The Secret Place of Thunder

Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it (my name), and will glorify it again. The people that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.

God's voice is frequently described as thunder, and I came away from a cursory look at this word in the Bible in a state I struggle to define.  I am elated at the various references to thunder.  They are both powerful and personal.  They convey messages of fear and freedom.  As I looked at each reference I felt like I was waiting to ride an unfamiliar roller coaster.  I love roller coasters and my heart literally pounded in anticipation of the ride ahead.  I know there will be many surprise turns and dips as I continue this ride.  My brief study today left me in a whirlwind of thought.  I admit, I took the "chicken exit" to catch my breath on this first attempt to ride.

Before I exited, however, I found an interesting thunder reference in Psalms 81:7,  "You called in trouble, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder."  At first glance, "secret place" and "thunder" seem incompatible in nature.  Thunder is hard to keep secret.  Hang on...
 
2 Samuel 22:14 says, "The Lord thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice."  Two verses before that we learn that God made darkness pavilions around him.  That word "pavilions" means "thicket, covert, booth."  Sounds a lot like a secret place. 
 

Interestingly, the verse between the darkness verse and and thunder verse talks about brightness.  "Through the brightness that was before him were coals of fire kindled."  So I picture something like this:

 

The brightness that emanates from God kindles coals of fire.  A few uses for coals in scripture:

*sacrifice

*refining

*judgment
*cooking

 

When I attempt to put all these thoughts together, I think one small piece we can place in God's thunder puzzle is that it can be a secret place where God speaks into our lives.  That particular secret place is shrouded in darkness.  You know, those dark times in our lives marked by groping in search of Divine help.  If we continue stepping through that darkness, squelching our fears and other "voices of reason," God does bring illumination to our darkness.  Generally, that light highlights a need we have to address to dispel the darkness. Perhaps it involves an area of sacrifice; perhaps refining our mission or motives; perhaps our judgment of others or a situation is incorrect; or we may need to righteously judge an aspect of our lives.  Always, God desires to nourish our spirit.   My personal experience has been that the needs I perceive in the darkness often do not resemble the revealed needs at all.  Other times, the revealed need is a three-dimensional version of my original concept.  In either case, this Divine disclosure, if acted upon, brings Divine deliverance.

 

Maybe there is darkness in your life.  Maybe the darkness is only noticeable from certain angles.  Or maybe the darkness is all-encompassing.  Rather than freezing in fear, I urge you to walk through that wall of darkness as you cry out to God.  He will answer you.  Follow the sound of His thunder and allow Him to illuminate your needs. Then walk in the light. 

My Cup Runneth Over

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Psalms 23:5

In the presence of the most intimidating enemies in my life thus far, God has prepared many feasts for me. That word "table" is translated from the Hebrew word "shulchan", which means "of king’s table, private use, sacred uses". Tears fill my eyes when I recall some of the precious tables the King set for me when I felt I was surely in the shadow of the valley of death. Those were sweet times of fellowship -- precious times to cry out to my Savior, my Father, my Daddy. Times He held me and gently directed me to follow His truth even when every fiber of my flesh screamed in opposition. During those seasons when the winds of my life were swirling in confusion, God's table was a sturdy refuge. When battling those winds weakened me such that I couldn't possibly take another step, His table was a source of nourishment that gave me the supernatural strength needed to simply not grow weary in well doing. When the darkness of my circumstances permitted only the tiniest light to illuminate merely one small step in front of me, His table fed me with promises like, "the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee" and " the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day". God's table. I am in awe. I am humbled.

Then, as though His table weren't enough, He abundantly anointed my head with his healing, empowering oil. God poured the healing oil of His Holy Spirit over the wounds inflicted by my enemies. In all honesty, I believed those wounds to be fatal, or at least permanently debilitating. How could I possibly walk again? How could I even begin to look into the eyes of my brothers and sisters in Christ. Surely they would see how unsightly my enemies had left me. No, I must not get too close to them lest they see my wounds and scars.

