Posts by Dorci

This is God’s Will for You

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“…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  1 Thessalonians 5:18

Thanksgiving week comes and we hear people talking about the things they’re thankful for. Maybe you sit around the Thanksgiving table and tell one another what you’re thankful for. But maybe you’re a little hard-pressed to think of anything to be thankful for this year.

God tells us to give thanks in all circumstances. All is a pretty inclusive word.

Not just the good stuff. But all the stuff. Now, I know that’s a really hard to thing to do sometimes. When you’re missing family members, when your health is bad, when the money is tight.  Sometimes it’s an act of sheer will, of obedience, of faith that God is going to do something in and with those circumstances.

It’s easy to give thanks once that circumstance has passed and we can see the good the Lord has wrought in it.  But we are to give thanks when we’re in the middle of the mess.

When we don’t see what God’s doing.

When we don’t know how long it’ll last.

When we don’t know how we’ll get through it.

But why is this God’s will?

Giving thanks in the storm makes us humble and crushes our pride.  It keeps us from allowing bitterness and resentment to settle in, creating a Grand Canyon-sized gap between us and God.  It keeps those vital communication lines open and that allows for His peace to flow into our hearts.  It keeps us following Him, allowing Him to do the good He desires to do with those circumstances instead of going through them with no fruit at the end.

It’s no coincidence that God tells us “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  Philippians 4:6

Continually placing all circumstances in the Lord’s hands gives us His peace and assurance, and naturally – or more accurately, supernaturally – the thankful heart will come, and we can confidently go through any circumstance with hope and the joy of the Lord. 

Once we’ve walked with the Lord a while, and I don’t just mean knowing who He is, or going to church on Sundays, but really walk with Him, day by day, circumstance by circumstance, conversation to conversation, we’ll see more and more that He is a Father we can trust.  We can rest assured that He is with us no matter how far down in the pit we are, no matter how bleak the circumstances feel.

Remember, Jesus knows what it’s like.

For the One who gave His life for us, we live a life of worship, and all great acts of worship start with the first one – a thankful heart that’s trusting our Father’s goodness and grace to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.  

Sunday Praise – Psalm 66:20

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Dear Lord, 

This week help us remember – instead of carrying our concerns, our worries, and our cares around with us, letting them weigh us down and keeping us from effectively running the race You’ve set before us – to lift every one of them up to You. 

Help us trust that You love to hear from us, and that You are eager to speak to us. Help us remember that You are a God who longs to be gracious to us; that You will rise up to show us compassion. For You, LORD, are a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for You! (Isaiah 30:18) 

May You be glorified by the great things You do in and through us as we put all our faith in You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.  

A Time for Prayer, Salt, and Light

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There seem to be no words sufficient on a day like today in America, or on any given day in so many places in the world. So I turn to God’s Word to find His wisdom and grace.

“This is what the Lord says: ‘These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.’” Isaiah 66:2 NIV

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 NIV

Let us remember that we are all guilty of sin, and without the grace of God through the atonement of His Son, we would be deserving of the death He took in our place.

With that in mind, with humble and contrite spirits, and being one in heart and mind, let us join together in prayer before our gracious God, first in repentance of our own sin, and then seeking forgiveness on behalf of our nation. 

And may we rise up as salt and light, revealing to the world the Father’s great love and mercy, praying that many hearts would turn to Him and we would see a fresh revival of His Spirit throughout our own country and the world.   

 

“Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.  While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.  You are all children of the light and children of the day.  We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.  So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.  For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 

But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.  For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.  He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.  Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 NIV

Hope in the Storm

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Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.  Psalm 42:5

We’ve all faced a crisis at one point or another. If for some reason you haven’t, you will. Right now, today, you have a chance to prepare for the storm. Those who have faced them before will be wise to prepare for the next one.

I’ve been in the depths many times, sure it would be the last time.  My soul sunk like a stone and laid on the ocean floor dying for a gasp of air. My cries for help seemed hopelessly muffled by the weight of the depths. Light seemed so very distant, the surface too far to reach.

But God’s arm is never too short.

All I have to do is reach up, take His hand and He will pull me to the light again.

The word hope in this emotionally drenched psalm means to wait; to be patient.

Though God takes my hand – and He takes every hand extended to Him – the storm may not abate immediately.

There is purpose in the storm.

Spiritual seeds implanted in my heart must be watered, and those sprouted must grow to fruition.  My mind must be washed of the dirt of ungodly thinking, the air cleansed of my past guilt and shame.

Sometimes the Living Water comes down in a beautiful afternoon rain, and sometimes it comes down in torrents.

But God knows.

He knows what He’s accomplishing in the storms.  He knows the clouds will drift away and the sun will shine again.  And He knows the beauty that will live on afterward.

There are many people and things we can put our hope in when we’re facing a storm, but none them will bring praise to our lips at the end of the storm like hoping in God, our Savior, the One who lived, and died, and lives again to bring us into His presence.

So how do we prepare for the next time we find ourselves in a storm? 

Take hold of His hand today, and don’t let go. 

Making the Impossible Possible

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“…with God all things are possible.” Matthew 9:26b

With.

There are so many things we pay attention to in that sentence.  It’s a statement of hope, of open doors, of the assurance of God’s sovereignty.

Most of us have held onto those hopeful words at one time or another.  But I wonder how often its true meaning is overlooked and it’s reduced to an inspirational quote thinking all we have to do is know there’s a God, know He can do anything, and then do our best to get what we want or need and it will all work out.

Let’s see what that word with has to say.

With is para in Greek. It means near, beside, in the vicinity of.

We must be with God, and Jesus is the One Who connects us to Him.

