My Hope Is In You by Aaron Shust

One surprise treat at the Relevant Conference came when Aaron Shust and his wife joined us for lunch one day.  Aaron sang this song following the moving testimony of his wife on how they almost lost their small son to illness.



God is our hope!
Our only true, abiding, constant care.

He promises good!
I'm looking for the good promised me today.
It is here!  
Past all I see with the natural eye—

within the hard, 

the sad, 

the struggle, 

the insecurity,

the confusion,

the doubt, 

the regret . . .

I find His good in the thumbprint of Jesus's image on my soul.

What's the good He's working in your life today?
How is the image of Christ being pressed into your clay?

Morning Rituals

Do you start your day in the same way. . . every day?

Most of us do.

Even if our spontaneity kicks in later . . .

Even when our schedule fluctuates . . .

Most of us begin the day with at least somewhat of a morning ritual.

Whether it involves drinking coffee or tea, reading the newspaper, checking the computer, exercise, etc. . . . there’s usually some uniformity to it.

Does your morning ritual protect your mind?

Does your morning ritual guard against the evil one?

Does your morning ritual help you focus on Christ?

Some of us have {or try to have} a regular “quiet time” with the Lord.  Maybe yours is in the morning or perhaps it works better for you to meet with Him later in the day, before bed even.  But what I have learned over time is how crucial it is in the morning to get my mind “stayed on Thee”. 

Because I want the perfect peace promised for the rest of my day!

Because I need it! J

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee; because he trusts in Thee.”  Is. 26:3

There’s no right or wrong here—but I’ve learned it’s important to do something!

After doing Beth Moore’s study, Stepping Up, I continued what she taught us with starting my morning on the floor—face to the floor—in worship and personal expression of my need for Him in my life.  I then recite this prayer of hers . . .

“Lord, I thank you again this morning that you are still God upon the throne of all creation.  You are holy.  Mighty beyond comprehension.  So worthy of my praise and the outpouring of my life’s energies.  Today I gladly give myself to you.  I am convinced that you are always for me.  Obedience to you will always mean Your very best for me.  I’m so grateful that I can come boldly and without shame before Your throne because I pray all these things in Jesus’ name.”

With my face still to the floor, I spend some time in specific adoration and gratitude for all He is doing in my life.  I affirm promises I need to affirm. 

And I say all of this out loud. 

Satan can feed thoughts into our minds, 

but he cannot read our minds. 

I pray A LOT out loud because I want my enemy to know he is not just messing with me, he is messing with God and me!

I finish my prayer on the ground by taking the power and authority that is mine in Christ Jesus, sealing off my mind to influences of the world, tricks and lies of the enemy and my own thoughts and imaginations. (2 Co. 10:5)

Then I re-affirm the following truths out loud I have written on a 3x5 card.  {Some I need to pause over awhile because of what I am currently dealing with or perhaps some repentance is necessary!}

Remember Today . . .

Whose I am

Who I am in Christ

Who God is and believe Him, not only IN Him

I belong to God and not this world—so no envy, jealousy, discontent

Follow Abba’s guidelines for living, not the world’s

Follow after His heart, not my own

To be Holy, as He is holy

To not fear, but trust and keep on believing!

Some days I immediately jump into my prayer journal—because I am desperate to talk with Him more and ask some specific questions, believing for guidance and direction.  Other days I turn to scripture or a Bible study.  Or  I spend all the rest of the morning just praying—laying my heart, my uglies, my children, my concerns, my church, my family, my “whatever” before Him.  Sometimes . . . that takes the bulk of my time.  But I know that although I may be able to snag some time later in the day to read some scripture—having quiet, undisturbed time just to talk to Him and listen for Him most often is only available in the morning before the rest of the family wakes up.

I encourage you to consider your morning ritual.

Are you leaving yourself vulnerable to the enemy simply because you did not take time in the morning to armor up? (Eph. 6:10-18)

I’ll leave you thinking with this quote of Beth Moore’s . . .

"We can choose whether or not we are warriors, 

but we can not choose whether or not we are in a war."

What Is The Object Of My Faith?

Is it worthy?

Do I trust in this world? 

The strength of the economy? 

The leadership in Government?

The value of the dollar?

Where have I placed my faith?

In what I can see?

In what makes sense to me?

In what I want?

Do I trust Jesus Christ with my life?

Not only my eternity...but my NOW!

