A Lesson from the Ants

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Proverbs 6:6-8

6 Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.
Learn from their ways and become wise!

7 Though they have no prince
 or governor or ruler to make them work,

8 they labor hard all summer,
 gathering food for the winter.

Proverbs 30:25

25 Ants—they aren’t strong,
 but they store up food all summer.

Every summer an army of ants invades our kitchen. We’ve used traps, pellets and homemade concoctions to kill them, but they keep coming back to gather food! IMG_4369

In utter frustration yesterday I told myself “I am DONE! I give up! I can’t get rid of these suckers!” But then, that still small voice whispered inside my head and said “hmmm….I wonder if there’s a lesson in this?!”

Lesson #1: Sometimes I am a lazybone in my communication with God. After a few months of praying the same thing over and over and over without hearing a reply, I become frustrated and stop talking- or listening to Him.

1 Thessalonians 5:17-18

17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Lesson #2: Sometimes I am unwise in believing my power comes from my abilities. In my pride I think I am capable of storing up food all summer, BY MYSELF! Eventually, though, as I continue to carry all my breadcrumbs alone, they become too difficult for me to handle and the weight of them begin to crush me spiritually, emotionally and physically.

2 Corinthians 12:9

9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.

Lesson #3: Sometimes I am motivated by others to work. Instead of receiving my marching orders from God, I look to people for direction, inspiration, approval, a sense of worth – and inevitably, when my expectations aren’t met and I become angry and discouraged.

Psalm 118:8-9

8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
 than to trust in people. 9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
 than to trust in princes.

So today, I have decided to put away the ant killer and take a lesson from the ants. After all, the Lord God must have created them for more than just ruining our picnics and invading our kitchens, didn’t He?!

I Urge You

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1 Corinthians 4:14-16

14 I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. 15 For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. 16 So I urge you to imitate me.

This passage, taken from a letter that Paul penned to the church in Corinth, appears to be written by a pompous and proud leader.

It isn’t.

Paul, who was the church founder, was writing to his beloved children to warn them of the evil that was operating in their midst. These “infant” Christians were still very susceptible to living by the flesh, instead of living in the Spirit. As a result, they were indulging in all kinds of sin; greed, cheating, sexual sin and worshipping idols, just to name a few. In order to continue training them in the way that they should go, Paul, who was their spiritual father- their mentor, urged these new believers to imitate him- as he imitated Christ. He was, as any loving parent would do, imploring his children to obey God so that they could enjoy a long life!

Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child [a]in the way he should go,
Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Ephesians 6:2-3

2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

This parent-child relationship that was established in the early church doesn’t just apply to the Corinthians. It applies to today’s church in England, Africa, China, America….the world. It is critical that every part of the Body of Christ (whether we are “infants,” “teenagers” or “adults”) has a spiritual father or mother to disciple us. Without a mentor to teach, encourage, and yes, lovingly rebuke us at times, we, like foolish children are prone to disobey our Father in Heaven. Left to ourselves, we can easily become consumed by the evil in our midst, and succumb to the desires of our flesh. As a result, we (sometimes unknowingly), choose for ourselves a rod of punishment.

1 Corinthians 4:18-21

18 Some of you have become arrogant, thinking I will not visit you again. 19 But I will come—and soon—if the Lord lets me, and then I’ll find out whether these arrogant people just give pretentious speeches or whether they really have God’s power. 20 For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power. 21 Which do you choose? Should I come with a rod to punish you, or should I come with love and a gentle spirit?

“Some people talk a lot about faith, but that’s all it is- talk. They may know all the right words to say, but their lives don’t reflect God’s power. Paul says that the Kingdom of God is to be lived, not discussed.”

-Life Application Study Bible

With love and a gentle spirit, I want to urge to find a spiritual father or mother. The mentor you choose should imitate Christ and live a life that produces good fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). They should be a man or woman whose heart is submitted to obeying the Lord. They should be a person who is willing to humble him/herself, confess and repent for their sins not only to God, but also to others.

James 5:16

16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

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And, they should be a person who is willing to invest their time, talent and treasure into training you to become a fully devoted follower of Jesus (NOTE: this person may or may not be your Pastor, Sunday School Teacher or Small Group Leader. In the past, I naively expected leaders in the church to provide the training I needed, but I quickly realized that their role was that of an apostle, prophet or teacher- not a mentor).

