Monday Morning Memo: F-E-A-R Part 1

A couple weeks ago, I wrote on having peace by keeping our focus on Christ.  While we know this to be true…it is often so hard to live out.  As a result, I am noticing a common theme among many people these days…yes, even Christians…and that theme revolves around “fear”.  

 

I have spoken quite a few times on the subject of fear, so I recently pulled up all my notes on this subject.  Normally, I am standing up front and those who are listening are sitting in front of me.  But with me still in recovery and spending most of my time in a recliner…that scenario just ain’t happening!  So, I’ve decided to do a several week “study” on fear and I’m inviting you to join me.  Don’t worry, I won’t bore you with all my notes…I’ll just give a synopsis.  

 

If you’re willing to join me, just imagine you are sitting in my family room, I’m in my recliner…while we delve into this thing called “fear”…

 

(Imagine this being said in a hillbilly accent…). Fred and his wife Edna went to the state fair every year.  Every year Fred would say, “Edna, I’d like to ride in that there airplane.”  And every year Edna would say, “I know Fred, but that airplane ride costs ten dollars, and ten dollars is ten dollars.”

 

One year Fred and Edna went to the fair and Fred said, “Edna, I’m 71 years old.  If I don’t ride that airplane this year I may never get another chance.”

Edna replied, “Fred that there airplane ride costs ten dollars, and ten dollars is ten dollars.”

 

The pilot overheard them and said, “Folks, I’ll make you a deal.  I’ll take you both up for a ride.  If you can stay quiet for the entire ride and not say one word, I won’t charge you, but if you say one word it’s ten dollars.”

 

Fred and Edna agreed and up they go.  The pilot does all kinds of twists and turns, rolls and dives, but not a word is heard.  He does all his tricks over again, but still not a word.

 

They land and the pilot turns to Fred, “By golly, I did everything I could think of to get you to yell out, but you didn’t.”

 

Fred replied, “Well, I was going to say something when Edna fell out, but ten dollars is ten dollars.”

 

Doesn’t it feel good to laugh?  Unfortunately, I’m afraid some of us have forgotten how to laugh.  Fear seems to have taken a hold on many of us in these times which seem so uncertain, and our laughter has been replaced with our fears.  There is the fear of our unsettled economy, the fear of our impending election of a new president; many have the fear of losing their job or their spouse either through death or divorce, or the fear of illness.  Some of us may have the fear of sending our kids off to school this fall…wondering if they will be kept safe.

 

Now fear is an emotion and it is normal and all of us will experience some fear in our lifetime.  Psalm 56:3 says, “When I am afraid, I will trust in You.”  These words tell us that the issue isn’t so much whether or not we will have fear and worry.  We learn by this Scripture that it assumes we will be afraid and anxious at times.  What is important is where we turn and to whom we turn when we are afraid.  

 

I want us to look at the letters in the word fear, F-E-A-R, and see what allowing fear to consume us says about our relationship with Christ. 

 

First of all, when we allow fear to overwhelm us, it shows our lack of Faith in God.    Let me ask you a question.  How big is your God?  Do you know that when we allow our fears to rule us, we make fear more powerful than our God?  We’re saying, “God, I know you have parted the Red Sea, and raised people from the dead and created the entire universe, but I’m afraid that this particular situation I’m in is out of your jurisdiction.  I think it is more than you can handle God.  You are powerful, but this is probably more than even you can cope with.”  And I think we have this picture in mind of God watching our life go on, rubbing his hands together, sweat dripping from his forehead and saying, “Oh boy, I never expected that to happen to LuAnn.  What is she ever going to do now?”

 

When we open God’s precious Word…we find these reminders:

 

“You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!”  Psalm 68:35

 

“You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the people.”   Psalm 77:14

 

"Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”    Jeremiah 32:17

 
You see, faith is a mindset that expects God to act.  When we act on this expectation – knowing that God can handle everything that comes along – we can begin to overcome our fears.

 

There is a statement which I have attached to all my emails which I send out and it says, “Real faith is not just receiving from God the things we want. Real faith is accepting from God the things He gives us. It is that acceptance that makes the difference.”

 

We need to ask ourselves how we are doing in this area.  Is our faith in our all-powerful God…or is our faith in ourselves? Are we living our life in expectation…expecting God to handle everything in His perfect will and timing?  If we aren’t…then we can expect fear to control us.  

 

When fear begins to rear its ugly head this coming week, let’s stop and ask the question, “How big is my God?”   If He is truly the Creator of the universe…the one who knit us together while we were in the womb…I’m guessing He can handle anything that comes our way.

