Faith Journeys

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A faith that can rest 

My hometown bank is awesome. There are bigger and better banks, yet the personal service makes staying with them worth it. 

On Monday I called to have a problem with my account straightened out. 

The branch manager told me not to worry about the issue because he was personally handling it. 

I still called back today to make sure everything was squared away, which is when the manager said:

“Thanks for the call, but I’ve got this.” 

In that moment, the Lord said to me, “I feel the same way when you ask me for help and then check back in. I’ve already told you that it’s being handled.”

How many times do we ask the Lord about the same situation ad naseuam? 

I do it a million times a day! 

God’s not mad when we come to Him again and there are times when it’s appropriate–there is a Bible verse that says to put God in remembrance of His Word–but His quiet comment echoed like this:

Where’s your faith?

There is great peace in knowing God is your provider. You can rest, catch your breath, with the assurance that He won’t leave you hanging. 

The example that resonates most with me is resting in a hammock. Nothing beats the coziness of a hammock in the shade. It’s the best place to relax!

God’s often telling us to put our faith in Him and relax. 

Our response is often wringing our hands, staying up all night, and asking God a million times when He’s gonna move. 

His response?

“Thanks for the call, but I’ve got this.”


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Know the enemy

I don’t think about Satan much…

He gets too much air time already. Why should I talk about him or think about him more than necessary?

In my Angels & Demons class today, though, we went through a list of all the names of Satan in the Bible. 

Names, as Mr. Kirk pointed out, show us the character of an individual. People back in Bible times were much more intentional in naming their children.

They would probably be shocked if they saw this list of celebrity baby names: 

  • Rainbow Aurora
  • North West
  • Elsie Otter
  • Apple
  • Rocket Ayer
  • Bluebell Madonna

And there were more on the list I found, but I’ll let you Google it.

We talked yesterday about how names are important, so I kept thinking about this fact as our class ran through the list of Satan’s names.

I know some are reading this post and thinking, “Why ever read about Satan? Who wants to study about him?” 

If names give us clues about character, then it’s good to read through the Bible and see what it says about Satan character.

He’s a liar, deceiver, destroyer, accuser, bully, defeated, jealous, prideful…

All of this information is supported by scripture to let us in on who we’re dealing with as an enemy. We have authority, of course, but we need to know what and who we have authority over.

I’m not one that thinks there’s a demon in every doorknob or that Satan is the only reason people act stupid (sometimes people just make stupid decisions and have to live with the consequences). 

But Satan is working hard to keep unbelievers in bondage. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Just be aware that there’s a lot of things happening all around you, things that you don’t even see.

Spiritual warfare is real.

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Hello, my name is…

I’m sorry…what’s your name again?

We’ve all forgotten someone’s name before and it happens. 

Do you feel bad when you do?

I want to remember someone’s name because names are important. 

And knowing someone’s name is not about kissing up to men and women “more important” than you. 

We need to know names, to call people by their name, because it’s key to their identity. 

Christine Caine is a teacher and founder of A21, an anti-human trafficking organization. She was abandoned in a hospital, unnamed and unwanted. 

She was assigned a number instead.

This is hard to imagine…

 The first thing the angel told Mary–after “By the way, you’re to be the mother of the Son of God”–was what to name the baby. (We obviously know it’s Jesus, right? Good. I was getting concerned.)


Jesus was and is always available to those who call on His name.

His name…

Above every name,

Powerful over all sickness and disease,

And every scheme of the devil. 

Did I mention that He knows your name, too?

He calls you by name and knows everything about you. 

In an age where you can “know” someone without having to take the time to get to know them, intentionality in our relationships is important. 

What if Jesus only knew us from Facebook or Twitter? 

Oh yeah…I read your posts all the time. Looks like you had a great time at such and such with so and so. 

Thankfully, Jesus knows us and made a way for us to know Him and Father God. 

Loving and knowing others like Jesus loves and knows us requires more depth, more intentionality on our part. 

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The Power of Jesus in Us

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

My friend, Pastor Gwen Dreger, of Celebration Life Church in Surrey, British Colombia, Canada is in Tulsa this week!

I saw her Facebook post earlier today and was able to go hear her preach at Higher Living Fellowship. 

She taught on the power of Jesus living and moving in and through His children. 

Jesus is the Word of God and because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in every Christian, the Word–Jesus–becomes flesh in you and me. 

We are one with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!

Christ in us is the hope of glory!

This reality is sometimes too much for me…

He adopted me as a daughter and commissioned me to work alongside of Him in this world and the world to come. 

All I can do is say thank you, Jesus!

I was so encouraged by Pastor Gwen. She prayed over me, my studies at Rhema, and the calling of God on my life to serve Him in missions and ministry. 

Another thing she prayed over me was the book inside of me that tells of all the mighty deeds God will perform through me…

Wow. What a testimony to the love of God and His redemptive work in my life.

I am thankful for Pastor Gwen and her friendship over the last several years. 

God is using her mightily in Canada and I look forward to what He has in store for Celebration Life Church this year!

 

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Seeing the Truth

Do you know what I love about God?

His ability to see past our current state in order to focus on who we are, who we can be, in Him. 

Jesus, God’s son and the perfect picture of His dad, was really great at seeing the best in others. 

  • I think about 12 unlikely guys trained to be ministers. 
  • I think about the Samarian woman with her long list of broken marital relationships given a fresh start. 
  • I think about the demon possessed man who was set free and then led the whole town to Jesus by sharing his testimony. 

2 Corinthians 5:15-16 says:

And He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 

As Christians, we are to look past what our eyeballs see. 