Do I trust Jesus with—my needs?

              —my brokenness?

              —my scars?

              —my stuck places?

              —my relationships?

              —my questions?

              —my fears?

              —my disappointments?

              —me?

Jesus is the Author and Perfector of faith. 

He. founded. faith!

He raised faith to its perfection and so set before us the highest example!

He keeps His Word! 

He is worthy of my faith!

So I fight off every tendency to lose faith during the wait for Him to move!

What is the object of your faith?  Is it worthy?

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Applied Christianity

God...how do I live this out practically?

I mean, this is what you want—this is what you are looking for in your children.  So help me to understand the walk You desire behind these few words . . .

“He has showed you, O man, what is good.  
And what does the Lord require of you?  

To act justly 
and to love mercy 
and to walk humbly with your God.”  

Micah 6:8

 

Be kind.

Be fair.

Be loving.

Be patient.

Curb your self and self’s desires.

Walk in the fruits of the Spirit. 

Live to please Me, not your self.

Make My priorities yours.

Live your life in such a way that others will see your good works and attribute them to Me. (Matt. 5:16)

Don’t just learn—implement!

“More than conquerors” don’t simply 

receive truth in their minds. 

They work that truth into their thinking 

until it is a natural reflection of their being!

Be changed.

Be renewed.

Be humbled.

Be lost—to self so that you can be found in Me!

Set your heart to seek Me—and when you find Me—don’t walk away unchanged. 

Allow grace and mercy full access to your soul. 

Purpose to change. 

Determine to renew your thinking. 

Then apply the truth to your living. 

This is sanctification.

This is the walking out of your salvation.

This is applied Christianity.

This is living in My power and authority.

This is not only what I require of you—it is what I desire for you!

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Linked up with Works For Me Wednesday, Above Rubies, Women Living Well, A Steady Rain and {Titus 2}sday

The Shouts ~ Part 3

My thoughts wonder now if it was difficult for the chief priests and elders to persuade the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas. I wonder now if it was difficult at all for these same leaders to stir up the crowd to “shout all the louder, ‘Let Him be crucified!’” (Matthew 27:23b).

What a difference in the shouts! 

On Sunday they shouted “Hosanna”! 

On Friday they shouted “crucify”!

And there was one final shout to be made . . .

“Pilate saw that he was making no impression, that in fact a riot was imminent. So he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowds and said, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood. It is your concern.’ And the people, every one of them, shouted back, ‘Let his blood be on us and on our children!’ Then he released Barabbas for them. After having Jesus scourged he handed him over to be crucified.” (Matthew 27:24-26)

What a difference in shouts!

They had the right man, but they stopped believing in Him and angrily turned on Him when He failed to live up to their expectations!

What about us?  What about the crowds who follow Him today?

What happens when He fails to live up to our expectations?

Do we only praise God when we see Him at work in our lives?
When He relieves our oppressions and all is well in our world?

We shout “Hosanna’s” when needs are provided for, when things are nice, neat, orderly and relationships give no grief. But what happens when life gets hard, unpredictable and even messy? What happens when a job is lost, the creditors won’t stop calling, a bad medical report is received, a loved one dies, a spouse breaks a promise, or a child breaks a heart?

Do we stop believing and turn from Him?

Do shouts of praise turn silent

—or worse—

do they turn to words of 

anger and dejection?

God cannot be boxed. There is much we can know by knowing His word. We can trust Him explicitly. But His ways of doing things, His sovereign will, will not always make sense to us. It will not always be what we expect.

Oh Father God, may my shouts consistently be of love and praise to You and to the One who saves me! Regardless of my hopes, my dreams and my expectations of how my life should live, I pray that you would hear only my words of adoration and gratitude falling on Your ear! As I grapple with my thoughts this week—this Holy Week—as I struggle to understand how the shouts could change so significantly from Sunday to Friday, Father don’t let me forget the truth of it all. They did change THAT fast! They can change that fast today, with me, if I allow myself to take my eyes off of You. If I stop trusting in Your good intent for my life! If I stop looking for Your sovereign will to be done and not my own. My life has great purpose. You would not have taken the time to form me in the womb. You would not continue to mold and make me, if that were not the case. I am deeply desired and loved by You! The beginning, middle and ends of my life may not always look—be—the way I envision or even desire. Father, I lay down all of my expectations of You at the foot of the cross of Christ! Father, I lay down all of my perceived rights to have the life I envision for myself at the foot of the cross of Christ! Your ways are not my ways, Your thoughts are not my thoughts—Your ways are higher, wiser, more complete and more completely for my good and for Your glory. I choose this day to trust You completely with the direction in which you take this life of mine. I give it to you completely and willingly, with all my heart! I pray that all of my shouts, from today and into eternity, only be shouts of Hosanna—Holy is the Lord God Almighty! Amen!