But God... God anointed my head with oil. God poured His own Spirit directly onto my wounds. Oh, it stung at times, but in the end, the stinging eased and the scars miraculously transformed into something new and beautiful. Gradually, as those wounds have healed, God has shown me this simple truth.

My cup runneth over. Let it run out to those who, too, are wounded in battle that they may also feast at the table of the King and experience the healing and empowering of His anointing oil.

Losing Your Life

Have you ever had a season in your life that caused you to move so far away from normal that you actually couldn't recall what "normal" was? I think everyone experiences the need to redefine normal from time to time. It happened in our home with the birth of each child. It's happening again now as we are nearing the eight-week mark of Josh's illness. So, this morning when I read Matthew 16:25, it took on a bit of different meaning for me... "whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it". The Greek word translated "lose" in this passage doesn't mean to misplace something; it means "to put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to, ruin." That's a pretty strong word! But, certainly there are times when our life's course is altered to such a degree it is put out of the way entirely. The question is, what do we do with that? Do we mourn the loss of what we thought we had? Do we fight and argue as Peter did with Jesus about Jesus' impending death (see Matthew 16)? Or, do we understand God is sovereign and relinquish our hold on our life to lose it for Christ's sake, for the purpose of making us a little more like Him?

Losing my life for Christ's sake doesn't end at that loss. It ends with finding my life. One of the definitions of the Greek word translated "find" in Matthew 16 is "to find by enquiry, thought, examination, scrutiny, observation, to find out by practice and experience." If there is one thing all life- altering experiences have in common, it is their propensity to provoke pondering. In those seasons, we become introspective, examining every aspect of our lives, measuring their worth, and redefining our priorities according to our discoveries. If we do this in the context of God as our head, truly we do find our lives. This, friend, is another reason we can have peace in life's storms. Those storms are not without purpose. On the contrary, they serve many purposes. Losing our life in the storms is only part of the "silver lining". I am eternally grateful to be doing life with Jesus!

Overwhelming Odds

I just love this about God -- He loves doing the "impossible". Every time I find myself facing a situation with some sort of impossibility involved, I can go to any number of places in the Bible and find that this is most often where God works. Otherwise, I guess it would be too easy for us to take credit for working out a situation. The story of King Jehoshaphat (what a name, huh?) in 2 Chronicles 20 is one of my favorites. Here is this king who is suddenly faced with the news that a huge army of Judah's enemies is heading their direction with the intent of destroying Judah. How does the king respond? "And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah." Then he reminded God (in front of the whole nation) of some very important things..."art thou not God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee...O our God, wilt though not judge them, for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee." If you read on, you will find the story ends well. God does prove Himself once again. In fact, Judah was instructed this way, "Tomorrow go ye down against them...Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you." Judah's response? "Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD." I really can't comment further on this.

What is the giant, the overwhelming situation you are facing today? We all have them from time to time -- sometimes seemingly all the time! I encourage you to respond just as Jehoshaphat did: fear, seek the LORD, and proclaim a fast in the manner God leads you. Entreat the Lord, and see that He delights to show Himself powerful on our behalf and for His Great Name. Then, when He does give you victory -- and He will -- don't forget to respond with humility and worship. No room for pride when God mercifully intervenes in our lives! Can you even wrap your mind around the fact that the God of the universe, Creator and Sustainer of all life would intervene? Thus I end up here again... "What is man that thou art mindful of him?"

Battle

My family is facing a huge challenge right now. I desire so much to see God's power prevail. I know He is bigger than anything we face. My verse for today is 2 Chronicles 14:11, "And Asa cried unto the LORD his God and said, LORD, it is nothing for thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD God; for we rest in thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let no man prevail against thee."

Yet Another Judson Funny...

Yesterday in the car, Judson was sharing with me the story of Moses. You might recall, the last time he told me the story -- it was when the Israelites were crossing the Red Sea and he said God took a paper towel and dried up the water -- "a great big paper towel"...