 

See you next week.  Don’t be late!

Monday Morning Memo: Holy Ground

Well, I had planned to begin a several part “study” today on my blog…but then yesterday morning happened.  Since then, I haven’t been able to shake those moments…so I will share them with you.

 

They are moments which, if I’m honest, I’m not proud of.  Let me give you a little background.  As most of you know I’ve been doing a lot of “recovering” this year due to two surgeries.  The first surgery at the end of February caused me to miss ten Sundays of going to church because the pain was just too high.  For someone who looks forward to Sunday all week long…missing those Sundays was pure torture.

 

Then at the end of June, surgery number two happened and the need to stay home returned again.  I was so determined to return to worshipping with my brothers and sisters in Christ much sooner this time…but due to some “hiccups” in my recovery…yesterday was week seven of spending Sundays at home.

 

So there I was yesterday morning…in my bathroom…sitting on my knee cart (pain keeps me from standing while I get ready)…feeling sorry for myself.  Truthfully, I was sulking.  “Why me Lord?  Why in the world am I still home on a Sunday when I so desperately want to be in church?  Lord, there are lots of people who could go to church but make the choice not to go…and here I am…begging to be able to go and I can’t.  Lord, this isn’t fair!”  It wasn’t a pretty sight.

 

Then, I felt Christ whisper, “Holy Ground”.  I thought it was a strange thing to hear, especially since I was sitting in my bathroom, but once again, “Holy Ground”.  At that point, I began to sing the song, Holy Ground, and as I did…tears began to fall, and it wasn’t long until I was sobbing (possibly because my singing was so bad!).  I then grabbed my phone and went to YouTube to find this song to listen to and somehow, on my screen, the words, “Holy Ground Devotional” popped up.  I clicked on it, and I felt like Christ was speaking right to me.  It said, “Holy Ground is no longer a place, it’s the Person of Christ living in and through us and He changes everything.”  Then, at the end of the devotional was this prayer, “Thank you that holy ground is not a place but a position – being found in you, Jesus, and you in me through the Spirit.  Let my heart be one in awe of you, burning for you, and changed by you.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.”  And the tears flowed once again.

 

Later in the afternoon, I was listening to music online and in the middle of this time…guess what song was played.  Holy Ground.  When God has a message to give you…He always wants to make sure you get the point ;-) 

 

Friend, I needed to be reminded that if Christ lives in me…it doesn’t matter where I am…I am on holy ground.  Christ’s presence is with me, and I can worship Him, hear from Him, learn from Him and I can bask in His glory …even in my bathroom or laying in my recliner.

 

Are you feeling left out today?  Maybe you are in the same situation that I am and for physical reasons you are unable to attend church or do much of anything else because of your restrictions.  Maybe you are okay physically, but your spouse has forbidden you to attend church on Sundays and your heart aches to be there.  Maybe you could attend church, but the last time you went someone hurt you and you are still dealing with the pain of damaging words.  I want you to know that I am so sorry.  The people of a church don’t always behave the way they should.  They are sinners, saved by grace, just like me and you…and we all can do and say things at times which hurt others to their core.  Again…I am sorry.

 

No matter what your circumstances and feelings are today…remember that wherever you are…you are on holy ground.  If Christ is living in and through you…that changes everything!  That makes where you are standing or sitting right now…holy ground.  You can worship and hear and learn from Him right where you are at this very moment.  

 

I just want to say one more thing.  If you can attend church…but aren’t because of past hurts…please remember that the church is not a building.  The church is made up of non-perfect people who unfortunately, don’t always do a good job of representing Christ.  We are all a work in progress, and I don’t say that to excuse the hurts you have felt because I know those feelings are real and they run deep.  Trust me…I’ve been there.  But please…don’t give up on the body of Christ.  Keep searching for a group of believers whom you can do life with, worship with and serve with.  Believe me…it’s worth the search :-). 

 

“Father, thank you for loving me, with all my faults and failures.  Thank you for holding me in your arms during those times when I am discouraged and feel the need to sulk.  And Father, thank you for not leaving me to dwell in those moments, but lifting me up and reminding me that I am on holy ground with You.  Let my heart be one in awe of you, burning for you, and changed by you.  Amen.”

 

HOLY GROUND CHORUS    

We are standing on holy ground
For I know that there are angels all around
Let us praise Jesus now
For we are standing in His presence on holy ground

Monday Morning Memo: We Should Have Peace?

