Month: May 2019

“I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 CSB

This verse makes my heart skip a beat.  How the Lord loves us, so much so, He won’t let us stay as we are, AND He won’t stop.  That is what this verse says to me. No matter how many times I mess up, no matter how many times I fall off the narrow path, He is there.  He doesn’t give up on me. He knows where we are headed and He is going to get us there. No matter how bad I think I am, was or will be, it does not deter Him one bit.  He still has a plan for me and He is working it out.

This past week I’ve had several different conversations with friends about the past, specifically sins of the past. I’ve been thinking about the mistakes I made in my life, how they changed me, how I’ve grown from them.  My life is so different from where I was 30 years ago, sometimes I don’t even know who I am. It seems to have changed more in the last 7 years than any other time. I find the person who brings my past up the most to me is me.  I’m the one who continues to condemn myself for those mistakes. God doesn’t. Some people do, but most don’t. It’s me that I have to forgive most sometimes.

It works the same way for others.  When people start following Jesus, they are acknowledging that they are sinners.  That they need Him to make them whole. And when that happens there will be change.  It won’t happen overnight, it will be day by day, but there will be change. They won’t be the same person they once were.  God will be working on them, just like He says He will. They will struggle with forgiving themselves for their pasts, just like we struggle with ours.   If we’ll look close enough, we’ll see it’s true.

The key to both of these perspectives is that God started a good work in me.  He started a good work in you. He has started a good work in us, and He’s not stopping.  God is the one doing the work, not us. It is by getting to know Him better that you will change.  As you take small steps of faith and unveil the richness of God’s glory, you will change. Each day you make time for Him, interact with Him, trust Him, you will change.  Even in the times when it doesn’t feel like God is doing anything, those are the times He’s probably doing the most. And He doesn’t need your help doing it. God has started a good work, and He will see it through to completion.

“When I am afraid, I will trust in you.”  Psalms 56:3 CSB

I was thinking this morning about the first email I ever sent to my husband Ron.  We met playing on a tennis team together. I made the first move, shockingly. We were paired up by our Captain, literally and metaphorically, now that I think about it.  We hadn’t lost a single match, but he was going to be out of town the next week, I was going to have to play with someone else.

I liked him so much, I was willing to send him an email and risk rejection. I asked him to please try and get home in time for the match. Of course, I worded it as sweet as I possibly could, which is not easy for me.  He did make it back. We lost our first match because he was so tired. But who cares about the match, because I got to be with him.

That’s a cute story, but it in no way conveys how hard it was for me to send that email.  At 40 years old, unmarried, having heartbreak after heartbreak, do you think I wanted to try again?  Heck no. You know what helped me overcome my fear of rejection? GOD. No one else, just Him. People had hurt me so desperately by this point in my life, I didn’t trust anyone.  I had put it all in God.

You know what I was thinking when I sent that email?  “Well, if he doesn’t like me God, I know You do.” That is how I overcame my fear, by trusting God.  As a result of sending that email I can now say I have been married to him just shy of seven years. He is the love of my life, my soul mate.  I literally thank the Lord for him everyday; I’m constantly praying for decades more together. But to get to this, I had to get over that.

People miss the in-between, the small steps they can’t see.  Thomas Edison discovered the light bulb. He filed his first patent in 1878 but it took two years to actually begin production.  That was two years of late nights, long days. That’s two years of failures and rejections. That’s two years of sweat and tears.  To invent the lightbulb, which we now take for granted and throw away in hordes. The further we get away from the work it took to make it, the easier it is to take it for granted.  And all of that work took faith. It took willingness to fail, willingness to get rejected, willingness to trust that no matter what, God is always with you.

There is not a journey without a step. You cannot overcome fear without trust in God.

“I pray that He may grant you accordingly to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through His Spirit.” Ephesians 3:16 CSB

This is key to understanding the power God has given each of us.  The word “being” in its original form is anthropos, in this verse it means “metaphorically, used of the internal man, meaning the mind, soul and the rational man.”  This is your spirit, the essence of who you are as a person, being strengthened by God’s spirit. That is where the power comes from for you, it’s up to you to tap into it.

What is it?  

It is God’s glory in this verse.  I love what glory means in its original form: gift.  We are to tap into the gift of God’s glory to receive His power.  The ultimate gift God has given us is Jesus. If we tap into Jesus, we are given His power in our inner being.

The other day, my husband and I were at Walmart.  He pointed out to me that they have installed charging units for electric cars.  It’s fascinating how the world is changing around us so quickly. Charging stations for electric cars at Walmart…who would have ever thought?  But they are there. I personally don’t drive an electric car, but I have friends that do. I know they need to be charged often. I know they don’t go very far in between charges.  It would be difficult for an electric car to make a cross country trip. One would have to plan out stops along the way to make sure they could get charged back up.