“Paul told the Corinthians to imitate him- to follow his example. He was able to make this statement because he walked close to God, spent time in God’s Word and in prayer, and was aware of God’s presence at all times. God was Paul’s example; therefore, Paul’s life could be an example to other Christians. Paul wasn’t expecting others to imitate everything he did, but they should imitate those aspects of his beliefs and conduct that were modeling Christ’s way of living.”

-Life Application Study Bible

Idol in My Hand

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Isaiah 44

18 Such stupidity and ignorance!
 Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see.
 Their minds are shut, and they cannot think.

19 The person who made the idol never stops to reflect,
  “Why, it’s just a block of wood!
 I burned half of it for heat
 and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat.
How can the rest of it be a god?
    Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?”

20 The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes.
 He trusts something that can’t help him at all.
Yet he cannot bring himself to ask,
    “Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?”

Recently, the Lord asked me to fast social media- again. A week into the elimination of checking news feeds, notifications, friend and follower requests, ministry and blog stats, I realized something extraordinary….joy had returned to the munIMG_4342dane tasks of my life! I had previously assumed I knew God’s reason for the fast, but I now know I was once again leaning on my own understanding….and believing a lie.

The truth, which He illuminated in His Word today exposed an idol that I had been holding in my hand; my cell phone, with its many social networking apps.

Throughout my journey as a disciple of Jesus and leader of other followers, I’ve tried diligently to find my love, worth and acceptance from God alone. Unfortunately, there have been times in which I’ve been deceived into believing the number of followers, likes on our page, “friends,” or comments on my blogs is an indicator of how much I am loved and how “successful” I am in leading others. Without even consciously realizing it, I have been a poor deluded fool. I have feed on ashes, by measuring a block of wood, drawing a pattern on it, carving it into a human figure (Isaiah 44:13) and continuing to worship it.

Jesus wasn’t concerned with being liked by “friends,” networking to obtain more followers, holding larger fish and loaves conferences, or writing #trendy blog posts. His life focus was entirely about loving God & surrendering His will in complete obedience to Him. By doing so, His soul was filled to overflowing with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galations 5:22-23). You see, Jesus felt loved, worthy and accepted by His Father- regardless of how others adored…or hated Him.

Through no effort of His own, Jesus became a famous preacher, teacher, healer and “friend” of many…..yet He always, always, always diverted His praise to the One in which it was due; the Creator of the Universe, the Creator of man and woman, the Creator of me, the Creator of my “ministry.”

“If it is only because of my preaching that people desire to be better, they will never get anywhere near Jesus Christ. Anything that flatters me in my preaching of the Gospel will end in making me a traitor to Jesus; I prevent the creative power of His Redemption from doing its work.”

-Oswald Chamber, My Utmost for His Highest

Father, thank you for ever so gently exposing the lie of the enemy in my soul. Obliterate my pride. Destroy the idol that I have created. Teach me to look to you alone to fill me. Help me to lay down my life for others– regardless if they adore me or hate me, just as your Son did. Thank you for your grace and forgiveness. Amen

Have Some Breakfast

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John 21:1-17

21 Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. 2 Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.

3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”

“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.

4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. 5 He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?”

“No,” they replied.

6 Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.

7 Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. 8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore. 9 When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.

10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.

12 “Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.

15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?[e]”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”

“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.

16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”

“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.

17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.”

I am no stranger to burn out. In fact, almost annually I find myself in the same unending cycle of serving, serving, serving, with no hope of ever finding rest. If the cycle continues for too long, my body eventually refuses to perform at its optimum level by succumbing to infection or exhaustion. My emotions also tend to become unstable, ranging from overwhelming anger to intense sadness. The most damaging symptom of burn out for me however, is a spiritual disconnect. Although my mind knows I should be still before God, my heart struggles to engage with Him. Reading The Word becomes a chore, my prayers sound rote and my worship feels superficial.

My knee jerk reaction to all of these symptoms is to eliminate EVERYTHING on my schedule–immediately! Although this way of quickly controlling the situation does provide me with more free time, it rarely compels me to allow the Holy Spirit the opportunity to reveal the reason why I continue in this destructive cycle of performance.

