Who is my Mother?

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Matthew 12:46-50

46 As Jesus was speaking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. 47 Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and they want to speak to you.”[a]

48 Jesus asked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 49 Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. 50 Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!”

IMG_5323Mother’s Day: A National Holiday reminding us to celebrate the woman who carried us in her womb, labored to bring us into the world, and sacrificed 18+ years to teach us the way that we should go.

Exodus 20:12 tells us to honor our mother (& father), not just one day a year, but at all times. To honor is “to highly esteem or respect.” It is required when we are children and when we become adults. Even when we leave and cleave and are no longer under our parent’s authority (commanded by God to obey them), we must value them, as the Lord does.

Jesus honored His mother unto death. His sacrifice gave her, and everyone who believed in Him, eternal life with the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. But I wonder…. how did Mary feel when Jesus grew up and left her to minister to the world? Was she offended that He didn’t spend more time with her? Was she angry that she had to wait to speak with him? Was she feeling jilted because she had to share Him with others?

As children of God we are blessed with LOTS of parents and siblings! Not only do we have the benefit of being born or adopted into our family, we get to be born again into God’s family of believers. As a part of His church, we have the privilege of having a multitude of “mothers and brothers” to teach, encourage, exhort and rebuke us so that our hearts will become like His; fully surrendered to our Heavenly Father.

If we are wise, we will listen to what Jesus said to the crowd in order to ensure that all our family relationships are rightly ordered. Above all others, we are to seek and obey the Father’s will. When we place our mother or brothers (or sisters, children, spouse, friends….) above our relationship with the Creator of the universe we are guilty of worshipping other gods. This was never Gods intention when He created the family.

Fortunately for us, freedom from sin against the Father is always found through His Son. When we confess, repent and receive His forgiveness the Holy Spirit enables us to love God and love all our family members with genuine affection.

Romans 12:10

10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

Dress Yourself in Humility

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1 Peter 5:5-11

5 In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for

“God opposes the proud
 but gives grace to the humble.”[a]

6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers[b] all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.

10 In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. 11 All power to him forever! Amen.

When Doug and I finally gave God all our worries and cares, the Holy Spirit began His work to restore, support and strengthen us individually- and together.

Believers, all over the world have, and will go through the same kind of suffering in their marriage that we did. As with most couples, our story involved two broken people who finally surrendered to the Father. But it didn’t happen simultaneously. Doug was the first to humble himself.

After years of trying to conquer sexual sin in his own strength, in 2001 my groom was faced with the prospect of loosing his wife, children and career. Everything that he held dear was being stripped away in the span of only a few hours. Fortunately, for him- and his family, he cried out to God for help….and in His kindness, God reminded him of his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus.

My surrender came several months later. Like a roaring lion, I was looking to devour my husband and make him pay for all the scars & pain he inflicted on me during our years together. I was angry, bitter, judgmental and completely blind to my own sexual sin- and stubborn pride. Until one day…while I was cursing my husband, the Holy Spirit interjected (literally in mid sentence): “I died for him too. He is forgiven. You must forgive.”

The restoring of our marriage began with both of us confessing and repenting to the Father. Had we stopped there, we would have stayed together with a firm foundation, but our relationship would not have been rebuilt the way God designed. In order to continue the construction process, Doug and I once again had to humble ourselves by confessing our sins to each other and repenting for the pain we inflicted in one another’s souls. We had to be willing to give and receive forgiveness. We also needed to allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate the deep, dark, hidden places in the basement of our past so that we could see where the enemy had stolen, killed and destroyed areas of our lives- and marriage. Once we knew the Truth, we were set free by confessing, repenting and forgiving.

078As with any remodel, the project towards oneness has been long….and sometimes extremely hard. And it still isn’t finished! But I can tell you from experience: the blessings of obedience far outweigh the cost of humbling ourselves under the mighty power of God.

If you are in the midst of a marriage renovation, dress yourself in humility towards God and your spouse. The Lord promises that at just the right time He will lift you up in honor. So trust Him! Don’t rush the reno. A firm foundation and well built home takes time.

Psalm 37:7

7 Be still in the presence of the Lord,
 and wait patiently for him to act.

At the Lord’s Feet

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Luke 10:38-42

38 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

IMG_4461When our schedule is overly busy I often become distracted by all the details of life. As a result, I fail to take time to be with the Lord. A few weekends ago, after traveling home from several days away I returned to my secret place with my bible, journal, pen and devotional. After I sat down and took a deep breath I muttered “hey, God….” in which He replied, “you’ve been worshipping me every day, but its been a while since you sat with Me.” My soul agreed. I deeply missed His presence.