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting to the place where I hate to turn on the news anymore. Pushing the “on” button on the remote, fills my mind with reports of atrocious, hate filled murders, unimaginable abuse of children, politicians all shouting they have the answers for our country but, unfortunately, most of those “answers” aren’t based on Biblical principles…and I could go on and on. Add to that our day-to-day stresses of living such as job issues, family difficulties and health issues and it is no wonder that many people are suffering from depression.

 

The surprising thing is that none of this is new news.  Just pick up the Bible and start reading the Old Testament.  I don’t know if you have noticed, but there aren’t a lot of fun, good-feeling stories there either.  There were many wars, multiple murders, people sacrificing their children, plagues (just to name a few) and none of these events leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling.   In fact, sometimes reading these Biblical accounts makes a person feel worse when they’re done than when they started.

 

But then, come across Isaiah 2:22 and it says, “Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils.  Why hold them in esteem?”   Read and reread that verse, and you may come to the same conclusion that I did that this verse summarizes the main reason we can feel “down-in-the dumps”.  Many times, we become discouraged because we have put our eyes on man and man has let us down.  As Christians we need to remember that our focus is not to be on a human, but on the One who created us and will never let us down.

 

Humans can be unreliable, selfish, shortsighted, cruel…yet we often seek after them instead of putting our trust in our all-knowing God.  Psalm 100:5 tells us, “For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.”  HE is good…HE is faithful…HIS love never fails.  

 

If we believe this to be true, then it is important that we ask ourselves: Where is my focus?  On whom do I put my trust?  If Christ is the answer to these questions, then even when the world is in turmoil around us, we can have peace that passes all understanding.   And it is that peace which the world is looking for, but may never experience, unless they see it in us first. 

 

Monday Morning Memo: Mixed in Manure?

It started last week when my husband came into the house looking perturbed. He had just taken our dog, Truman, out to allow him to have his morning run.  But much to Dan’s dismay…instead of watching him run…he found the dog rolling in a pile of poop.  Isn’t that what you wanted to hear to start your week?  

 

We had no choice but to give Truman a bath.  It wasn’t what we had planned for that morning…and it surely wasn’t what I wanted to do during my recovery…but if we wanted to get near him again…a bath was greatly needed. 

 

By the way, did you know the Bible talks about poop?  OK…maybe they refer to it using a much “nicer” word…manure.  But it’s all the same thing.  Luke 14:34-35 says, “Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again?  Flavorless salt is good neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown away. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!”  Aren’t these some of the strangest verses in the Bible?  I wouldn’t even think of putting salt, flavorless or not, on poop (excuse me…manure)…so what in the world does this mean?  

 

I started doing some research and as always, I found several different explanations for these verses.  But there was one that sort of stuck in my warped mind…so naturally, that is the one I will share with you.

 

In these verses, Jesus was referring to his followers being like salt in the world and if we lose our “saltiness”, we’re not fit for even the manure pile.  But for that to make sense, we need to know why salty salt is good on a manure pile and why unsalty salt isn’t.  I have never bragged that I’m an expert on manure piles…so I had to do some investigating.

 

The explanation I found was that in Jesus’ day, people cooked over fires that used dried animal manure as fuel because deserts didn’t have a large supply of wood.  The people learned that when they mixed salt with the manure, the salt caused a chemical reaction which made the fire burn brighter and hotter for longer.  But after a while, this process broke down the salt, causing it to become unsalty, and so the chemical reaction with the manure stopped and the fire would go out.

 

Jesus used this illustration to get across to the people that they were supposed to be like salty salt, so that when they were mixed in with the “manure” of the world, they were able to cause God’s Word to burn brighter and hotter.  In other words, their lives should be causing the “chemical reaction” so they would shine brightly for Him!

 

All I could think of as I read this explanation was… how hot is my manure pile?  If how I am living my life determines how brightly I am shining for others who don’t know my Jesus…do they see Him in me or is my “fire” petering out?  Have I lost my “saltiness” in the unsaved world around me…or am I making sure my life is kept “seasoned” by my close relationship with Jesus? 

 

You’ve probably already guessed that I can’t end this without asking you the same question…how hot is your manure pile?  Is it burning hotter and brighter because the “salt” of your life has been thrown in the mix?  Or are your embers starting to go out?   

 

I think we can all agree that we are living in a world that needs Jesus.  If we aren’t shining brightly for Him…I’m doubtful that anyone will be too interested in our cold embers.  Maybe we’ve been a little like Truman and we’ve been rolling around in the “manure” of the world instead of living for Christ.  If so, we may need a good “bath” from Him…allowing Him to clean us anew from sins which have caused us to lose our saltiness.  