The Shouts ~ Part 1
The Shouts ~ Part 2






{edited from the archives, as I spend my week quiet with Jesus}

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The Shouts ~ Part 2

Continuing on from where we left off yesterday, let's take a look at those chapters in Matthew. What happened in those 5 days—from Sunday to Friday? What happened in chapters 21-27 that would have brought about such a drastic change in the shouts of the people?



“But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David,’ they became indignant.”
(Matthew 21:15)
No surprise here. The priests are indignant and the children are still shouting Hosanna.

“When they sought to seize Him, they feared the people, because they considered Him to be a prophet.”
(Matthew 21:46)
Again, priests not happy—they fear the response of the crowds because the people believe He could be the Messiah.

“They plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him. But they were saying, ‘Not during the festival, otherwise a riot might occur among the people.’"
(Matthew 26:4, 5)
Okay, we are into chapter 26 and still no angry people. Angry scribes and Pharisees, yes! Angry crowds, no!

Chapters 22, 23, 24 and 25 all contain teachings and parables of Jesus. He continues to stir up the religious leaders with His words, but from what we see in the verses from chapter 26 above, the people continue to follow Jesus.



Nothing changes; the people do not change . . . 

until Jesus is arrested.

From this point on, accusations fly.

In Matthew 26, Jesus stands before the illegally gathered Sanhedrin.
“The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus, however false, on which they might have him executed.”
(Matthew 26:59)

In Matthew 26:73, Peter is accused by bystanders outside the temple courtyard of being a follower of Jesus. They are not in awe of this man who is so close to “The Man”. Peter, so full of fear, denies his Master three times.

Jesus is then led before Pilate, Herod and then once more returned to Pilate. Neither man wants anything to do with Jesus, the priests and their accusations.  It is festival time. The governor’s practice is to release one prisoner for the people during this time. Anyone the crowd chose. Pilate believes they will choose Jesus.


And just that quickly we are at Friday—the shouts of Friday.


The religious leaders had their own idea of who the Messiah would be.

Jesus did not come even close to qualifying.

The people had ideas of their own of what the Messiah would do.

Jesus did not free them from the oppression they were under.

When Jesus was arrested, 

with the extensive list of charges made against Him, 

the people lost faith in who they believed to be their Deliverer.

The Messiah was to replace the Roman kingdom, not be held by it.
The Messiah was to conquer Roman rule, not be subject to it.
The Messiah was to free them, not lose His own freedom.


Surely, they must have been wrong.
They had been duped.
He was not the coming Messiah.
They put their faith in the wrong guy.
They put their hope in a failure.

Their dejected hope was the abrupt turn from believing Him to be the coming King to turning on Him and offering Him up by their own words.


Jesus told the people He would be lifted up (John 3:14).

The people’s shouts on Friday did the lifting.

Tomorrow, we will look at one final shout the people made that Friday.










{edited from the archives, as I spend my week quiet with Jesus}

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The Shouts

Picking up the girls from Sunday School, I noticed something green and familiar in Faith’s hand.


"What’s that, honey?”

That was all the prompting needed as she launched into the full, Palm Sunday, 4–6 year old Sunday School class, long version of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. She showed me the palm branch she had made and went on to tell how the girls waved their branches and shouted “Hosanna!” while the boys all pretended to be Jesus riding on the donkey.

Jelena had to point out that Cindy Jo tried to join the boys because she wanted to be Jesus, but teacher quickly reminded her that she was not a boy so she could not be Jesus.

Eventually, we were able to get back to the point of the story.

They finished telling about their exciting morning with the exciting story with all the excited people who were excited to see Jesus—so excited that they grabbed branches off of trees and waved them in the air and laid them on the ground in celebration as they offered up shouts of praise!

Quite possibly, this is the 14th Easter I have had a child come to me with some form of a palm branch in hand. I’ve listened to numerous retellings of this same beloved Bible story from 5 different perspectives and every time the story captivates them, fueling their excitement for the Sunday to follow—Easter Sunday!