Well, this time, he took me back to the beginning of Moses' life. He told a precious version of Moses as a baby all the way through the plagues. At one point he told how Moses went to the desert and there was a bush burning up. Judson remembered the Voice in the bush that said, "Moses, take off your sandals. You are on holy ground." At that point, Judson interrupted the story to tell me that that is his favorite part. When I asked him why he said, "I like the holy ground. It's cool. You can drop sticks on it and they turn to snakes!"... :o)

Well, I have to agree. Holy ground is very cool!

The Bestest Worstest Day Ever

Tonight when I was praying with Judson, he did his typical conversation starter between my prayer and his prayer. He said, "Today was the bestest worstest day ever." He went on to explain that it was bad because of the tornado (we had warnings in the area that sent us to the basement for a while) and because his room was messy. The tornado also wasted his time to clean his room, he stated. It was the best day because he got to play on the computer and make a really cool book in school. (So cool, in fact, that he didn't even realize he had "done school", and late in the day exclaimed, "Mom, we forgot to do school today!")

I had to chuckle when he explained his perception of "bestest" and "worstest". As I type this, my Mr.-Fix-It husband is fixing our freezer once again. I wasn't kidding about the long breaking-down streak we've been on. The freezer is only one of the things this week. Some of the malfunctions involved my employment this week, and ultimately made for an extremely frustrating week at work, throwing my schedule off, etc. I have also been dealing with some physical irritations, and all in all just had a blah week. I wouldn't call it the "worstest" week ever by any means, but I might use the word "bad".

So, Judson's retelling of his day kind of gave me some perspective. My worstest and bestest days ever are as simple in God's eyes as are Judson's in mine. :o)

Prayer For Today

In those times when my thoughts are cluttered with doubts, fears and insecurities, my prayer is simply...

Precious Father, may I never think too highly of myself or too little of You.

Marriage Milestones

Today is our anniversary -- 23 years! We had a wonderful time last night. We went to our favorite Mexican place and had a nice dinner. Then we went to the Lyric Opera House to watch Dramatic Truth's premier of Dethroning the Prince. It was an amazing show depicting the spiritual battle behind the scenes of the things we get messed up with in life and how Truth frees us from those things! I highly recommend it if they ever do another local performance. We had a very nice evening together.

I wrote in an earlier blog about the flame of our marriage being nearly imperceptible at one point a couple of years ago. It was a rocky time. The year after we had come through that time, I was reading through a daily devotional book, Experiencing God Day by Day by Henry and Richard Blackaby, and I was absolutely floored by the writing for June 22nd, our anniversary. It goes like this:

And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord had spoken to Joshua. (Joshua 4:8). Spiritual memory is crucial in the Christian life. It would be tragic if, in your haste to advance in your Christian faith, you neglected to leave spiritual markers at the key crossroads of your life. Without the help of these markers, you will lose your spiritual bearings.

The Israelites experienced a tumultuous pilgrimage. Their doubt that God was powerful enough to give them victory cost them forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Then God miraculously parted the waters of the Jordan River so they could pass over and continue their conquest. God knew that at times the Israelites would face intimidating enemies and would need a reminder that He was powerful enough to protect them. The Israelites might be tempted to think they made a mistake entering Canaan. For this reason God instructed them to build a monument on the banks of the Jordan River. Whenever they returned to this spot, they would see the monument and be reminded of God's awesome power. This marker would give them confidence to meet the new challenges they faced.

A spiritual marker identifies a time of decision when you clearly know that God guided you. Were there specific times when He called you to His ways of living? Can you point to times when He guided you in a decision or spoke powerfully to you about a commitment you could make? Keep track of these important moments! This will help you understand God's activity in your life and give you a sense of direction as you face future decisions."

