faithfulness

Emmanuel, God with us . . .

/ 56vick / 1 Comment

I recently enjoyed a trip to Oregon to play with my Grandson’s Noah and Liam.  Typically northbound trips include other agendas, but this trip was specifically to enjoy these two treasured gifts from God. If raising my children was a cupcake from God, then having influence in the lives of my grandchildren is the icing and the cherry on top. I suppose in my mind, it gives me opportunities for a do-over, in the places of my greatest deficit with my children. Though I raised them to have faith in God, my life choices often reflected a god other than the living God. Perhaps that is God’s grand design for grand parenting; the opportunity to slow down and enjoy the very things I rushed over when I was younger.

Sharing my heart for grandchildren, a dear friend gave me a wonderful book of devotional readings for children by Susan Lloyd-Jones & Jago entitled Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing. It is atypical and void of the list of dos and don’ts, rather it focuses on the relationship God desires to enjoy with His children. It is profoundly simple and beautifully illustrated and will speak into the heart of any truth seeker, regardless of age.

I had prayed for opportunity with the boys that was unforced and conversation that was meaningfully and God provided. I chose a devotional that reinforced the truth that is profoundly difficult to accept in our culture and read about the three word God was us to always remember, ‘I love you’. Satan’s crafty temptation of Eve in the garden was in the form of a lie; one he continues to use today, ‘God does NOT love you’. His example was the exclusion of a desired fruit on the tree in the center of their God-given paradise. The truth that became crystal clear to me as I read to my grandsons was I often still believe that lie. ‘God does not love me if he does not . . .’ you can fill in the blank with anything from denial of something most desired to loss of what is most highly treasured.  In our consumer mentality where enough is never enough and satisfaction seems elusive, Satan’s lie reduces God to a genie in a magic bottle rather than the lover and salvation of our very souls and the purpose for our existence.  As I pondered this for the remainder of my time with the boys, God began to move me towards a deeper understanding of Emmanuel, God with us. Satan wants us to believe God is against us because God does not respond as we desire. Rather God’s truth is He is with us, not just in the sense of His presence, but in a synergistic way. The picture that comes to mind is of team rowing or sculling. There is a beauty in the synchronized motion of this sport. Imagine if you will, what it would look like if a rowing team were facing in the same direction and rowing in opposite ones.  I think you can grasp the idea. Emmanuel, God with us, is not only attendance, it is movement, originated by him in which we join and follow, like rowing.  God is with us! God is for us! God loves us!

Are there places you, as a follower of Christ, are living like God is against you, believing Satan’s lie? God wants to rewrite that for you and me.  Three simple words God wants us to believe to counteract the lie of Satan, ‘I love you.’ What we believe informs our behaviors, not what we say we believe.

Treasure these words of mine in your heart and in your soul. Deuteronomy 11:18

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21

 

Be Blessed

Emmanuel, God with us.

Emmanuel, God with us.

Encouraged . . .

/ 56vick / Leave a comment

Since Christmas Eve, where we shared a wonderful evening with friends focused on the ‘stars’ God has used in our lives, I have been encouraged in my spiritual journey. I am in the process of completely my degree in psychology at Grand Canyon University (GCU) and these last two classes (taken together) have been a challenge and a drain on my ability to function well. I understand why this process is discouraged at GCU, never the less, I can say, I have almost done it, but at great cost. What this has taught me is the idea of balance and how being out of balance is harmful both to myself and my relationships. I am an ‘isolater’ and when I’m overwhelmed, I reach hermit status very quickly. My house falls apart, my work is challenged and in general, I’m unhappy, angry and self-destructive. You would think I would know this about myself by now but apparently any wisdom I have in this area is over run by my need for achievement. (Perhaps that’s a topic for another time.) I often think of this place as a desert experience because my relationship with the Lord is affected in this process as well. Though I think I have been in a desert place in 2014, this ‘desert’ was my own creation. The constant in this created space was God’s faithfulness to expose areas that need his tender care (or in some cases his bulldozer) and to finish the work He has begun in me. That does not mean I have any more answers than before but the result was a paradigm shift for me on Christmas Eve.

December 26th I began reading the book of Matthew, slowly, chunk by chunk. Impressed by the lengths God took to bring his gift of redemption, his son into this world, I was in awe of the movement of God in the processes of time and the stage of characters surrounding Christ’s birth. I began to see how time was and is in God’s control and He is not rushed but strategic in it’s application. James McDonald said this at a conference I attended years ago, “God rules the world with his feet up and does not break a sweat.” I could see God’s hand both globally and personally in the circumstances and relationships involved. This gave me a sense of peace, a spiritual deep breath, as it were, for the circumstance of my own life. It helped me sit back and see that though God is deeply concerned about me personally, I am not the center of his universe. There is much more going on in God’s purview than my life circumstance. That gave me perspective and patience. For neither Mary, Joseph, the shepherds or wise men were ignored in the events surrounding Christ’s birth. All were effected personally and eternally. Finally, because of this wider perspective, I was able to reflect on the guiding ‘stars’ God has used to bring me to this point in my spiritual journey and be grateful. It gave me hope and encouragement as I anticipate more guiding stars in 2015.

So I ask you, as my friend asked me on Christmas eve, What ‘stars’ has God given you to bring you to this point in your walk with Him? Have you thanked Him for his provision? Have you thanked him for his faithfulness to keep His promises to you personally?
Maybe you are just beginning to get a glimpse of a star in your life. What might God be saying to you or where might He be leading? Wait in awe for the star to stand over the place God has for you as it did over the place of Christ’s birth.