Later that afternoon while I was smiling on Faith smiling so happily with the retelling of her morning, a heart wrenching reflection entered my thoughts. The imagery was so stark and powerful I am positive I will be unable to capture the intensity with which I felt it.

What a difference in shouts!

First came the cries, "Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD; Hosanna in the highest!" (Matthew 21:9)

Imagine the joy that accompanied. The excitement. The grabbing of palm branches and the throwing down of cloaks upon the dirt pathway for a donkey to step on. The laughter, the tears, the delight . . . the shouts of praise to Jesus as they called out, “Son of David”,  identifying Him as the Messiah!


The crowds shouted “Hosanna”!

This was Sunday. Then came Friday.



“The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death. But the governor said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" And they said, "Barabbas." Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said, "Crucify Him!" And he said, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they kept shouting all the more, saying, "Crucify Him!" (Matthew 27:20-23)

Imagine once more the excitement, the impassioned frenzy, the air-pumping fists. Except this time, there is no joy . . . no laughter. There is anger, malice, and contempt while ugly tones spill ugly words.

The crowds are the same. The people haven’t changed. Only their shouts are different.


Sunday the crowds stir with joy. Friday those crowds stir into a riot.
Sunday they shout praise. Friday they shout condemnation.
Sunday they hail Him King—Messiah. Friday He is an outcast—criminal.
Sunday they bid Him, “come”. Friday they curse Him, “die”.



Why? What happened between Sunday and Friday? Jesus had to have done something, said something to have turned the crowd against Him so.

The “Hosannas” are lifted in the 21st chapter of Matthew. The “crucify’s” in chapter 27. What happened between chapter 21 and chapter 27? What could possibly have been said or done in that short period of time that would have brought such a drastic, fully encompassed, change?


This week I have been reflecting on those questions. I am pausing my heart to quietly ponder the difference in these shouts, the difference of 5 days.






{edited from the archives, as I spend my week quiet with Jesus}

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I Am Just A Vapor (James 4:13-16)

We plan our plans.

We dream our dreams.

We choose our choices.

We live our lives.

Are we mindful of God’s sovereignty?

And if we are, how does that direct us in directing our lives? 

I do need to plan.

I am going to dream.

I have to make choices.

I will live my life.

But how should I do it differently from a non-believer?

Does life really need to be done different? 

Or does God trump all anyway?

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’  Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.  You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.  Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that.’  But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.” 

I am just a vapor!

“My life is but breath.”  Job 7:7

Scripture does not teach us to just go about our lives—trusting everything that happens (or doesn’t happen) to be God’s will for us.  I also don’t believe James is instructing us to sit back and wait for God to push us through open doors.  Scripture does state, “The kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing...and forceful men lay hold of it.” (Matthew 11:12)  The word “force” used here is not about physical violence but power, effort, initiative and action!

James is reminding us of who we are and who He is! 

He is the Breather—we are the breath!

The arrogance mentioned in verse 16 refers to being pretentious.  It is to make those plans and dreams on my own—without seeking the wisdom of our Father.  It is to trust those choices and my life to the stability of earthly things and my own resources.  It is to desire independence rather than interdependence—to despise the Divine. 

“Man is like a mere breath; His days are like a passing shadow.”  Psalm 144:4

God’s Word and His plan are eternal.  I will pass away.  His will won’t.  I am subject to His will and blessedly so!  I do have plans, dreams, and choices in this life.  While I may not know tomorrow what my life will be like, as long as I have breath I will seek God’s will by seeking His face!

“Holy Spirit, continually remind me that I am “mere breath” and to actively pursue Christ’s will for my life while vigorously living each day to the fullest!”

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Click here for the other posts from my study of the book of James
I am joining The Good Morning Girls as we study James together.

Is there a God? Really?

How does a tanker ship now parked alongside cars, homes and tangled ruins get moved?

How do huge cargo containers look as if they were dropped on the floor like Legos?

How are nuclear plants to be calmed—cooled—restored—made safe?

How does a mother stand behind her child while being checked for radiation?

How does sea water 6 miles inland—ever recede?

I make myself watch the videos . . . linger on the stilled images of devastation that is present, active, moving, dire, immediate, needy, and desperate for all who are right now experiencing the reality of this disaster. 

I read the statistics, the updated reports, the personal testimonies.

