Tag: hope

The Road to the Power of God

Posted on by Dorci

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

Sunday Praise – Good Good Father

Posted on by Dorci

Happy Father’s Day! I wanted to share a song with you today, singing praises to the best Father anyone can have, our perfect Heavenly Father, whose love and grace know no bounds. May you know His goodness today.

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope,  encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”  2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

 

The Goodness of the Son

Posted on by Dorci

Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life…
Psalm 23:6

It is the goodness of God that overflows into this world and makes it habitable. It is His goodness we experience that make our lives bearable, even enjoyable.

But sometimes that goodness becomes overshadowed by pain, grief, disappointment, disillusionment.

Like thick billows of never-ending clouds, they can block out the light. And sometimes there’s rain for days, weeks on end. Maybe it’s like living in Seattle.

I’m sure it can get dreary, and even depressing, and yet, there’s a certain beauty to Seattle.

The frequent drizzles allow for some of the most beautiful growth in the world, and also some of the most diverse, life-giving wildlife.

 

No matter how many weeks the shadows overtake the city, no one wonders if the sun is still there. They know it is, and they trust they’ll see it again.

I have to remember that when my world has been darkened with shadows for too long. The Son is still there. And His goodness will shine whether there are rain clouds that bring new growth, and maturity, and life, or He moves them away.

I have to remember that when everything in me, all my feelings and understanding want to tell me that because I don’t see or feel the Son He isn’t there.

I have to set aside my understanding and believe in what I know to be true – surely His goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life…

Because that’s who He is. What I feel doesn’t change that. What I see doesn’t change that. And I am thankful.

 

“Lord Jesus, help us hold onto our confidence that you are who you say you are.  That you are good, and that you love us, and no matter what’s happening in our lives you’re still there, and you are still pouring out your goodness into our lives, and we are thankful.”

Victory

Posted on by Dorci

“When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

‘Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?’

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
1 Corinthians 15:54-58

The apostle Paul wrote these passionate words in a letter to a church he founded in Corinth, Greece.  I can imagine the pleading of his heart as he wrote to encourage them to not be lured back into the materialistic and immoral world that churned around them.

He reminded them, and us, that this life is not all there is.  There is a resurrection, Christ being the first, and because of Him, we will follow.

We no longer belong to this world, and our victory is not here.  Our victory has already been won through Christ – the gift of our immortal souls and our resurrection to the next life with Jesus Christ, our Great Reward.

There is no shortage of attention-grabbers whether it’s social media, or the news, or just the busyness of our own lives.  They can suck us in, altering our perspectives from spiritual matters to earthly ones, and rob us of doing the work for which we’ve now been called.

Not much has changed in the 2000 years since Paul wrote to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

All of us who have put our faith in Christ know how difficult it can be to keep our hearts and minds focused on the Lord, especially when the world revels in sin all around us.

After all, sin looks fun, and we can feel like we’re missing out on something.  Well, we are, but nothing good.  We miss out on the consequences of those sins; we miss out on feeding our flesh but not our spirits; we miss out on a life of fruitlessness.  We miss out on leaving our faith behind.

But Paul reminds us there is so much more given to us in its place.

We have a real Christ-given hope that when our bodies die, our immortal souls will live on for eternity in the joy and peace of the presence of God.

While, tragically, those who lived for the temporary thrills of this short life will abandon all joy and peace when their mortal bodies die, and their souls will be given over to judgment and eternal death.

While we who have put our faith in Christ may have to give up a few things here, we already have the ultimate victory through the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, what do we do?  We get back to work.  We let go of the distractions of this world and stand firm in the faith, being about our Father’s business and fulfilling the calling given to each of us just as our brothers and sisters in Corinth did almost 2000 years ago.

“Let nothing move you.”

Nothing.  Don’t look to the left or to the right at what others are doing.  Don’t worry what others may say about your faith in God.  Don’t worry about what can be done to you, even if it means your earthly life, because we already have the victory.

Look to Christ and “give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord.”

The text in the Greek puts it like this: “always abounding in the work of the Lord.”  

Abounding is the Greek word perisseuō which means “to superabound, be in excess, be superfluous; to excel, abundance, be the better, enough and to spare, exceed, excel, increase, be left, redound, remain (over and above).”

If there’s anything we should strive to do with excellence, it’s our work in the Lord.

He’s not only given us life, but He’s give us an abundant afterlife.  He sees our labor in His name, and He will reward us with eternal treasures worth far more than the trinkets of this life.

 

Heavenly Father, please help us keep our minds focused on you and not get sidetracked by the world or even by fear. Help us serve you with all our hearts, with the excellence that you deserve, that through our lives the world may see your love and grace and you may be glorified in the salvation of many. Thank you for the victory you’ve given us by clothing us with immortality and preparing a home for us in heaven with you. We praise your glorious Name, Jesus, and pray it all in your Name, amen.

Don’t Be Surprised

Posted on by Dorci

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.” John 15:18-21

Don’t be surprised when the world not only doesn’t believe you, or understand you, but even hates you because of the One you proclaim and represent. Jesus warned His disciples long ago this would happen.

But we’re in Good Company, and His light will shine through, so “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9

One Way

Posted on by Dorci

One

Posted on by Dorci

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”  John 17:20-23

Jesus prayed this prayer for you and for me.  The abundant life Jesus had talked about stems from this one thing: that we yield ourselves to God with such fullness that we become one with Him.  That it is His life that flows through us – His mind we think and make decisions with, His heart we love unconditionally with, His eyes of grace and mercy we see others through, His strength we serve with.

I pray that Jesus’ prayer for us is answered more and more in the coming year, and that we come to live the abundant life He promises to us.  Everything we search for, everything we use in this world to try to fulfill our desires stem from our inherent need to be reconciled fully to Christ.

