Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Yesterday, my pastor and I announced to the church where I currently serve that God has called me to serve in another church on out district. An exciting and painful reality as this bittersweet transition unearths so many amazing memories and also heart filled faith for the next adventure God is leading us in. There is not doubt in me that my ability to hear the voice of my Father so clearly is because of these precious saints that have mentored me, taught me, and loved me well.

And so God multiplies us and gives us increase. The God of this city is still God over the mountains and to the sea. My cries out the following verses:

“May the Lord answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion. May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. May we shout for joy over your victory and lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests. Now this I know: The Lord gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”

Psalm 20:1-7 NIV

http://bible.com/111/psa.20.1-7.niv

Our God is faithful and He will continue to prove Himself faithful. Our God is good and He will continue to prove Himself good. May God be glorified in our lives as we part so that when we come together again, our God will receive exponential praises through our obedience to Him because of His great Love for us.

We are one in the Spirit, we are One in the Lord

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Down in the Face

Until the day when we see our Savior face to face, we have the opportunity to face life in sin or In Him.

In Genesis, Cain's face was downcast, his offering rejected by God...

but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:5-7 NIV)

Why?

Sin

God gave him opportunity to go and do well, but well he chose sin and death.

In Joshua, Joshua"s face was downcast, God's people were humiliated and defeated at Ai and word was spreading.

The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. (Joshua 7:10-11 NIV)

Why?

Sin

God gave the people of Israel opportunity to go and do right and they chose cleansing.and yes there was death to the part of Israel that sinned, but victory at Ai was on the way.

Is your face downcast?

Why?

Sin

forgetting faults and excuses...confessing pride and unbelief.

Take the advice of David, the command of Scripture. 

God is faithful! God is good!

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Rahab Loses Everything?

Rahab said to the spies that Joshua sent to Jericho in Joshua 2:9

“I know that the Lord has given you the land"

Later we are told in Joshua 2:15

"Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she lived in the wall."

And the first thing that happens in this battle --the "walls of Jericho" fall and crumble to the ground. All that she has is gone.

Do you think she at some point calculated the cost...or at the moment her house fell, was their regret, fear, or faith?

We know where she landed as the ancestor of Jesus, but in the midst of the circumstances, I can only imagine her interior life based on my own inward struggle of faith in spite of what I see. It makes sense that a woman of such faith as Rahab would be in the family line of Jesus.

At times my heart/strength may fail, but (here is the faith) my God You never will!

James 3:18,

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Jesus, Shine on me!

Light exposes the true character of everything because light makes everything easy to see. That’s why it says: “Wake up, sleeper! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:13-14 GW)

I quote scriptures all the time like...

Ask for wisdom, Jesus gives wisdom to all without finding fault. (James 1)

May your love abound in knowledge and depth of insight( Philippians 3, 1 Thessalonians 1, Colossians 1)

When I pray these scriptures, I am praying for Jesus to shine on me, light up my heart, motives, actions. If i do not invite and allow His Light to shine on me, I find myself much like this cartoon below kind of being aware and trying to think and love and have my being in Christ but with no direction or clue what that looks like. Just like the blind leading the blind. 

James 3:17-18,

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However, the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure. Then it is peaceful, gentle, obedient, filled with mercy and good deeds, impartial, and sincere. A harvest that has God’s approval comes from the peace planted by peacemakers. (James 3:17-18 GW)

Lack Perspective...He Still Heals

When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?"

“I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” Jesus told him, 

“Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! 

But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!”

(John 5:6-10 NLT)

Jesus asked about his will. "Do you want?" The man responded implying his desire to get well but "I can't" after a long time being there reveals both his frustration in the current circumstances, but also his perseverance of faith and hope. 

The disconnect was the man had no perspective of Jesus yet. 

But in the next moment, something happened. Jesus, the Author of Life spoke Life and Healing into this man. With what would be a simple command to anyone but a crippled man who can't move. And in obedience to this new revelation of perspective with Jesus standing at the center of it, he got up, took up his mat , and walked. 

Voice your frustration to God whose perspective is always higher than yours and unlike the Jewish leaders who rested on their wrong perspective. Listen to the Author and Finisher of your faith and obey. 

You will be glad you do. 

Luke 1:38,

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Sometimes Faith...

Sometimes faith is like Moses and the children of Israel coming to the Red Sea...only his staff entered before the waters parted and stood high on both sides, fire behind leaving only one way to go. 

Sometimes faith is like Joshua and the children of Israel coming to the Jordan River...only after they entered into the water did the water part leaving one wall of water and open plain on the other side.

Sometimes faith is not like either one of those. 

Luke 1:38,

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Faith Pile Up

I love word pictures. So whether the title of this blog finds you in this stage of faith...

Your faith is active and piling up in prayer and trust as you wait on God's timing. 

Or this stage of faith...

Like Joshua, who commanded a leader of the twelve tribes to take a stone from the middle of the Jordan River as they crossed through on dry ground. So in gratefulness they remember the faithfulness of God and have kindling for faith to increase. 

Don't lose heart, don't give up, for in due time you will reap a harvest.

Luke 1:38

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