It’s not enough for us to know who God is, or even to have invited Jesus into our lives at one point.  We must be with God through a constant relationship with His Son. Connected to Him, yoked to Him, side by side, arm in arm, doing life together.

Besides with, para also translates to the word friend.

Jesus called His followers friends. Not fair-weather friends when everything is working out.  Not long-distance friends. And certainly not just acquaintances.

He wants to be a friend closer than any other, communing with us as we bring to Him every need, every worry, every concern, even if it seems impossible. Especially if it’s impossible.

If you’ve had a close friend long enough, you know at some point you both start sounding alike, laughing at the same things, thinking the same thoughts.

Something like that happens when we walk side by side with Jesus, only more so.  With Him we are spiritually transformed from the inside out.  The closer we walk with Jesus the more we will be filled with His character, thinking like Him, and desiring what He desires. We begin to pray, not our own will, but His will.

And when we pray for something that is God’s will, there is nothing He won’t do, no mountain He won’t move to make it happen.

“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”

We can do nothing spiritually on our own, or even with another person no matter how great their intelligence, how broad their education, or how full their bank account. In fact, Jesus was saying riches can make doing the impossible, well, impossible. Why?  Because then we can feel like we don’t need God.  

But when we join with God through Jesus, the impossible becomes possible.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a lot of impossible circumstances in my life. Seems most of my life has been impossible.

I think God loves to do the impossible in our lives.  I think He’s waiting for us to get to the end of ourselves so we will call out to Him “Abba!” And then He can, in His time, move the mountain, stop the rain, still the sun, soften the hard heart, bring home the prodigal child, save the marriage, provide a way where there was no way.

What a privilege to do life with God.

I’d love to hear your stories about how God’s made the impossible possible in your life.

Heavenly Father, we desire to do this life with you. We know that we can do nothing without you, but everything with you. Help us to intentionally draw nearer and nearer to you every day.We want your mind to be our mind, your heart to be our heart, your will to be our will. Please give us faith to expand our prayers to the things that are impossible for us, but oh so possible for you. And may we be careful to give you the glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Sunday Praise – Exodus 15:2

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The Call of the Shofar

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For whatever reason, God put on my heart to look up and post the blowing of the shofar. I did a little research to find out some of the reasons it was sounded, and this is what I found:

“beginning on the second day of Rosh Chodesh Elul (and continuing until Erev Rosh Hashanah) the custom is to blow the shofar every day (except on Shabbat).” The Hebrew month of Elul is a time of repentance in preparation for the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

“It is a wake-up call to sleepers, designed to rouse us from our complacency.”

Do you know what day is the 2nd day of the Hebrew month of Elul?

It began today at sunset.

“Yeshua spoke of the shofar blast from the angels who would ‘gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.'” (Matt. 24:31)

The eclipse took place on Elul 1, the same day that Moses went up on the mountain for 40 days and nights, the same day Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. The shofar signifies spiritual warfare, and God’s victory.

Listen to the shofar. Can you imagine it?

If you want to read more about it, I found these websites:  

http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Fall_Holidays/Elul/Shofar/shofar.html and http://www.jewfaq.org/elul.htm

Take Heart

Posted on by Dorci

But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 

When He comes, He will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. John 16:7-11

Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. John 16:23b,24b

The Road to the Power of God

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Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  (2 Corinthians 12:7b-10) ~Paul the apostle  

There are days, weeks, lifetimes that I feel overwhelmed by my weaknesses. My sins. Regrets.

And I think how in the world could I ever expect God to use someone like me?  

I have nothing. I am wholly inadequate. I live with daily constraints of fatigue and pain. I am constantly thinking and saying and doing things I don’t want to. Things that are contrary to the nature of a loving and forgiving and gracious God.  I look at who I am and I’m disappointed.  How could God not be?

If I were Him I’d run in the other direction in search of someone better.

But here’s the thing: I’m not God – praise the Lord.

And here’s the other thing – I may be inadequate, I may be sinful, but I love my Jesus.

It’s those very weaknesses that had me running to Him in the first place, and keep me running back because I know how much I need Him.

Spending time with my gracious Lord brings into focus even more how great He is and it is humbling. I compare myself to Him and I see how short I come up in the godliness department. My weaknesses and sins are more evident when I’m in His presence.

And I see again just how very much I need my Father.

When I need Him I call on Him to do in and through me what I never could. I leave room for Him to do the miraculous, because I need a miracle, every single day.  

There are those who would have Christians believe God doesn’t want any of His children to be sick. I would refer them to Paul. And there are those who believe their sickness must mean they are being punished by God. I would again refer them to Paul, and Job, and the many others who found themselves weak in some way, yet we clearly see God’s hand was on them.

Yes, God heals. Yes, God still does miracles. When it suits His purposes.  

But don’t limit God.  God uses all kinds of people in all kinds of circumstances for all kinds of things.

Our weaknesses, whatever they may be, don’t disqualify us from being used by God. In fact they can be the road leading right to it. 

We are all weak in some way, most of us in many ways. 

The world tells us Be strong!  Be powerful.  In doing that we refuse the power of God in our lives, and we remain in our weakness.

But acknowledging our weaknesses, taking them to the throne room of God and putting our life in His hands out of sheer desperation, knowing we have nothing good in and of ourselves, is the very thing that will make us useful.  He’s then able to fill us with His strength and do great things through us, not because of who we are, but in spite of it.

And all the glory is His.

The prayers prayed out of desperation tend to be stripped of all pretense.  The mask comes off, the formality is laid aside, and we get real with God. That kind of realness leads to an authentic, personal relationship with our Heavenly Father.  Our Abba.  And that unleashes His power in us.  

It’s not the strength of our bodies, or the intelligence of our minds, or the skill of our hands.  

It’s the willingness of our hearts. 

For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. 2 Chronicles 16:9