be a family member of one of the apostles.... Peter leaves one morning to go fishing, just as he has everyday of their marriage. He says goodbye to his wife and kids and off he goes. However when he returns he is totally changed. How does he explain to his wife what has happened to him and more importantly, how does he explain that he is going to follow this man called Jesus? How is his wife to manage taking care of their family when Peter is now spending all of his time with this man of whom she knows nothing? Can you imagine as a spouse, as a caretaker of the home and family, what this must have done to her mind?
I believe that we can surmise that Peter and his wife had come to an excellent understanding of what God was calling them to do. Notice I use the plural. When a spouse is called to serve, there has to be unity in purpose at home if the call is to be answered. There are extra-biblical writings that do record information about Peter's wife and how she supported him. However, we will let Peter's description of marriage in his own writings give us a sense of how he felt. 1 Peter 3:1-2 is just an introduction to this area. In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands, even those who refuse to accept the Good News. Your godly lives will speak to them better than any words. They will be won over by watching your pure, godly behavior. I choose to believe that Peter was describing his own wife. He was blessed to witness this response in action through his wife's acceptance of his authority and his understanding of what Jesus was telling him. Have you ever felt as if your life was turned upside down because someone in your life had passionately embraced the call of God? It could have been a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a best friend. Nothing stays the same when God calls and we answer. None of our relationships can stay where they were. No aspect of our lives can stay as it was. We have a choice we can make, just as Peter's wife did. Can you imagine what ministry would have been like for him if his wife had not embraced the call with him? Similarly can you even begin to imagine what her life was like because she did embrace the call with him? Think about it. Her once normal existence was dramatically altered. She never knew who Peter would be bringing home. Here she was caring for her sick mother and in waltzes Peter with Jesus and most likely the rest of the apostles. I can picture the look on her face. Have you ever been there? Caring for sick folks and then suddenly having to entertain? But when God comes calling the extraordinary will happen, if we will obediently open the door and let Him in. If the historical accounts of Peter are true, his wife was martyred before him and he encouraged her all the way to execution. I will leave it to you to explore these sources. My challenge to you is this: are you willing to have a life altering transformation occur because of your encounter with Jesus? I am not suggesting that you forsake your jobs and run to the mission fields. The mission fields are right here in front of us. America is one of the most lost nations on earth of those that claim to be Christian. Rather I am suggesting that how we live our lives should reflect the dramatic shift from being worldly centered to being Godly centered. Most importantly, our families should be impacted by this shift, followed by our friends and our workplaces. Again, think about Peter's wife and the impact on her friends and family after Peter came home and shared the news. Imagine the next morning when Peter takes off to go follow Jesus and his wife tries to move about a normal day - only there is no normal any more. I wonder what those first conversations were like that she had with her friends. It is time that we all become radical for Christ. If our lives do not demonstrate that we have been transformed then it begins today. I recently read a wonderful word in Bill Johnson's book, When Heaven Invades Earth, "We must plan as though we have a lifetime to live, but work and pray as though we have very little time left." Live with the same fervor that the apostles did. Jesus has touched our lives. He lives and because He lives, we are now able to enjoy eternity with Him. That is not a futuristic statement. We are enjoying the beginning of eternity with Him right now! Live your lives with the knowledge that you are walking with Him now! The kingdom of God is real and within us. Please live your lives that way and let the light of God beam out from within you to impact this dark world. If you are blessed to have someone in your family passionately embracing Him, do not be critical, but jump on board! It is contagious, see for yourselves. Spread the infectious love of God wherever you are in life.
I believe that we can surmise that Peter and his wife had come to an excellent understanding of what God was calling them to do. Notice I use the plural. When a spouse is called to serve, there has to be unity in purpose at home if the call is to be answered. There are extra-biblical writings that do record information about Peter's wife and how she supported him. However, we will let Peter's description of marriage in his own writings give us a sense of how he felt. 1 Peter 3:1-2 is just an introduction to this area. In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands, even those who refuse to accept the Good News. Your godly lives will speak to them better than any words. They will be won over by watching your pure, godly behavior. I choose to believe that Peter was describing his own wife. He was blessed to witness this response in action through his wife's acceptance of his authority and his understanding of what Jesus was telling him. Have you ever felt as if your life was turned upside down because someone in your life had passionately embraced the call of God? It could have been a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a best friend. Nothing stays the same when God calls and we answer. None of our relationships can stay where they were. No aspect of our lives can stay as it was. We have a choice we can make, just as Peter's wife did. Can you imagine what ministry would have been like for him if his wife had not embraced the call with him? Similarly can you even begin to imagine what her life was like because she did embrace the call with him? Think about it. Her once normal existence was dramatically altered. She never knew who Peter would be bringing home. Here she was caring for her sick mother and in waltzes Peter with Jesus and most likely the rest of the apostles. I can picture the look on her face. Have you ever been there? Caring for sick folks and then suddenly having to entertain? But when God comes calling the extraordinary will happen, if we will obediently open the door and let Him in. If the historical accounts of Peter are true, his wife was martyred before him and he encouraged her all the way to execution. I will leave it to you to explore these sources. My challenge to you is this: are you willing to have a life altering transformation occur because of your encounter with Jesus? I am not suggesting that you forsake your jobs and run to the mission fields. The mission fields are right here in front of us. America is one of the most lost nations on earth of those that claim to be Christian. Rather I am suggesting that how we live our lives should reflect the dramatic shift from being worldly centered to being Godly centered. Most importantly, our families should be impacted by this shift, followed by our friends and our workplaces. Again, think about Peter's wife and the impact on her friends and family after Peter came home and shared the news. Imagine the next morning when Peter takes off to go follow Jesus and his wife tries to move about a normal day - only there is no normal any more. I wonder what those first conversations were like that she had with her friends. It is time that we all become radical for Christ. If our lives do not demonstrate that we have been transformed then it begins today. I recently read a wonderful word in Bill Johnson's book, When Heaven Invades Earth, "We must plan as though we have a lifetime to live, but work and pray as though we have very little time left." Live with the same fervor that the apostles did. Jesus has touched our lives. He lives and because He lives, we are now able to enjoy eternity with Him. That is not a futuristic statement. We are enjoying the beginning of eternity with Him right now! Live your lives with the knowledge that you are walking with Him now! The kingdom of God is real and within us. Please live your lives that way and let the light of God beam out from within you to impact this dark world. If you are blessed to have someone in your family passionately embracing Him, do not be critical, but jump on board! It is contagious, see for yourselves. Spread the infectious love of God wherever you are in life.
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