He is our abundant life.

And not only is that abundant life for ourselves, but the world needs to see us living it.  It needs to see a compass that points to true life.  The world desperately searches for hope and it needs to see that hope is found in Christ and in Him alone.  We are the chosen lights to point them to Him, if only we will.

May the Lord fill your lives in the coming year with faith and hope, strength and courage, love and peace.  May He be yours and you His.

In the mighty Name of Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus, the Anointed One),

The Grace of God

Posted on by Dorci

That night God opened a portal between heaven and earth, and a pathway paved with the grace of God was let down in the form of a tiny, unassuming, vulnerable baby.

While the world slept, a miracle happened.

While the world groaned with sin, an offering was given.

He was the gift, and still is, and forever will be.

May you be filled with the joy and wonder of the Christ Child this Christmas and always.

 

 

 

Side nugget – I like to look up the exact meanings of words when I write, and when the first sentence came to my mind, portal was the first word I thought of. I thought that didn’t sound right, and maybe I’d want to use another word for portal, so I looked it up and here is its meaning: “a door, gate, or entrance, especially one of imposing appearance, as to a palace.”

Oh my friends, portal is the exact right word. God knew. The doorway opens to a Palace, the Palace, the Kingdom of God, the royal dwelling place of the King of kings, the One Who came down to free us from sin’s hold, and then to one day greet those who receive Him at the Portal and welcome us into His home forever.

We Give You Thanks

Posted on by Dorci

“Praise be to you, Lord,
the God of our father Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.
Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name.”
1 Chronicles 29:10-13

The Calling of the Nobodys

Posted on by Dorci

“The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years He gave them into the hands of the Midianites.  Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.

The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” Judges 6:1,6

Mighty Warrior.

If that were the name of a superhero in an epic comic book story brought to life on the big screen you’d expect he’d be a 6 foot 6, muscle-bound behemoth of a man who shook the earth when he walked.  He’d carry himself with confidence, a stern face and eyes set while everyone was sure to stay out of his way.

But this was Gideon.

winepress
Ancient winepress discovered in Israel

When Gideon heard someone say mighty warrior he may very well have flinched and looked around to see who the person was talking to as he hid from the Midianites in a winepress threshing wheat.

But the Lord was speaking to Gideon, calling him to deliver the Israelites from the hand of the Midianites.

But Gideon didn’t jump up from the winepress, grab a sword, don his armor and shout “Yes, this is my chance!  I am ready!”

Instead he questioned, “But, Lord, how can I save Israel?  My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” Judges 6:15

Gideon was a young man who came from a small, poor, weakened, and seemingly insignificant family.  He was a nobody. At least that’s how he saw it.

gold nugget 2Nugget: Gideon’s clan – the Abiezrites – together with five other clans all form the tribe of Manasseh.  And Manasseh, together with the tribe of Ephraim form the tribe of Joseph, one of the twelve tribes of Israel.  The tribe of Manasseh descends from Manasseh who was one of the sons of Joseph, the boy who was sold into slavery by his brothers (to guess who?  The Midianites), and through the continual hand of God, rose to eventually become 2nd in command over Egypt, exceeded only by Pharaoh himself.

Do you know that God loves to call the insignificant, the weak, the poor, the underdog, the nobody, fill that person with His Spirit, and lead him or her to do great and mighty things?

Gideon might have seen himself as young, weak and ill-equipped, but God saw him differently.  God saw him not just as he was, but as He would make him to be – a mighty warrior.  

And just as God had a great plan for his ancestor Joseph even while he sat in a pit, served Pharaoh’s official, and languished in prison, He had a great plan for Gideon and all the people of Israel.

Throughout the process of overcoming the Midianites, Gideon is unsure and shaky in his next steps, and continually asks God for signs that He is with him, and God continually reassures Gideon that He is.

As the plan begins to succeed, Gideon begins to fulfill the name given to him by the angel of the Lord.  He transforms from the young man hiding in the winepress, full of questions and requests for fleeces, into a mighty warrior who is confident in God’s presence, provision, and desire to do a mighty work through him.

Gideon chose to believe in and obey God, and God gave victory to the Israelites through Gideon and his whittled-down army of 300 men to 135,000 Midianite and neighboring peoples, 120,000 of whom were killed.

Gideon’s confidence and boldness had grown, and he himself killed two kings of Midian, while the men of Ephraim killed two leaders of the Midianites, one of them, ironically, at a winepress.

 

I can relate to Gideon.  Can you?

When God told me twelve years ago to be strong and courageous just before my own battle began with my health, I felt anything but strong and courageous.  At the time I tried to understand it as best I could. But just like Gideon, I’ve grown in my understanding of God along the way.  I know God sees us not only as we are, but as He is making us to be. God was calling me to be something He was going to fulfill in the journey.  I have been becoming strong and courageous in Him, for He is with me wherever I go.

What does God call you?  What has He called you to do?  Do you feel too weak and insignificant?  Like a nobody?  Well, you’re in good company. David was only a boy; Jonah was filled with fear; Joseph was thrown into a pit; and Mary was just a simple, unassuming young girl who would give birth to the Savior of the world.

In a world where everyone wants to be famous, “…the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (2 Chron. 16:9) regardless of our fame, standing, finances, intelligence, or anything else the world says is important.  

God loves to do His work through a humble spirit, the ones in whom the world takes no notice. They have no agenda, and know they have nothing sufficient in themselves.  They must rely wholly on God – where true and lasting success always lies, and He always gets the glory.

No matter what you’re going through, God sees you through the eyes of His Risen Son.  He may very well be using that struggle in your life to prepare you for something great. Whatever He’s doing, He knows the plans He has for you, and what He is making you to be.

In Him we already have the victory.
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