 

Let’s make a point this week to throw ourselves into the “mix”, with our saltiness, so that those who are lost will be drawn to our flame.  Time is short and there is a lost world that needs to see our light!

Monday Morning Memo: A Slap in the Face

Oh, it was hard not to laugh.  I knew I would just make him more upset if I even smiled…but it took everything within me to keep a straight face.

 

When our grandson, Zeke, was just three years old, he came running to me one day…crying. Through his wailing, he told me that Eli, his then five-year-old brother, had slapped him in the mouth.  Of course, as he told me this, Zeke slapped himself in the mouth to demonstrate what had taken place.  It became comical when he kept showing me over and over again how he had been hit and he was slapping himself with quite a bit of force.  Even when I told him that he didn’t have to keep showing me, he said, “Grandma, but this is what he did!”  

 

Eli was called into the room and he admitted his transgression and apologized.  All was well once again and they ran off and resumed their play.  But I’m guessing that Zeke’s mouth stung for awhile…not because of the initial incident… but because of the continual demonstration which occurred afterwards!

 

We laugh at this, but how often do we do something similar to ourselves?  Life can be painful and it probably isn’t really uncommon that someone hurts us with their words or actions.  The pain from those times is real and I’m not trying to diminish the effects which it can have on us.  But, if we are honest, I’m guessing there are times when we continue to bring it up over and over again…reliving the pain which in turns just makes it more anguishing for us.  Even after there is an apology, it is so easy for us to just keep mulling it over and over again, until it consumes our entire day.

 

Forgiveness is such a hard thing to live out.  Oh, we say we have forgiven someone, but actually demonstrating that forgiveness is often very difficult.  I think we feel like the other person needs to suffer for their actions and so if we continually harp on it…they will endure the pain they deserve.  We want to scream out to anyone who will listen, “But this is what they did to me!”

 

There are also the times when the other person never apologizes.  Never admits any wrongdoing.  Never comes to say they are sorry.  Those times are difficult, and it is so easy to allow their transgressions to make our life miserable.  We feel that releasing this pain will somehow let them “off the hook”, so we grasp it with clenched fists to hurt them, but all it does is hurt us.  

 

I know that some of you have been through horrible events over the years and my heart grieves for you.  You have had to endure more than your fair share of pain and hurt and you have been “slapped in the face” figuratively and maybe even literally.  Getting past the anguish and moving on is so difficult.  But I want to urge you today to take inventory of your thoughts and actions to see if maybe some of the things you are holding onto, as a result of this pain, need to be turned over to Jesus.   Maybe instead of living it over and over again, you need to let Him take over and fill you to the brim with His peace.

 

Remember, giving it to Jesus doesn’t mean that what the other person did was right.  It isn’t justifying their actions.  It is you realizing that you won’t answer for anyone else, you will only answer for your response and your actions.  Jesus is waiting for you to trust Him completely with your past, present and future, but to do so you will have to let go.  Let Him have your pain and hurt today and allow Him to fill you anew with His Spirit.

 

I realize that sometimes it is even hard to know how to pray in this situation, so I’m sharing this Prayer of Forgiveness that I came across.  Use it today and make the choice to give it all to Jesus.  It won’t be easy…but it will be worth it!

PRAYER OF FORGIVENESS:

 

“Father, I lay down (person’s name) to You.  Lord, I’m having a hard time letting go of the hurt.  God, I want to forgive, but the pain is almost too hard to let go of.  But today, I choose to give it to You.  When they (tell Him what they did), it crushed my soul.  I give you that hurt.  Lord, heal every part of me that is being affected by this situation.  I release them and the situation to You.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Monday Morning Memo: Will You Be There?

The word which has been rolling around in my head is “expectation”.  It seems to me that we spend much of our life in “expectation”.  When we are growing up, we live in expectation of becoming a teenager, of being able to drive, of graduating high school, and then going to college.

 

Many of us then live in expectation of finding a good job, finding a mate, getting married, having children, and then being blessed with grandchildren.  We now have eight, amazing, beautiful, multi-talented grandchildren and believe me…we waited in expectation for each one of them to join our family!  

 

Is there anything wrong with living with expectations?  Of course not.  I think it is good for us to have events for which to look forward.  Sometimes it is those anticipated happenings which give us hope and a bright outlook and so it is often good for us to look forward.