The first time I read this, it brought tears to my eyes. Every year if I read this particular book on our anniversary, it will serve as a reminder to me of the specific decision and direction God gave me in my marriage -- I must get rid of my pride, and I must learn to love my husband with godly love rather than selfish love. God specifically directed me to stick with my commitment and do a better job of it. I once had a friend say she doesn't know if God cares that much about all the little details of our lives. I beg to differ! Not only does His Word say He is involved in the details of our lives (like knowing the number of hairs on our head and keeping our tears in a bottle), but my personal experience shows me He is involved intimately in my life. I do not think it is any accident that we were given this particular devotion book for Christmas the year God led me in a very important decision about my marriage. I do not think it is any accident that God led the authors of that book to write this devotion to be read on June 22nd. I think God was setting up a spiritual marker for me to be reminded of how blessed I am that He chose to intervene and that my marriage is alive and become richer all the time. I'm sure this devotion has been used in many lives in many different ways, but for me, it is highly personal and relevant to my marriage. I praise God for all He has done, and pray He will continue to move my husband and I individually to look more like Him each day, and in our marriage to glorify and serve Him better together than we could apart. Thank you, Jesus!

Mental Wars

Perfect love casteth out fear. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. This verse (1John 4:18) has been bothering all week. Why? I have found myself in a battle with fear. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I feel like Peter when he so boldly stepped onto the stormy sea to walk to Jesus, but immediately began to doubt the rationale of his decision. His doubt caused him to sink. I boldly told God if He wanted my son in China for the summer, and He made that possible, that's what I wanted, too. Now that Josh is there -- now that I'm in the water walking by faith and not by sight -- the doubts assail me. Then Jesus' question to Peter echos in my mind, "...O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" Wherefore do I doubt?

Usually faith is really not a big issue for me. Oh, I've had some major battles with this, but God has proven the truth of His Word in my life so many times, that not many things really shake my faith these days. I may have quivers from time to time or moments of outright shaking, but this long-term, fear battle has not really been this big of a nuisance for a while. Not at this level. Wherefore do I doubt?

There have been seeds of fear planted by relatively minor things -- words of caution from a friend, a strange message on the China blog, the flight problems, etc. Intellectually, I manage these by repeating truth, and I know that ultimately that truth will win. I can cast down imaginations and every high thought that exalts itself against the knowledge of God -- and I do. Yet, the battle is strong in that these attacks of fear seize me most unexpectedly in rapid-fire fearful thought fashion ... "What if..." "I hope he..." , etc. I've had these times of mental battle before in which I am just going normally through my day when suddenly I am hit with these thoughts seemingly out of nowhere and seemingly prompted by nothing. Hmmm, I wonder where those could be coming from?

I think most people have experienced something similar. Those thoughts might be in the form of "you can't...", "you're ugly...", "you're not smart enough...", "how could you ever be forgiven for that wrongdoing...", "this marriage is never going to work...", "I'm a terrible (wife, mother, employee, etc)...", "this situation is never going to change so why try..." Any of those sound familiar? Maybe I'm the only one that deals with these.

So I have been pondering perfect love and its relationship to fear. As I've looked at that passage in I John, it seems to be in the context of fearing judgement and the perfect love of God toward us that gives us the opportunity to rid ourselves of that fear once and for all. Whew! But, what about Peter? Jesus chastised him pretty soundly for doubting. What about that? Am I in hot water here? What about all the times Jesus said, "Oh ye of little faith", or something similar? It seems a pretty serious issue, so I'm looking further into it.

The cool thing about the whole Peter walking on the water blunder is what happened just before Jesus chastised him, "...And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him..." Before Jesus got onto Peter about doubting, he saved him from the disaster Peter's floundering faith could have caused.

In another passage, Jesus is addressing Peter and says, " behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat..." The word "sift" means, "figuratively, by inward agitation to try one’s faith to the verge of overthrow". I believe there are those seasons in our lives when the enemy does target our faith specifically to try to overthrow it. I mean, look at Job. Big target! The beautiful thing about that verse is Jesus' response to Satan's challenge. He didn't save Peter from the sifting, but he said "But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not"! Can you imagine? Jesus prayed for Peter's faith. Jesus prays for us, too. (John 17) It brings tears to my eyes to think that my Creator, my Redeemer, the One who has done everything for me, and given me everything I need, also chooses in His great mercy and patience to pray for my faltering faith. Even more exciting is the rest of what Jesus says, "and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." Jesus states his prayer will be answered affirmatively.