So often, “worship” becomes another thing I do. In my daily effort to serve God, I forget that sitting at the Lord’s feet, listening to what He wants to teach me is the greatest act of worship. Like Mary, once I realize there is only one thing to be concerned about, I can just sit at my Saviors feet, and nothing- nothing else matters than being in His presence. In those moments, I am able to completely submit my soul (mind, will & emotions) to the Father, which is the heart of a true worshipper.

As I sat this morning at the Lords feet, I prepared nothing. I didn’t work. I didn’t worry. I wasn’t upset over all the details of the day. I just sat literally and spiritually in His presence. And as He spoke, my spirit confirmed His truth. My mind knew that He is God. My will obeyed His voice. And my emotions gave release to the longing in my heart- to be greatly loved.

Romans 5:8-11

8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

A Shocking Thing!

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1 Samuel 3:11-14

11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. 12 I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end. 13 I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God[a] and he hasn’t disciplined them. 14 So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.”

1 Samuel 2:12 tells us that Eli’s sons were “scoundrels.” During their ministry as priests, they not only stole sacrificial meat offerings made by their fellow Levites, they seduced women who were serving at the entrance of the Tabernacle!

As a parent, I have often felt condemned when our kids behave like “scoundrels.” But, the truth is, I am not guilty for their sin. Each of our children has their own will (some stronger than others!). All of them have the freedom to choose life or death; obedience to God by submitting to their parents or disobedience towards God by rebelling against them. Our three daughters and only son will stand alone before the Judge to give an account of their actions. I won’t be punished for their sin. I will, however, be held accountable for how I failed to discipline them when they disobeyed.

IMG_5056Let me state plainly: I am NOT a perfect parent. Our kids aren’t perfect either. But, I have learned a few important things on this parenthood journey…

1) I must worship God above all others.

Whenever I place my husband, our children, or any person/thing above Him, I am guilty of idolatry and I, and our family will suffer the consequences of my actions.

2) I must submit to my husband, as unto the Lord.

Studies continue to show that kids thrive in families that have a father and mother who honor their marriage covenant, ‘till death. When I love my husband, our children feel loved.

3) I must train our children.

When 1 & 2 are rightly ordered, my life is a living testimony to our children. I don’t have to lecture them relentlessly about what it means to love God and others. They will see it in my actions every day. And when they disobey, I don’t have to take it as a personal attack against who I am in Christ. Instead, I can love them enough to discipline them and assure them that forgiveness…and restoration is always available through repentance.

Eli “may have been an excellent priest, but he was a poor parent. His sons brought him grief and ruin. He lacked two important qualities need for effective parental discipline: firm resolve and corrective action. Eli responded to situations rather than solving them. But even his responses tended to be weak. God pointed out his sons’ error, but Eli did little to correct them.” -Life Application Study Bible

I would hate for the Lord to do a shocking thing in our family because I failed to heed his warnings to correct our children’s behavior. I’d much rather obey His commands to train our children in the way that they should go so that our family may reap His blessings for a thousand generations!

Proverbs 22:6

6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Exodus 20:6

6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those[a] who love me and obey my commands.

Wait Patiently

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Romans 8:18-26

18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children,[a] including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope[b] for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.) 26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness…..

This weekend, while traveling the friendly skies with my husband and another couple, we had the opportunity to depend on the Holy Spirit to help us wait……..patiently.

IMG_5283On our first flight out, we were forced to sit on the plane for an additional 75 minutes after being pushed back to the gate to fix a mechanical issue before take off (I won’t bother to mention the screaming kids that were banging their feet against peoples seats & slamming the window shade up and down while their mom continued to yell at them to “stop it” and their dad sat catatonic across the aisle). As a result, the delay caused us to miss our connecting flight. After deplaning, we were told the next (& only) available flight would depart 5 hours later. After much discussion between my husband and the ticket agent, we were booked on another airline and finally arrived at our destination…4 hours later than expected.

En route to the airport two days later for our return flight, we received a voicemail from the airline informing us that our departure had been delayed. Another message, pushing the departure time back even further prompted a phone call to the airline to discuss our options. There were very few. We came to the conclusion that our best option was to proceed to the airport to talk to a ticket agent……and wait patiently for the next available flight out. Multiple conversations with multiple agents and several flight delays later, the flight was cancelled. We then made arrangements with another airline for a flight home the following day.