All of us have a deep desire to be known- and loved. It was birthed in us by our Creator and was designed to be satisfied by Him alone. The unfortunate thing is, we sinners often look to other people to fill us with a sense of purpose, worthiness, acceptance and love. And since all have sinned and fallen short, others can never satisfy the need we have for our soul to be filled up by our Lord. Thus, we are left feeling disappointed, empty, unappreciated and unloved.

“If I am devoted to the cause of humanity only, I will soon be exhausted and come to the place where my love will falter; but if I love Jesus Christ personally and passionately, I can serve humanity though men treat me as a door-mat.”

Oswald Chambers

How then do we love, care for and feed God’s sheep without becoming exhausted?IMG_4033

We must love Jesus Christ personally and passionately BEFORE we serve humanity.

How do we do that?

Every day we must put our tunic on, jump out of the boat and swim to shore. We must allow the Holy Spirit to nourish our soul by sitting and having some breakfast with Our Savior (and it can’t be a bowl of artificial colors and flavors – we can’t live healthy lives on that! We need life giving sustenance to keep us going; eggs, bacon, waffles, fruit and Starbucks coffee!!!).

And…..

At the beginning of every fishing season we must ask God, “what do I need to eliminate from my schedule so that I can have breakfast with you every day? What, or who do I need to say “no” to so that YOU are once again the priority in my life?” Once He answers, we must be willing to drop our nets and trust that He will provide others to pull in the fish while we are away.

I Never Knew You

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Matthew 7:21-27

21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

I’ve been perplexed about Matthew 7:22 for years. How is it possible for people to prophesy, cast out demons and perform many miracles without knowing God? How can the gifts of the Spirit operate in unbelievers or disciples who are disobeying God? I’ve gone round and round about this with my mentor. Every time I’ve asked her these questions, she’s always given me the same reply, “Jodie, the gifts are without repentance.” Feeling thick headed I usually moan, “I just don’t understand that!”

But one day last week, a miracle happened…..

I was reading this passage again when my friends words echoed through my mind- and the Holy Spirit breathed revelation to my soul:

1)  God is in control

2)  God is able to chose who (submitted disciples, unbelievers or rebellious followers) He gives spiritual gifts to

3)  God is able to chose what type of gifts He wants to give

4)  Spiritual gifts are not a sign of repentance, but a sign of Gods power and ability to Advance His Kingdom through whatever and whomever He chooses

5)  God will judge those who do not know Him and who deceive others through false prophesy, etc.

6)  I am able to choose whether or not to listen to Jesus’ teachings and follow Him

7)  I am able to choose whether or not to use God’s gifts to go make disciples (Matthew 28:19)

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A son or daughter who chooses to listen & follow God will have a stable life. Everything they do, every decision they make that is submitted to God will be rock solid. When life’s circumstances begin to flood in and the wind and rain beats against them, they won’t collapse. They know that their foundation can withstand any storm.

But, I’ve only met 1 person who could listen and follow perfectly, at all times: Jesus Christ.

What then are we sand castle building children to do?

Ignore all the areas of our lives that are collapsing?

Judge others who are breaking God’s law in order to make ourselves feel better?

Complain about all the areas of our lives that are not rock solid?

Uh….no.

1)  We can choose to rest in the truth that The Master Architect has great plans for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11).

2)  We can choose to believe that God is building us into sons and daughters who look more and more like His perfect Son.

3)  We can choose to obey Him in whatever area of our lives He is rebuilding at the time (our lives, our marriages, our children, our jobs, our ministry…..).

4)  We can choose to read His Word and do what it says.

5)  We can choose to repent for disobeying God’s laws.

6)  We can choose not to judge others who are disobeying God’s laws.

7)  We can choose to use the gifts He gives us in order to Advance His Kingdom.

As a daughter of the Most High, I choose to build my life on solid rock, by fearing God above all others, for I have NO desire to hear my Father say, “I never knew you….” on judgment day.

Proverbs 9:10

10 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom.
    Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.

All My Fears

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Psalm 34:4-7 

4 I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
 He freed me from all my fears.

5 Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
  no shadow of shame will darken their faces.

