Trust

 

Trust

Where do you place your trust?

In your abilities? In other people? In money?

We all place our trust somewhere.

When we place our trust, we do it because we believe we know what the outcome will be.

If I do this, then this will happen. But will it?

Do we really know what the future holds? We like to think we do.

 

The ultimate example of trust is Jesus, of course, but I think David gives us a wonderful example of where to place our trust.

 

Psalm 27:13-14

I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.

 

David is telling us that believing that the Lord is good, and He will take care of us will give us hope.

David believed that He would see God’s goodness in all his circumstances.

Now you may be thinking, easier said than done and I would agree with you.

David gives us the key when he says, “wait on the Lord”. This does not mean sit around do nothing.

The word for wait in Hebrew is qavah, which means, “to bind together”.

David is telling us to bind ourselves together with God. What does that mean?

Binding together with someone is to become so intimately acquainted with them that you know how they think, and you know how they will react.

We can have that type of relationship with God, but it takes time. The more time you spend with God the more you will begin to trust Him with your life.

It may not be easy at first, in fact, it will probably be a little scary.

Given time, your trust will grow, and you know that you are trusting God when the first thing that comes up in you is that God is good, and He will take care of me in this.

That is what I am striving for in every area of life. Do you want to join me?

 

 

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Abel

 

Abel

Hebrews 11:4     By faith, Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.

Why is it that when we read the story of Cain and Abel, our focus is on what Cain did?

We do need to look at what Cain did and understand that what he did was wrong. It is interesting that even when we refer to the story we say, “Cain and Abel”, we don’t mention Abel without first saying Cain.

When I read this scripture in Hebrews, I want to shine a light on what Abel did because God testified about his gifts. It also says that Abel still speaks so there is something in his story that will speak to us even today.

 

The first children born on this earth can tell us about our humanity in the decision to place our trust in God or trusting in other sources. I believe that this is a fundamental truth that will define our walk in this life on earth.

When you look at the life of Abel, he placed a priority on His relationship with God in that he offered the firstlings of his flock and their fat portions. (Genesis 4:4)

What does that mean? The flock was their livelihood and the first born of the flock would be considered extremely important and celebrated since the gestation period of sheep would have been approximately five months. In the business world you would look at growing your flock so every birth would be important to your future but the first would be the most important, they are the beginning.

 

I also want to look at the fact that Abel’s parents were Adam and Eve. He would have been told the story of what happened in the garden and the curse that his parents, including him and his brother, now lived under because of what they did. The ground was cursed because of them, and they would have to toil (labor or pain) to produce from it. Thorns and thistles would come up from it, meaning that there would be less for their livestock to eat. (Genesis 3:17-19)

 

When you look at the circumstances surrounding Abel, it is easy to see that he had a choice to make. Am I going to look at the future of my flock, the curse that my family lives under, or my own abilities? Or am I going to look to and celebrate my God. He may have been told not to depend on God for anything, but he chose to offer up the very first of what he thought to be important in his and his family’s life.

God looks upon the heart, so we are not talking about actions here. Abel’s actions represented what was in his heart.

Trust, how can we trust what we don’t know. Apparently, Abel knew deep down that God is good or why would he make this offering.

Today may be a day that we need to make a choice to tune out all the things that would negatively affect our opinion of what God will or will not do for us. To make a choice that a relationship with God, seeking His presence in my life, is the only way to get to know His heart for us.

I want God to testify of my gifts! I am not wanting any recognition but just knowing that God knows my heart is for Him.

 

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Believe

 

Believe

I find it interesting that during the holiday season the easiest movies to find are about believing in Santa Claus. Children and adults alike, are to believe in Santa in order to have the spirit of the season. When you look at the concept of believing, it is a beautiful thing. What we believe directs our lives. I think this is what these movies are trying to portray.  Our beliefs can lead us in the right direction or can lead us astray. I think everyone wants to believe in something good and beautiful, but it depends on the road you have been dealt in life on whether you can. Positive thinking is just not enough, we must believe in something, it’s called hope. Hope of a good future, hope that there is still good in people. Placing our hope in the right place is the key and believing in something bigger that what we have right now is vital.

 

Mark 9:23            And Jesus said to him, “If You can? All things are possible to him who believes.”