From the time we are saved, most of us want to hurry up and grow up spiritually. (Isn't that what we do physically as well?) I think we often expect we should be mature immediately rather than growing through life's experiences. Oh, it bothers me greatly that I have been battling so strongly with fear this week. It's probably just a pride issue on my part -- I mean the fact that it bothers me. Fear and faith do not necessarily work exclusively of one another. Without fear, it would be impossible to exercise faith or to grow in faith. The fact that I have struggled immensely with fear this week (and perhaps in the eight remaining weeks), does not mean I must look at my faith as failing. Rather, I can thank God that Jesus is there to rescue me when doubts cause me to begin sinking. I can praise Jesus that He would care to pray for my faith. I can be amazed at the fact that the challenge to my faith, if handled biblically, will ultimately result in the conversion of that fear to a stronger faith.

I am certainly not proud of my wavering and doubts. But I also will not allow condemnation a place. Rather, I will look at this season as yet another potential faith growth spurt! I am so thankful for a Father who loves me not only enough to sacrifice everything for me, but to care intimately about me -- enough to pray for my faith not to fail. Imagine! "What is man that thou art mindful of him?"

Wavering Moments with an Unwavering God

I should have guessed that after experiencing the victory of resting in God's promises, I'd be in for a tumble. It happened. Yesterday I was a mess for the entire morning. I thought we had resolved all the issues with vaccines Josh needed for his trip. It had taken some research and talking to several different people until I finally found an "expert" to talk to about it. After going back and forth on whether he needed a couple of vaccines for where he is going in China, we were comfortable with our informed decision that he did not need those -- until Wednesday when another source said he might need them and the whole thing seemed to start over. I have to admit, I was in panic mode. After all, I certainly don't want my son to get typhoid or malaria! I suddenly forgot Who was in control of this whole deal. I have to give a BIG thank-you to my friends, Laura and GiGi. Laura always reels me in (or should I say "reals" me in?) with solid Bible truths combined perfectly with compassion -- a true Proverbs friend. Gigi is a friend from high school and college. We have over the last few years picked up our friendship via email and snail mail. She has an uncanny way of sending a card or an email perfectly timed for the day, even when she has no idea what the particular circumstances of that day may be. Yesterday, I received one of her awesome hand-made cards . As you can see, the outside has a picture of some luggage with the words "anyone who loves God travels securely". On the inside she wrote, "Don't fret...he's in good care! ..." Mind you, this arrived in the mail within an hour after I prayed for God's grace to return to my previous peaceful state of mind. Shortly after that, my sense that God was reassuring us that Josh was okay with the vaccinations was confirmed after my dear husband was finally able to reach someone from BTW who not only said our preparations were okay, but also gave a raving review of the people who will be taking care of our eldest for the next month. Well, I wavered -- big-time, but God? He NEVER wavers. Long before my faith was shaken, he had prompted Gigi to mail that card. Long before this "crisis", He had blessed me with my Proverbs friend. When Jesus said, "Take no thought...", He meant it. We can rest, truly rest in the knowledge that God is in control and has all our bases more than adequately covered. He's still the same God who kept that little toddler from pedaling into the busy street. He loves us, he really does! :o)

God's Faucet is Bigger!

Weird title, I know. This has been an amazing week really. We're counting down to the longest separation -- both in distance and in time -- we have had from one of our children, now only five days away. I anticipated a teary week for several reasons I won't go into here, so asked for prayer from some friends specifically in that regard. What I have learned this week is that God's promises faucet is bigger than my tear faucet! It has been truly amazing. Every time I have felt teary or panicky, when that faucet was merely dripping, suddenly my mind has been flooded with verses reminding me of God's promises and memories of His faithfulness in past situations that have been difficult. I have had tastes of this in the past, but it has been occurring regularly this week. All I can say is that God is so amazing and so marvelous and so real. It brings to mind the verse, "Be careful (full of care) for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Thank you, God, for Your peace that truly can't be explained in human terms; and thank you for my faithful, praying friends.