As I sit in our warm home, sun shining through the window, with computer hooked up to electricity and I look—I know that the father and son I see staring at the wreckage are no longer standing in that place.  For me, they are frozen—stilled, and yet . . .

Where are they this moment? 

Are they warm? 

Are they in their home? 

Someone else’s? 

Do they have food? 

Water? 

Electricity? 

Are they safe? 

Are they okay? 

Will they ever be okay again?

Those we know personally, living in Japan, we know to be safe. What of those hearts today breaking over their own known ones not known to be safe?  

What about the many, faceless, nameless ones that represent 

the numbing numbers on the dead-count?  

What about those who have survived these four days cold, hungry, 
thirsty, shocked and wondering where is the help? 

Where is their saving? 

Where is their savior?

These are the unanswerable questions that cause many 

to question the existence of God?

How does such depth of destruction equate in our hearts and minds that, yes—there is a God and, yes—He is only, always good.

He said there would be pains.  (Matthew 24)

He will be true to His words. 

He will fulfill all that has been promised.

For me—I look at these pictures, I see the devastation, I view the movement of water climbing 30 feet tall, going speeds of up to 500mph and I offer my own question . . .

How can there be ANY doubt 

that there IS a God?

How else does an island get moved 8 feet? 

How else does a spinning globe tilt 10 inches off its axis?

How else does a man ride his roof-top 9 miles out to sea where he is saved?

His ways are not my own, so they will not always make sense to my senses.  He who defined good—IS, but His goodness is for His glory, not necessarily mankind's.

“Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!’"  Revelation 5:13

And so we pray . . . there is nothing more powerful than a praying believer of Jesus Christ.  

Our prayers met with Jesus’ power for God’s glory! 

For the people of Japan—

we love, we give and we most fervently pray!

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Because He IS A Jealous God! (James 4:4, 5)

"You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?  Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (v. 4) 

Friendship with the world is hostility toward God.

Think about that for a minute . . .

Being friends with the world 

is inarguably, incompatible with friendship to God.

What is so enticing about the world’s friendship that we would consciously even consider that which alienates us from God???

Simply put . . . the world satisfies our old nature—the flesh.

From the moment a sinner believes, he has two natures—

the old; as sinful as ever—and the new; which cannot sin.  

The old nature is set aside in the death of Christ.

“Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed (or justified) from sin.” Romans 6:6, 7

Being made free from sin, sin is no longer his master and the believer becomes the servant of righteousness.  But should the believer become lazy and fail to consider himself dead, the old nature immediately pops up by producing its evil lusts.

Believers commit sins.  

Only God is sinless.  

Truly a child of God ought not to commit sin, 

and especially willful sin, 
knowing it to be sin.

Being friends with the world and its unashamed embrace of feeding fleshly sins puts me in tempting situations.  Why make it harder on myself?  My wisdom and strength comes from God, right?  So why willingly, foolishly go where my own strength and wisdom will fail me?

“Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose:  ‘He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us’?”  (v. 5)

Some Bible scholars believe the correct interpretation for the word “spirit” here is not referring to the Holy Spirit but to the fallen spirit of man responsible for our propensity to sin.  The interpretation could also be that the Holy Spirit, which God has made to dwell in me, jealously desires me!

What is definitely definite, however— 
is that Scripture does speak with great purpose.  

That being . . .

God will do what He has said.

God will make good what He has spoken.

That’s why I must daily keep check on the old nature, keeping watch with Christ on what’s going on within me, around me and Satan’s attacks against me.  

Those are our 3 enemies:  

the world, the flesh and the evil one.
  

For He is a jealous God!  

And no god, 

no idol, 

no temptation, 

no flesh feeder, 

no nothing 

in and of this world is worth enmity with God!

“You shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” Exodus 34:14

Do you have an idol you are holding onto?

Is there something or someone you are not willing to give up?

We cannot have both!  

Scripture makes that clear!  

Friendship with the world makes us enemy’s of God!

My idols today are self, recognition and entitlements—

That’s them in a nutshell . . .

O God,

Create in me a clean heart . . .

Renew a right spirit within me . . .

Do not cast me from Your Presence . . .

Or take your Holy Spirit from me . . .

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation . . .

Uphold me by Your generous Spirit . . .

Purify Your child of all that steals Your Glory!

Amen!

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Click here for the other posts from my study of the book of James
I am joining The Good Morning Girls as we study James together.