Homeless?

Atheist?

Druggie?

Prostitute?

Gay?

Alcoholic?

Prisoner?

I hope we see past these labels because that’s not what God sees when He thinks of these men and women. 

All He sees is potential because Jesus came to give us life. 

Yesterday we talked about life unlimited. 

Guess where that life comes from?

A relationship with Jesus Christ where all who accept by faith the gift of salvation are given a new life.  

I am convicted of my own lack of vision. There are times all I see is the label, which is the lie that keeps men and women bound. 

I am praying for my spiritual eyes to be opened everyday to share Jesus and see Him do great works in the lives of the once hopeless. 

I encourage you to do the same. 

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Life Unlimited

Coming home to my apartment is still a bit surreal. 

I live here…Cool!

This weekend I hope to have some friends over because hospitality is a big deal to me. 

I look around and can already tell this is a place where truth and grace and peace and fun (can’t forget the fun!) will be in abundance. 

Do you know that you already have enough? 

There’s nothing stopping you from being hospitable and friendly. 

There’s nothing stopping you from sharing the gospel and befriending in your neighbors. 

Nothing except you. 

The list of supposed limitations we place on ourselves doesn’t match up with what the Bible says. 

Christians are a people blessed with all spiritual blessings. God’s given us access to the best of everything!

Rhema Bible Church’s motto is “Living Life Unlimited.” 

Do you know of a better way to live? 

Unlimited. 

Free. 

Called. 

Equipped. 

Don’t just talk about the good life–live it!

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Everyday blessings

3 Things I am thankful for:

  1. Good ideas. It’s cool to think that God gives His children creativity. Any time I have a good idea, I thank God for it. 
  2. Mac and Cheese. Who doesn’t love cheese and pasta? 
  3. Crossword Puzzles. This is brain candy for word nerds. Coming home and completing a few puzzles is one way I relax. 

It’s important to be thankful for everything–even the smallest enjoyments. 

Did you know God is interested in your life? 

Even the small, fun, unimportant preferences that are reflections of our personalities. 

He’s not necessarily interested in the weird, hokey way many people describe:

One day I was working a crossword puzzle and God said, “Stop. I want you to only do word searches!“

This sounds crazy, but over-spiritualization is a common plague within the Christian community. 

God is interested because He simply loves you. His strongest desire is to be involved and invited into your everyday life. 

Praise God for His blessings–both big and small. 

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Another successful move

I am now settled in at my new place! It’s a one room apartment about 5 miles east of Rhema. 

All of the details of this move–much like my original move out to Tulsa–have been taken care of by God. 

God’s faithfulness to provide is yet another clue to how much He loves me and wants me to trust Him. 

We all know this verse:

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all of these things shall be added unto you. 

When you determine in your heart to follow God no matter what, He will take care of your every need. 

God’s provision is promised to us because He doesn’t want anything to distract us from our purpose:

Loving God and loving people. 

I look forward to opening up my home to others. God has blessed me so much and I want my home to be a safe, peaceful place full of God’s love. 

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Journaling for Perspective 

Sometimes I can get stuck in my head…

Trying to sort things out sends me in 10 different directions, each with their own feeling. 

Writing stuff down helps me capture what’s going on and shows me what areas need to be covered with prayer.

There are times when what I see is ugly. The truth is right there in its distorted, disfigured form. 

As I read through past entries, I notice the moments where my perspective turned out to be wrong, which means everything else–my attitude, feelings, and opinions–were wrong as well. 

The good news about perspective is that it can change! 

It’s easy for me to spot the shift because my angry scribbles and stratch outs give way to hope-filled words–even if my handwriting is still a jumbled scrawl!

Most of the time I end up finding the right words to express the things I couldn’t bring myself to say before. 

There might still be a hint of pain behind the words, but the joy is bigger than the pain. 

The idea of someone else reading my journal is a bit frightening to me. 

However, I believe that when the time is right it will all make sense to whoever ends up with my mountain of words. 

He or she will say, “Yes, this chick struggled, but the struggle always led her closer to God, to seeing things from His perspective.”

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Redemption Stories, Part 2

I enjoy listening to other people’s stories, especially men and women  who really love Jesus because of their redemption from a rocky past.

I think about the lady who annointed Jesus’ feet with perfume and washed His feet with her tears…

All of her sins were forgiven! She was so thankful. 

I know that I can look back  over my life and see all my past sin, pain, guilt, shame, and hurt–I’ve been healed from so much!–that God’s goodness is overwhelming in comparison. 

Some people get really uncomfortable about such open displays of gratitude. “Can’t you tone it down a little?” they ask. 

All Jesus says is, “It’s okay. I really appreciate your act of worship, your sincere devotion.”

There are many Christians who feel like they did Jesus a favor by accepting Him, but what did we have to offer?

Enough baggage to fill a cargo plane? 

Empty attempts to gain the approval of others?

In Romans 8:17, it says that we are joint heirs with Jesus, meaning that we are each other’s inheritance. 

This is awesome news for us because it means that all of God’s blessings are given and not earned. Though,  it got me to thinking:

Jesus got the bum end of the deal. 

 I don’t mean this disparagingly, either.  It’s just that in light of His great sacrifice it’s hard for me to be real uppity about how awesome I am. 

Without Christ, I am nothing and I have nothing, so all I have for Him is gratefulness and a heart full of worship.

This is why I get so excited to hear redemption stories and to share my own. 

We were redeemed at great cost and the chance at a do over is more than we could ever imagine.