Little Lessons with Big Impacts

We are just days away from Josh leaving for China. Many people have asked me about being fearful for his safety. I cannot honestly say I am completely without fear, but amazingly, my fear level is pretty low. As I thought about this, I was reminded of an incident that happened when Josh was just a preschooler. We were coming out of the library with Josh on his little bike and me following close behind. We were headed down a sidewalk next to a fairly busy street. Before I realized what had happened, he had lost control, was headed off the sidewalk and directly toward the busy street, destined to land right in the path of oncoming traffic. Close as I was, I had not reacted quickly enough to stop him and watched in horror as this event was unfolding. Just before he reached the road, it was as though someone pushed his bike over, and he landed safely in the grass next to the curb. My heart was pounding, and I felt horrible that I had been unable to keep my small son from near disaster. At that moment, a small, but very distinct and memorable Voice whispered in my heart, "It is not you that keeps your son safe. It is I." This whole event was over in a matter of seconds, but the impact it left on my heart was long lasting. I will never forget it, and rest in the comfort that it IS God who keeps my children very capably, safely in His hands. I am responsible as a steward, but ultimately, He is their Protector and their Guide. I thank God for this lesson learned early in my motherhood -- and for the countless other he has taught me though these precious gifts, my children.

High Places

Recently, the phrase "high places" has been a recurring theme in my life. I have started reading the book, Hinds' Feet in High Places by Hannah Hurnard based on Habakkuk 3:19, "The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places." At the same time I was studying King Josiah in 2 Chronicles 34:1, who, by the way, is an excellent example of what God can do with a life that seeks Him from a young age. In Josiah's quest to follow God, he purged Judah and Israel from the high places. These are two very different references to high places in the Bible. Thus began my more in-depth study of high places.

Interestingly, both of these high places -- the good high places in Habakkuk and the bad high places in 2 Chronicles -- are translated from the same Hebrew word. A good example of our tendency to take the things God intends for His purposes and use them for something completely different... What are high places? I believe they represent how we handle circumstances in life -- from the slightly uncomfortable to the extremely uncomfortable. Isaiah 40:31 says, "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." I believe this represents the high places God desires to take us. Often, however, we tend to seek more immediate, tangible relief from our stresses, even under the guise of religious activity.

As I skimmed the references to "high places" on Online Bible, a sad story began to emerge. Through the history of all the kings of Judah and Israel, the vast majority of them -- even the good kings -- failed to remove the high places in which the people sacrificed to pagan gods. These unholy practices had been such a part of their culture, it seemed unthinkable and unnecessary for them to remove them. In essence, their excuses likely came down to "everybody's doing it" and "it doesn't hurt anything". They had become so accustomed to the unholiness, that it no longer seemed unholy to them. To remove the high places was too uncomfortable and too restrictive.

Recently, it came to my attention that I view some of life through that lens of being uncomfortable and restrictive. For instance, I have had a tendency to see our "barely making ends meet" status, now so exacerbated by rising gas and grocery costs, as just that -- restrictive, uncomfortable. I have allowed it to be such a burden, I have failed to enjoy the miraculous ways in which God has provided for us. Truly, I have seen His blessing and provision from a curse-perspective! How sad! My viewpoint has been from an earthly perspective, desiring the comfort of a little more wiggle room in the financial department. What joy I have missed!

God is calling us to view high places from His perspective. Sadly, the vast majority of references to high places in the Bible are negative... How many times do Christians choose alternate high places -- from religious activity to unholy practices that have been part of our culture for so many years we have become comfortable with their unholy nature? In fact, to remove those things from our lives would seem very restrictive and uncomfortable. So, when other Christians point out the unholiness of these activities, we are quick to say they are legalistic and narrow-minded. I think we often choose to use the high places to which God has called us in a manner other than He intended. Are we viewing His call to dwell solely with Him in the high places of life as restrictive and uncomfortable -- forcing us to let go of those things that give us false security and failing to recognize unholiness? What if... what if.... what if we changed our perspective and saw instead the great freedom that comes from letting go of all the "weight and sin which doth so easily beset us"? What if we trusted that in answering his call to live a holy life in the high places with him we could experience a life with our heavenly Father that we have never imagined possible? What if we came to know our God on a completely different, more intimate level?