We are the same as the electric cars.  We need charged up often to get going. Without an influx of electricity, we aren’t going to make it.  Just like someone driving across country needs to plan out stops to get charged back up, we need to plan refills in our life as well.  We need to plan daily time with the Big Guy to give us a jolt. We need to put in place ways for little top offs throughout our day. A worship song here, a podcast there, all fuel to the fire for our inner power.  It’s not enough to know where the charging stations are, we have to plug into them to receive their power. If we want God’s power in us, we have to plug into it, repeatedly to keep our engines running.

“May the Lord of “peace” himself give you peace always in every way.  The Lord be with all of you” 2 Thessalonians 3:16 CSB

I love what my Bible dictionary says about the original word “peace”, “the opposite of war and dissension.”  This particular use of it in this verse is even better; “gospel of peace” meaning “gospel of bliss, meaning it leads to bliss”.  How about that for peace? God wants to give you bliss in your life, in every way.

But what is bliss?  What would that look like for you?  It’s different for every person. I thought this the other day as I was waiting for my students to show up for a private tennis lesson.  It’s a brother and sister who I’ve been teaching for the past year. On this particular afternoon it was hot, sun was beating down and it was obvious they weren’t thrilled about having to hit a tennis ball.  As I watched their grumpy faces approach the court, I realized they had probably been fighting with Mom the whole way to the courts. Meanwhile, I’d been there for 15 minutes hoping they didn’t show up because it was so hot and I was tired.  None of us wanted to be on the court because of the heat. None of us were feeling blissful.

But the bliss was in the relationship.

I love these kids.  I admire their Mom that week after week she battles their complaints and gets them to the court.  I admire these kids because they don’t ever complain verbally, even though I can see on their faces they aren’t thrilled.  I realized as I waited for them yesterday, I was grateful I had this on my calendar, otherwise I would have been sitting studying, not getting any activity.  That’s not healthy either. I realized, it’s why we need people in our lives. It gets us out of ourselves, it helps us focus on others. I realized quickly, the three of us needed to make the best of this situation and have some fun.  I quickly changed my strategy and turned it into a day of games. We found bliss on a hot tennis court, with the sun beating down on us, a place none of us wanted to be at that moment, we found bliss.

Isn’t that what bliss is?  Making the most of a bad situation.  Finding the good in it and focusing on that instead of the bad.  Isn’t peace trusting that no matter how hot the sun is, God is with you?  He’s in the midst of the battle (Isaiah 41:10). He’s fighting for you, not against you (Romans 8:31 NIV).  His love endures forever (1 Chronicles 16:3 NIV).

I know there are very dark days. I know we all have dark nights of the soul that seem impossible.  I know that a hot tennis court seems like a vacation from the heat in your life right now. But I also know this, our God is bigger, our God is brighter.  Our God is here to bring the light, the light of the Son into every dark crevice on earth. He’s got the power, He’s got the peace, He’s got the bliss!

“Jesus said to him, “If you can?  Everything is possible for the one who believes.”  Mark 9:23 CSB

Can you imagine saying to Jesus, “If you can?”  I can’t, because I believe Jesus can do anything.  That was my first thought, my next thought was, “I say that to Him all the time.”  I literally doubt Jesus can do everything. I know I do, because if I didn’t I wouldn’t have fear, I wouldn’t have doubt.  I wouldn’t wonder sometimes what is going on, because nothing seems to make sense. I would just trust, knowing Jesus has it.  But I have trust issues, with Jesus.

If we did a poll, and were all honest, I think we all do.

We all have those situations in our lives where we’re not quite sure what is going on.  Everytime you pray, it seems to get worse not better. The minute you give it to God, you immediately pick it back up, not leaving it with Him.  Trust is such a fragile thing, it can be so easily broken. I recently watched Brene Brown’s, “7 Super Tips” on youtube. Tip number four was about trust:

“Trust is built in small moments.”

For instance, I talked the other day about my neighbor Reva accepting my offering of mud pies to her.  That was a small moment of trust. I was probably 5 years old when that happened, yet I have never forgotten it.  It is one of those moments that has always stuck out in my head. Not because she accepted the mud pie, but because she accepted it with love, unconditional love.  It was a love that told a five year old, this lady can be trusted. It was a small moment of trust.

But it could of gone the other way, if she had ridiculed me it would of been a betrayal.  Just as trust is built in small moments, so is betrayal according to Brene. And I have to agree, it is those small moments that make or break relationships.  It is those small moments that make or break our relationship with God. When we offer our mud pie to God, the best we have after a long day on the battlefield of life, He accepts it.  Unconditionally, with love and says, “Well done my good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23). We are the ones who betray the trust in those small moments when we don’t offer the mud pie.  We aren’t truly believing He can do something with it. We aren’t trusting it will be received with His unconditional love and grace. But it will, everything is possible to those who believe.  His words says it, we’re to believe it.