 

But, and you knew there would be a “but”, the problem occurs when we are only living for future times and wasting today.  We can become so focused on our future “possibilities” that we miss the certainties of the present.  How many parents spend years just waiting with expectation for the day when their kids will be in school, only to miss the precious moments of today?   How many people can’t wait until they get that perfect job, and neglect the opportunities they have today to make a difference in the lives of others?  How many adults wait with expectation for the day when they can retire, grudgingly enduring today and making everyone around them miserable in the meantime?

 

I think we need to remember that there are short-term times which we should approach with expectation.  If I truly want to be more like Christ, I should begin each day in expectation of spending time with Him.  I should be excited.  I should be hungry to learn what He has to teach me.  And believe it or not…I should even have more expectation to meet with Him than I do to see what is posted on Facebook.  

 

If I desire to look more like Christ, I should also wait with expectation for the times when I gather in His house and hear from one of His messengers.  I believe I should anticipate and look forward every day of the week to what He will teach me during the next time of worship with my brothers and sisters in Christ.  This means that on Monday morning, I should already be praying for and looking forward to the next Sunday.  Now some of you may be thinking… are you crazy LuAnn?  I should spend the next 6 days in expectation of next Sunday…just because I’m going to church?  Well, if we can wait with expectation for months and even years for events which have no eternal significance...I happen to believe we can do it for 6 days 

 

I have a challenge for you this week.  Every morning when you wake up, approach your quiet time with the Lord with expectation.  Enter into His presence expecting Him to work within you and through you.  Each day during your quiet time, tell the Lord that you are already looking forward to next Sunday.  Begin praying for your Pastor that the Lord would work in him or her throughout the week as he or she prepares their sermon.  Begin praying that during your time of worship, you will hear Him whispering in your ear and be open to His leading.

 

I believe that if we live today with expectation…God will begin to work within us in a mighty way.  I’m excited to hear how He is speaking to each of you and how your life is changing because of listening to Him.  He is expecting to meet with you today…will you be there? 

 

“I rise before dawn and cry for help;
I have put my hope in your word.
My eyes stay open through the watches of the night,
that I may meditate on your promises.”

Psalm 119:147-148

Monday Morning Memo: The World is Watching

My devotional reading took me to Mark 3, where the names of the twelve disciples are listed.  To be honest, I usually just skim through this section of scripture…because I’ve never really thought their names were that big of a deal.  But when I read them this time, one of the verses really stood out to me.  It was verse 17 where it says, “James and John (the sons of Zebedee, but Jesus nicknamed them ‘Sons of Thunder’).”  It may have stood out to me more this time…because it made me think of The Chosen episode where this occurs.  Regardless…it made me pause.

 

I don’t know about you…but I think it would have been awesome to have Jesus give me a nickname.  I mean, how cool would that be?  That is, as long as it referred to a positive attribute of mine.  I would have been thrilled if scripture would have listed my name, and then clarified that Jesus nicknamed me “Patient LuAnn” or “Daughter of Peace” or even the title of my first devotional book, Image Seeker.  Any of those would have been amazing.

 

Unfortunately, many of my attributes aren’t so positive.  If you have read Image Seeker, you may remember that growing up my nickname was Walter Cronkite…yeah…not really what a young girl wanted to be called.  But the name was fitting…because I did talk a lot and I always wanted to beat my siblings in telling news to the world.  In other words…I received the nickname because I was a blabber-mouth!

 

That “label” is probably ok when you are 10, but it’s not so pretty at the age I am now.  My lack of patience probably isn’t something I would want Jesus to refer to either if He gave me a nickname.  Moreover, neither is my sometimes-cynical attitude very becoming.  What if scripture referred to me as “Impatient LuAnn” or “One Who Blabs” or “Skeptical One”.  Maybe I should be thankful that Jesus didn’t list a nickname for me in scripture.

 

Of course, those around me probably have nicknames for me and I’m confident some of those aren’t very flattering either.  The sobering fact is that the world is watching me…and you…and will label us by what they see us doing and saying.   Will they see love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control?  Or will they hear us saying one thing…but living out something entirely different?

 

Now we know we won’t always make others happy and our ultimate goal should be to please our Savior.  Each of us is a work in progress, and fortunately, Jesus loves us enough to keep chiseling away at those attributes which aren’t very pleasing to Him.  I think as we look more and more like Him, others are bound to see His reflection in us and will hopefully want what we have. Maybe then they will give you and me the nickname which we all should be striving to receive, “Christ-Follower”.

 

“Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, 

because my servants must be where I am. 

And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.”

John 12:26