This is what God is calling me to do. This is my newest challenge -- and one I am very much looking forward to -- by His grace and His power. What about you? Can we together be one of the references to the good high places or will we join the vast majority who choose to use the high places in a compromising manner?

Heavy Heart

Today, my heart is heavy for many situations...

Myanmar: The tragedy of many killed, injured, left without food, shelter or medical care with a government unable to provide the necessary care and unwilling to accept help... My sister-in-law spent about three months teaching English in an orphanage in Myanmar in 2006. Praise God the orphanage and its occupants were unharmed! She and my brother are terribly burdened for this area and the government's lack of response to the needs of their people.

Joplin and other tornado-hit areas of the weekend: Many tornado victims. One I know of first-hand was reported to me by a friend of mine who attends Forrest Avenue Baptist Church in Joplin. Their interim music minister, his wife, his 12-year-old son, and his mother-in-law were killed when the storm picked up their SUV and flipped it. They have a surviving daughter, a sophomore in college, who was not with the family at the time. Please pray for Kali, who lost her entire immediate family in a single blow.

China: Today's earthquake's death toll is already in the 8,000's. Per my last blog, Josh is heading to China in less than a month. He already knows several people there, and we pray for their safety and for the Chinese Christians and missionaries to minister God's love and grace, praying such tragedy will open hearts that have previously been closed to the Gospel.

In all these tragedies, my heart is heavy for the thousands who have slipped into eternity without so much as hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ. I have to admit my first response to hearing of the China earthquake was fear and a harder grip on my son. But, as I have processed it, though there is still an element of fear and the whole aspect of missing him, I fervently pray that God will use him to show many Chinese the way to Christ while he is there. My friend, we are not guaranteed even one more breath in this life. We do not know what the next moment will bring. Those thoughts that fill our days are largely centered on things that will not matter outside of time. What of the eternal state of those who meet such unexpected death? What of those who have pursued earthly endeavors with fervor, who have perhaps sought out knowledge of things big or small, only to wake up in eternity to find they missed the most important Truth? What about we who have have this Treasure in earthen vessels and somehow don't let the glorious Gospel shine upon this world? Dear God, by your grace alone please burden us and empower us to shine your Light brightly to this lost and dying world! We are completely incapable and powerless to do so without You. You have demonstrated Your power in nature in amazing ways of late! I pray for a demonstration of Your power to save such as we have never experienced before. Use me, God. Use all of your children. Make us willing givers of your glorious Gospel!

After the Storm

After witnessing visible evidence of but a small degree of God's awesome power in last night's storm, the words to this song echo in my heart today. This demonstration of His awesome power accentuates his amazing grace and love!

Who Am I (Casting Crowns)
Who am I?

That the Lord of all the earth,

Would care to know my name,

Would care to feel my hurt.

Who am I?

That the bright and morning star,

Would choose to light the way,

For my ever wondering heart.

Not because of who I am.

But because of what you've done.

Not because of what I've done.

But because of who you are.

Chorus:

I am a flower quickly fading,

Here today and gone tomorrow.

A wave tossed in the ocean,

A vapor in the wind.

Still you hear me when I'm calling,

Lord you catch me when I'm falling,

And you told me who I am.

I am yours. I am yours.

Who am I?

That the eyes that see my sin

Would look on me with love

And watch me rise again

Who am I?

That the voice that calm the sea,

Would call out through the rain,

And calm the storm in me.

Not because of who I am.

But because what of youve done.

Not because of what I've done.

But because of who you are.

Chorus x 2

Whom shall I fear?

Whom shall I fear?

'Cuz I am yours.

I am yours.