“You reveal the path of life to me; in Your presence is abundant joy, at Your right hand are eternal pleasures.” Psalm 16:11 CSB

God is life, with Him is abundant joy and eternal pleasures.  No matter what you’re going through in life, He is with you. I was reminded of this last weekend when I watched the Brene Brown special on Netflix, “Call to Courage.” It really would be worth the hour and ten minutes it takes to watch.  At one point she is talking about her God moment which led her to her current path. The moment she described was not when she was on a mountaintop, it was when she was in a valley. When she was at her lowest is when the moment happened.

We all have that moment in our lives when we’ve hit rock bottom.  When we’re done. When we’re curled up in our p.j.’s on the couch, peanut butter jar in one hand, spoon in the other, hiding from the world.  I know I certainly have, more than once and probably not for the last time, unfortunately. But God always shows up. As I listened to Brene’s story unfold, I could see God chasing after as she was sinking, right there ready to catch her when she needed Him too.  That’s how cool God is. He did it for her, He’s done it for me, He’ll do it for you. Just trust Him.

Easier said than done.

I struggle with trusting God.  In fact, recently God has been showing me how much I don’t trust Him.  In ways I didn’t even realize. But in order to take the next step in my life, I must trust Him.  And I find it difficult. I’m tired of being hurt and beat up. Following Jesus isn’t for the faint of heart.  People have lots of opinions about people who follow Jesus, whether inside or outside of the church. You get blamed for them all when you follow Jesus; good, bad and ugly.  There is some ugly out there that no one ever wants to see. I’m a little battle weary these days. I need some rest. I can’t do it by myself anymore, I can only do it with Jesus.

But you know what, I’m living in abundant joy.  I feel more alive than ever. I can see God working everywhere.  I literally can’t wait to see what He’s up to next. Because even if I’m having a hard time trusting Him today, I haven’t forgotten all He has already done for me.  I’m in good hands. And so are you. That I know.

“Gray hair is a glorious crown; it is found in the ways of righteousness.”  Proverbs 16:31 CSB

Hair, in its original form in this verse means “crown of splendor”.  I gave this verse to my mother once in a card, she wasn’t pleased. Gray hair isn’t always a woman’s preference. But a woman who walks with the Lord, it is her crown of splendor for her faith.

I know a woman who has modeled righteousness for me my entire life.  She was one of my mother’s best friends. Today is her 97th birthday.  She lived down the hill from us in Tidal. When Reva came to visit, and I offered her a mud pie as I played outside one sunny afternoon, she accepted it without hesitation.  Reva is an incredible woman. She wears her faith so quietly, you can easily miss the depth of it. But she’s a country woman, and country women know a thing or two about faith.

They understand why God uses farming analogies so often in the Bible.  They know you have to till the land and prepare it for the seed. They know the seed has to have enough water and sunlight to make it grow.  Too much of one or the other will kill it. They know it takes months of growing before it can be harvested. They know the work it takes to bring in the crops.  I can see my mother canning vegetables in our basement, steam rolling all around, sweat dripping off of her face. But the Lord had provided. The months of praying and waiting had come to fruition, God had blessed us.

I have a picture of Reva and my Mom standing together on Reva’s front porch in my guest bedroom.  Mom’s smile beaming to be back with her friend. How I loved those visits on her porch. Getting to sit under the tutelage of such spiritual power houses, not even realizing the privilege at the time.  Listening to them talk as they discuss a lifetime of ups and downs that they had shared together, yet neither of them losing their faith. Their trust in God unswerving, their actions speaking louder than any sermon ever preached.  A lifetime of sharing the gospel, one act of love at a time.

God has given them crowns of splendor for their lives lived in righteousness. He does the same for us.  We may color it, but the gray is still there. It marks a life well lived in Christ. It’s His crown of splendor.

“And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8 CSB

When I read this verse, I thought of MacGyver.  Not the MacGyver in the new T.V. show, the MacGyver in the old T.V. show of the 80’s.  In case you have never watched either of them, he’s a super smart guy that week after week he finds himself in precarious situations.  He uses his knowledge and whatever he can find around him to get himself and his friends out of it. Usually duck tape is involved in some way. I loved that show.  The suspense of what he would do was my favorite part. I love how in a voice over, he would explain why each thing he uses is important. Alone it is worthless, but mixed with whatever other things he can find, it saves the day.

God is like the voice over in this scenario.  He’s already provided everything you need for whatever you are dealing with in life, you just need to listen to His voice for direction on how to use it.