Early the next morning, we arrived back at the airport to check in. The airline had NO RECORD of our reservations. IMG_5286(Seriously, people, I am not making this stuff up!!!!) More waiting. More patience. More negotiating with ticket agents. With boarding passes finally in hand, we scurried through security and raced to the gate. The flight was delayed. Then delayed again…and again. More waiting. More patience. More negotiating with ticket agents. Eventually, we arrived home safely- almost 24 hours later than scheduled.

There are many scheduled departures and arrivals in my life, my marriage, my parenting and my ministry that I continue to wait eagerly for.

Will I trust that His promises will be fulfilled?

Will I trust that He knows the days, times and locations of all my flights?

Will I trust Him to pack my bags with everything I need once I arrive?

Will I trust Him to give me the tickets at the exact moment they are required to board the plane?

Will I trust Him to send the right travel companions with me for the journey?

Only if I surrender everything to the will of the Father and depend on the Holy Spirit to help me wait……..patiently.

Psalm 37:7

7 Be still in the presence of the Lord,
 and wait patiently for him to act…..

Truly Free

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John 8:31-36

31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

33 “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”

34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.

When I exchanged death for eternal life by believing in Christ, I assumed that as a daughter of God, I would no longer be a slave to sin- instantaneously.

I was wrong.

As I’ve continued on my journey as a disciple of Jesus, who wants to know and remain faithful to His teachings I’ve discovered that being set free is also a journey. A journey of knowing the truth.

How do I know the truth?

-I must get to know Jesus.

John 14:6

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

How do I get to know Jesus?IMG_2963

-I read His Word.

-I worship Him.

-I talk…and listen to Him. I tell Him my needs and my wants. I ask questions, then listen for His still, small voice:

“Lord, what do I need to repent for?”

“Father, who do I need to forgive?”

“God, what do You want me to do/not do?”

After I’ve heard Him speak, I have the opportunity to obey Him- or try harder not to sin. Trying harder by reasoning, avoiding temptations, reading self-help books or depending on others to fix the problem never brings freedom. All my efforts, all my discipline, and all my sacrifice may cut the top off the weed temporarily, but it won’t eliminate the root system of sin.

If I want to experience freedom in Jesus I must rely on the power of the Holy Spirit in order to believe Him in every area of my soul (mind, will & emotions). Only then can I be released from captivity and be truly free to bring Good News to others.

Luke 4:18

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
 for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
 He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
 that the blind will see,
 that the oppressed will be set free…

The Blazing Furnace

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Daniel 3:16-30

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. 18 But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

19 Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. 20 Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments. 22 And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in. 23 So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames.

24 But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did,” they replied.

25 “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god[a]!”

26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire. 27 Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!

28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!”

30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.

IMG_4466I’ve been thrown into life’s blazing furnace multiple times. On several occasions I’ve asked God to pleeeeeeeease untie my hands so I could escape the sweltering heat, but He refused.

Honestly, that infuriates me. My rational mind thinks, “why would You allow your daughter to suffer?!” But when I finally get over my temper tantrum and humble myself before the King of kings my spirit re-engages with His and I no longer feel the need to defend myself. Then, ever so gently, He reminds me that His Son experienced unimaginable suffering on my behalf. Never once did He declare His position or power to defend Himself. Instead, He trusted the Father, knowing He was sovereign and that His plans, no matter how painful, were for good.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s story is absolutely remarkable to me. Their faith in the One true God was put to the ultimate test by king Nebuchadnezzar. When faced with certain death, they believed God could save them from the blazing furnace. They also knew that if He didn’t, He had a good reason. These 3 men felt no need to defend themselves from being punished unfairly, instead they made it quite clear that they would never serve his gods or worship any idols.

As the enemy of my soul increases the heat, making the furnace seven times hotter during this season of my life, my faith will once again be put to the ultimate test.

Will I believe God can rescue me?

Will I believe if He allows me to be thrown into the furnace that He has a good reason?

Will I believe that He will be with me in the fire?

Will I believe that He will give me the strength to stand?

Will I believe that He will deliver me without a singed hair, scorched clothing or the smell of smoke lingering in my soul?

My mind knows He’s done so over and over and over again, but my flesh sometimes still doubts Him.

So what do I do?

The truth is, I can do nothing…..without Christ.

Philippians 4:13

13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

Every single day I must continue to crucify my flesh by submitting my will to the Father. I must ask Him to pour out His Spirit on me in greater measure so that I will have the strength to stand. I must worship Him, regardless of how I feel. And I must fix my eyes upon Jesus, instead of the flames, so that I can continue walking with Him, wherever He leads.