John 6:47             “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life”

Ephesians 1:18-19            

                        I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.

 

When we look at these verses, it is easy to see that God is asking us to believe in Him, but it goes much deeper than that. He is asking us to entrust everything we have to Him along with our belief. Our everyday life and our future. I think it is easier for us to trust God with our future, where we are going after we leave this life, but I think it is much harder for us to trust Him with everything in the moment of here and now. There is a hope in His calling for our lives. When we let go of the everyday worries of life and fix our hearts on Him, wonderful things happen. I’m not saying that life becomes perfect, but our perspective on life changes and that changes everything. I pray today that you will find comfort in Him, that you will come to know His precious plan for you and the hope that only lies in His presence.

He is the reason for the season!!!

 

 

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Remembering with a New View

 

In remembering our sweet 14-year-old Navaha, who’s time on this earth was cut short, I have thoughts about our nine-year-old sons’ sudden departure from this world come up also.  It seems that when the life of a young person is cut short it is hard to process. My memories of them go to the events that took place just before each of their departures from this world. But during this time of reflection, God has shown me a different perspective that has brought me comfort so I thought I would share it with you.

The last church event that Navaha attended with us was a welcome home parade for our friend Mark. During that time, Mark shared about a vision that he had while in the hospital fighting for his life. It was a spiritual vision that I cannot explain as well as he did, but he said it was very real to him. Mark also said that he did not remember any of the pain involved with his suffering before he went to the hospital. I believe that God wants to show me a different perspective on the death of a born-again believer in Jesus.

The spiritual on unseen world is just as real as everything you see around you. The hard part for us to grasp is that we cannot see or touch it. When I think about this, I think of the movie The Chronicles of NARNIA. If you have seen this movie, they go through a wardrobe and enter a whole different world that no one else can see. I believe this is what it is like for people who leave this world. They have embarked on a whole new adventure that is just as real to them as everything I see is real to me. They enter a world of no pain and they see and experience things that we have not even dreamed about.  This perspective excites me for what is to come and gives me peace for those who have already stepped into that world.

I think it is wonderful that Navaha got to hear Mark’s story of his experience before she had hers. I had a vision this morning that Navaha is talking to our son Trace about all that we have been doing here since he left this world. I pray that this will help anyone who is struggling find some peace in knowing that life goes on, it is just in a place that we cannot see yet.

Trust Can Be Hard

 

Why is that such a scary word to many people?

Many of us have been hurt by someone in our lives and our trust gets guarded and the longer we guard our trust, the harder it is to trust anyone.

We live in a world that promotes trusting and depending on yourself to get were you want to go in life. Pure determination will get you there if you do not give up. Determination will get you far in life, but this can be a lonely statement.

The fact is, we are built for community and I believe we were purposely designed that way.

But people will eventually hurt us because every one of us has our own desires and our own baggage.

Many songs that we hear on the radio are about relationships that went wrong and the hurt that follows. Some people may never move past the hurt and will remain stuck in that cycle of emotions.

I want to remind you that God sent His Son to bring us new life, to revive us from this worn-down world.

 

John 10:10 … but I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect – life in its fullness until you overflow!            TPT

 

I have learned a little about community from our cattle that we acquired last year. We have been getting calves that were either abandoned or momma died, or momma was taken and sold when they were young.  Most of the calves we received were about a week or so old.  We are very new to the cattle raising process, so it has been trial and error. One thing I have noticed is that when we have multiple calves to feed, they bond together, and it makes them stronger.  When we have just one calf that is isolated, it may start out well but the longer it is isolated the worse its condition gets. We lost one little calf and we were doing all that we could to save her, but it seems like she just gave up. When the next young calf came along, we decided to put her out with the big girls and prayed that they would accept her as one of their own because we did not want to lose another one to isolation. Now it is so heart warming to watch how our larger heifers protect and watch out for the new baby. She is thriving in her new environment.

Trust is something that we must have in this life because if we do not, it puts us in isolation. Even though we may have many people around us, mentally we are in isolation.

Fortunately for us, we always have someone we can trust in. God wants our trust. When we place our trust in Him, He will lead and guide us through this life. He will also surround us with a community to journey with. When we seek Him and follow His lead, He will bring us to the place where we have the right people in our path. People that will help us and in turn we will help them, making us all stronger together.