Sometimes the blessings are people.  I heard this voice over last week when I was about to take on another project.  “You don’t have to do everything, let someone else have some fun.” Which led me to give the project to someone else to do.  Sometimes it is duck tape. With a recent mishap with the handle on my tennis ball machine, it was duck tape that was the solution.  However it wasn’t until I had become completely frustrated trying to fix it myself that I finally cried out to God for help. The first thing that came to my mind was duck tape.  I instantly told God that there was no way it would work, but I’d try it. Guess what? Duck tape worked.

The hardest part about realizing God has given us everything we need is acknowledging Him in the process.  We get so busy trying to fix everything ourselves. We think we’re doing God a favor by not bothering Him with this small task.  After all, doesn’t He have enough on His hands saving the world? The least I can do is fix a ball machine without Him. But that isn’t what God wants.  God wants to be a part of every little thing in your life. Not only does He want to partner with you as you walk through your days, He wants to be controlling partner.  He wants the deciding vote on what you do, 51% God, 49% you. That’s hard to understand, even harder to swallow sometimes. God will call you to do things you have no desire doing, but yet He is the one we should listen too.  His way is always best, even if we can’t see it in the moment.

God has given you all you need to do what you need to do.  Just listen and follow His directions. He’ll show you the way.

“The Lord is good, a stronghold in a day of distress; he cares for those who take refuge in him.”  Nahum 1:7 CSB

Nahum’s name means “comfort” or “consideration” (of God).  He was a minor prophet sometime around 620 B.C. He’s answering questions similar to ones we have today: Has God forsaken us?  Why are our enemies prospering? Nahum’s message to the people still stands strong for us today. God is our stronghold in the day of distress, He will prevail.  He did then, He will now.

Here’s the bottom line:  get used to storms, they’re a part of life.

Living the camping  life, you pay a lot more attention to the weather.  This spring, we have yet to go camping and not get rained on at some point.  The last two weekends, massive storms have blown through with tornado warnings, high alerts, the whole nine yards.  Last night, as I sat through the latest one with my husband I realized something: You need to take advantage of the calm when you have it.

Watch any radar when there is an approaching storm, you’ll see bands of weather.  The first line is typically the worst. That’s when you’ll get the most violent winds and rain.  It’s the moment in life when you get the phone call you never wanted to get, when the bottom drops out and you didn’t see it coming.  That moment when you feel like you’ve been hit by a rogue wave at the beach. That moment when you feel like you got hit by a bus. That’s always the first line of a storm.

But then there is usually a little lull between the first and second band of weather.  This you need to take advantage of to its fullest. In camping terms, it means pull the chairs back out, light the fire, grill the burgers.  Just do it fast because you know there’s another line coming. Before you know it, you’ll be back inside, hunkering down, praying that this blow won’t be as bad as the last.

That is the cycle of a storm, they blow in fast and furious then leave you with a little lull to recover before the next round.  Take advantage of the lulls. Trust that the Lord is your stronghold in the storm. Learn to move with the cycle, stop fighting the inevitable.  Learn instead, to enjoy its rhythm. The rhythm of the storm, the rhythm of life. God is your stronghold, of this you can be sure.

“First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:1-4

Yesterday I talked about God answering my prayer about not sinning in my anger.  I wanted to circle back and talk about the prayer warriors that helped me do that.  It really is what made the difference, them standing in the gap for me.

They each helped me focus back onto God when I was going way off track.  One reminded me that in this world, we really don’t deserve anything. All of the blessings we have are gifts from God, none of them are deserved.  We are all sinners fallen from grace, it is Jesus that makes us whole. One reminded me that there was no way I was going to be able to do this on my own.  The only way I could do it was if I did it with God. So she got that assignment, praying I would do it with God. Another prayed for the hurt I was feeling.  My Weight Watcher’s prayer warriors prayed I wouldn’t “eat” my anger. Yes folks, by the time the clock struck 1:00 I had enlisted 6 different people to pray for me, each was praying very specific things, none of them the same.

God had people stand in the gap for me when I could not pray.

He will do the same for you.  That is why it is so important to build friendships with other Christ followers.  That is why it is so important to develop daily disciplines. If I didn’t start my day out every day in my prayer closet, I wouldn’t of been there when all hell broke loose in the Morrison household.  I wouldn’t of been there to fall to my knees and ask God for help. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn’t done that. Because I did that, I knew I needed people to stand in the gap for me. Because I have spent years developing the friendships of the people I called,  because we’ve been journeying with Christ together for a long time, they were there to answer the phone and stand in the gap for me.

God has people to stand in the gap for you.  Develop those friendships now, because you don’t know when the day will come that you’ll need them to keep you from sinning in your anger, or whatever other struggle you have.  Take time today to think about who those people are in your life. Develop those relationships. Take it from someone who knows, you’ll need it one day.