6 In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
  he saved me from all my troubles.

7 For the angel of the Lord is a guard;
    he surrounds and defends all who fear him.

IMG_4003Even before WRAL’s Dual Doppler 5000 sees a blip on its radar screen, our dog Maggie alerts us to an impending storm. Her eyes widen as fear consumes her and she begins to pace, drool and pant like she’s run a full marathon. We’ve tried everything we know to soothe her; petting her, lying beside her, whispering assurances, putting a thunder jacket on her, kenneling her, but nothing seems to eliminate the terror inside.

Matthew 14:29-30 

29 “….So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strongwind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.”

Although I don’t tend to drool or pant when a storm arrives in my life, I have some of the same tendencies of our chocolate lab when fear begins to consume me. I start to obsess about the circumstances, my mind becomes bogged down with “what if’s” and my emotions fluctuate between rage and uncontrollable weeping. Unfortunately, by the time I’ve reached these stages, my will has already decided to cling to fear. Even though my mind may not be cognizant that I am trying to control the wind and waves, I am essentially saying to God: “I don’t fear you…..I don’t trust that you can, or will save me.”

Deuteronomy 13:4

4 Serve only the Lord your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him.

Sadly, I tried a lot of things over the years to try to sooth myself; taking prescription drugs, over eating or drinking, engaging in sexual sin, blaming others…..before I decided to lift my eyes above the storm and look to the Lord for help.

Thankfully, however, I’ve since discovered that the “F” word CAN be eliminated from my life when I crucify my pride, discover the Truth found in God’s Word and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal where my debilitating fears come from. When I do, He is always faithful to scoop me up out of the water and place me safely in His arms, where I can be still… and know that HE is God.

I wonder if He’d be willing to do the same for Maggie so I can get a little sleep tonight!?

Hebrews 13:6

6 So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper,
so I will have no fear.

A Little Child Will Lead Them

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Isaiah 11:6

In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;
 the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.
The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,
  and a little child will lead them all.

Before our whirlwind family trip last week, Doug and I began preparing our children for what they may experience in the big cities we planned on visiting. We told them about the noise, the smells, the sights, the difficulty in navigating busy streets, the traffic, the multitude of people, the venders selling things to tourists, etc. etc. etc. What we could not prepare them for, however, was their reaction to the poor.

We passed several people on the streets of Philadelphia during our 2-day visit, but one man in particular stood out to our son. Our family was completely oblivious, however, to his encounter until we left the noisy streets and returned to our less noisy hotel room. Moments later, our son began to weep uncontrollably. After multiple attempts to console him, he was finally able to sputter out a few words as to why he was so distraught;

“that man…… sitting on the street……was hungry….and had no where to live……”

Although I was moved by our son’s compassion, I’m embarrassed to admit that my initial thought was “yeah, he probably lives in some posh apartment and pays for all his luxuries by begging tourists for money.” Moments later, as I continued to watch our sons heart break, I realized my judgment (based on prior experiences) was an indicator of my heart- which was not being motivated by love.

A short time later, with a changed heart, I prayed with our son, right there in our hotel room in the city of brotherly love, and asked God to fulfill every need for that man. Afterwards, I told our 7 year old that the next time he saw someone in need to SPEAK LOUDLY so we could stop and do something.

IMG_8806Four days later, as our family was walking down 5th Avenue in New York City, we passed a man sitting on the sidewalk with a cardboard sign. I slowed my pace, waiting for our sons voice to ring out above the noise of the people, the taxi drivers blasting their horns and the construction equipment rumbling overhead…..a heartbeat later I heard, “MO-OOOOOMMM….there’s a man!!! I want to give him some money.”

I stopped dead in my tracks, turned around to look at my husband, who was already pulling cash out of his pocket, and watched, through tear filled eyes as our son, escorted by his father, walked back up the crowded sidewalk to give a tangible gift of love to a man in need. After the gentleman accepted the money, he looked at our son and said “God bless you both.” Indeed, He already had- for a little child had led us to a greater understanding of how to love our neighbor; whether they are poor in spirit, poor in relationships, poor in truth, poor in hope, poor in joy, poor in kindness, or poor in possessions.

Mark 12:31

31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’No other commandment is greater than these.”

Proverbs 19:17

If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—
and he will repay you!