 

 

 

Swords, Spears, and Arrows

Do you remember the saying when you were a kid, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me”?  I think many of us said this when we were younger or heard someone say it.

I also think that many of us grew up thinking that it was a true statement, I know I did. Is this a true statement? It depends on what you look to for truth, if you look at God’s word as the truth then this is far from the truth and David knew it.

 

Psalm 57:3-4       He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches him who tramples upon me. God   will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth. My soul is among lions; I must lie among those who breathe forth fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword.

 

This Psalm is written by David when he was fleeing from Saul. You would think that David would be talking to God about the real swords and spears that Saul was trying to kill him with, but he was talking to God about the words that were coming at him. David knows that his God will take care of him, that is noticeably clear in all the Psalms he wrote. In this verse we can see that David is referencing his soul was struggling with all the fire, spears, arrows, and swords coming from the mouth of his enemies.

We can read in James 3:5 “and the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity”.  We are to watch our tongue because it will speak life or death, but we also need to watch what we are listening to.

David states that he knows God will “send forth His truth”.  What David is saying here is that he knows that God’s word will extinguish the fire and be his shield against the spears, arrows, and swords coming at him.

We are subjected to these weapons in our own lives every day. If we live in this world, we will hear words that will try to attack our souls. Just know that God’s word will be your shield for anything that may come your way today. His word will be your defense when you hear anything that does not line up with the truth.

 

Meditation: Think about how confident David was that God would send His lovingkindness and truth to him. What areas of your life do you need to focus more on God’s word?

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Dream Big!!!

Think back to when you were a child or talk to a child today and ask them what they want to be when they grow up. You may hear a doctor, an actor, a football player, or many other possibilities. Children dream big and they believe that they will achieve their goals but as they grow up, many are told they may have to settle on something else for their future. Some make it to that dream because they never let go of it.

Once we get to adulthood, I think our ability to dream gets drowned out by the worry and stresses of everyday life.  How nice it would be if we could allow ourselves to dream again and not talk ourselves out of that dream because we think it is just not possible. It’s too late or I just don’t have the money, we can come up with all kinds of reasons why something is unreachable.

God gave each of us an imagination for a reason and He wants us to use it. In fact, our imagination is an important part of our faith walk with God. Think about it, the definition of imagination is the forming of mental images or concepts of what is not actually present to the senses. I think that goes hand in hand with what it says in Hebrew 11:1 – Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. It is difficult to maintain faith for something that you cannot see in your imagination, in fact, I would go as far as to say that it is impossible.

There is a show on television where you can watch people on their journey to buy a house. As they look at each house, it is usually seen from two different perspectives. One would only see what is in front of them and the other sees the potential of what that house could be in the future. There is great power in our imaginations and they can be a catalyst to move us into the life that God wants us to have.

God asked Abram to leave everything and everyone that he knew and go to an unknown place, and God also told Abram that He would make him a great nation. God greatly prospered Abram during his journey but there were still no descendants.   The first time we see God giving Abram a mental picture of His promise is in Genesis 13:14-17. God tells him that his descendants will be like the dust of the earth meaning that Abram will have so many descendants that they cannot be counted, and they will live in the land God was showing him.  This visual was important because it sparked Abram’s imagination, so he could have the mental image to meditate on. Some time had passed and still no descendant and Abram brought his concerns to God. In Genesis 15:1-6, God gave Abram another mental picture of His promise. This time God showed Abram the stars and said his descendants will be so numerous that you cannot count them, and Abram believed Him. Abram had to deal with the outside influence of another who did not have the mental image that he had.  Abram’s wife laid out her plan to have a child and Abram listened and then he settled. I believe this postponed the promised child for many years because Abram settled for something less than his dream. God had to revive that dream and He did so by changing Abram’s name to Abraham in Genesis 17:3-5. Abraham means “father of many”, so every time someone said his new name, they were calling him a father of many.  Now that is one way to keep a dream alive.

God has a plan for every one of our lives and it is a good plan, Jeremiah 29:11.

We can give our imaginations over to God and He will help us get our mental image. Once we get our mental image, it is our job to keep a tight hold on it and not let outside influence corrupt it. This will help keep our faith strong for the future.   

Ephesians 3:20   Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think,                                           according to the power that works within us…

Dream Big!!!

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