Let Your Yes be Yes

We all do it. From time to time, we may answer "yes" but in our heart or mind, it's really a "maybe." It's a "yes" unless something better comes along or something else comes up. In our world today many of our decisions are almost hesitant or "yes, for now" rather than definitive.

Our social norm has gotten away from RSVPs (do you remember those?) because no one wants to commit their decision firmly on a certain day, time, or event. Those of us who've planned a dinner or party know how hard it is to plan without accurate RSVPs.  Though life is not a dinner party, there are still times when our "yes" needs to be a solid commitment.  I think we would agree this would be true for marriage. I also believe this is true for following Christ.

Since last summer, I had known of things coming up in my future that may lead to significant life changes. Two variables in particular question were my living arrangements and my job. Regardless of what decisions were made...I knew change would be coming in 2013.

My roommate and dear friend of nearly 14 years was being given the opportunity to move to Hilton Head, South Carolina for her job as a nanny to a set of twins. The family also extended the invitation for me to come too. It's been a life-long dream of mine to live near the beach! I was not opposed to the idea...but I did question the practicality.

I also knew things would be changing at my workplace within the next year. By the end of 2012, I truly sensed I would not transition when those changes occurred next summer. I was ready for a professional change and a change of scenery, but just because I wanted it didn't mean it was to be. So I began to regularly pray for God's will in these matters and put the thought of "change" aside for when the time came closer for decision-making.

Come March, my roommate looked like she was definitely moving to SC. The offer of assistance to transition in this move from the family still stood. I thought, “I'd love to go!”, but I questioned if it was really "my calling" or just hers. I still wasn't sure. I increased my focus on these decisions in my prayer and Bible study.

In my daily readings and devotional, I kept receiving confirmations from the Lord in going. I gave a hesitant "yes" in my heart. I knew in a few days, my roommate would be talking with the family to see what their extension of this offer to move really meant for me. After all, I'd be leaving a job, my church, my friends, and a place where I'd put down roots as an adult for the past 15 years. That's not a decision I wanted to make without some concrete assurances. My plan was wait to see what was said, then make a firm decision.

As you probably figured out...that was NOT God's plan. Three days before I was to have the details I wanted before making this decision, He called me on the carpet during my quiet time. I was reading through the book of Hebrews and as I approached chapter 11, reading Abram's account of obedience in faith without sight, I was challenged by God in my reading..."What's your YES, Stacy?" It was a subtle question. A quiet whisper. Yet it hit me like a ton of bricks.

I knew God was giving me the go ahead, the "release" from things in North Carolina. His question was about my willingness to say YES without the details. He wanted my yes to be yes. Not contingent upon that which I would like to have in place, but contingent upon my trust in HIM...as my Provider, my Protector, my Strength, my Shield, my Deliverer...MY LORD! I wept! Hard! This unexpected revelation was a huge answer to prayer for clarity in these decisions. I knew I must answer YES and be obedient to walk by faith, not by sight!

That night, as I journaled, I recorded these two verses:

"We walk by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7

"By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went out to a place he was going to receive as an inheritance; he went out not knowing where he was going." Hebrews 11:8

Though I am not Abraham, and South Carolina is certainly not my "promised land" (that will be heaven one day), I too felt strongly called to get out and up-root myself from the foundation I had laid with my hands. I knew I was to move with the purpose to step out in faith and not sight for this season. It's been a few weeks and I'm still not sure what all God is up to, but He has been in every detail so far. I cannot begin to recount the doors that have swung wide open for so many provisions in the preparation and move. I know He is desiring my faithful obedience to continue to walk as He leads.

Perhaps you are struggling with a call or decision in your life. Know that God IS there! He is faithful to answer your prayers if you seek Him in His Word, through prayer, and in fellowship with believers. Remember, although He does not answer everyone the same way, He is faithful TO answer. Ask for ears to hear and eyes to see, His answer...not your own. I pray you will know His perfect will in whatever your situation with all clarity and peace. Thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness to your children!

Purposeful Prayer

Recently I have been convicted in my prayer life. I pray, converse with God, frequently throughout my day. There are so many ways I speak to Him and ask for His guidance, direction, grace, peace, as well as present  needs for others as they come to mind or ask for prayer. However, I have been remiss in intentionally praying, by name, specifically, for people precious to me. Lord, forgive me for this!

I have people in my life that need specific prayer. I need to be purposefully praying for those I know and friends of friends who need prayer for felt needs, marriages, or grace in singleness, further spiritual growth and most importantly, for some, salvation. What about you? Are there those you can think of right now that you have 'forgotten' to take to our Father in prayer? May we be challenged together to be more purposeful in our prayer lives TODAY and in the days ahead.

Heavenly Father, give us your eyes to see our friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and strangers, as you see them. Keep us ever mindful of others. Most importantly, Father, convict us of our own sins so we do not hinder our communication with You. May we not neglect praising You for Your faithfulness to us, for Your gracious gift of salvation through Christ Jesus, for Your blessings and provisions, for healing and favor. Thank you, Lord, for these things. Thank you for the Holy Spirit who seeks to convict in areas of weakness that we may grow in grace toward a deeper relationship with You. Amen.

Side-tracked in Sanctification

I attended a class last night at my church and during our reflection time this phrase came to me. Of course, I thought...Cool! Great title for my next post! :) so here goes:

First, let's clarify the term 'sanctification'. When we accept Jesus Christ (the Son) as our personal Lord and Savior, we become justified before holy, almighty God (the Father) in that instant. Sanctification is the process of continual spiritual growth, fostered by God, through the Holy Spirit. [It's so amazing how the three persons of the God-Head (i.e. The Trinity) are evident in this!]  Simply stated...sanctification is the "spiritual journey" we continue on in our lives post-salvation.

Have you ever gotten lost driving? I know I do...a LOT. Those that know me can attest to the fact that I'm directionally challenged! Just as we may make a wrong turn driving, we may make choices that negatively redirect our spiritual route. Of course, as good Christians THAT never happens. Getting "side-tracked in sanctification" happens more than we would care to admit. But it happens and it happens to us all. Thankfully, there is GRACE for the side-tracked (even the off-tracked). God never gives up on us and we shouldn't give up on ourselves.

Sometimes we may feel so side-tracked we're not sure where God's path is any more. The easiest remedy to find God's path is to find God. It really is simple, but we tend to make it more complicated. Fortunately, He's not hard to find. So where IS God found?

First, God is found in the Bible...His Word. Have you gotten out of the habit of reading the Bible? Get back in it. Pick it up and read it. Daily. Diligently.  It doesn't have to be extensive but it does need to be purposeful. For example, start with the book of John, read a chapter a day, or even a paragraph of verses. Begin in 1:1 and read some every day. Another option is to read a chapter of Proverbs a day.  As Proverbs has 31 chapters, reading a chapter a day easily corresponds to each day of the month.

Secondly, God can be found in the midst of His believers. If you've gotten away from the regular attendance and fellowship of a Bible-believing (and preaching!) church, find one in your area and start back. Take a friend or neighbor so you'll have a buddy. Do not forsake the fellowship of the body of Christ and it's impact on our sanctification. The beautiful thing about God's grace is that no matter how little or far we may have been side-tracked, we can always get back ON track.

Finally, God can be found 24/7 by prayer. Prayer is simply talking to God. He is never too busy to listen and He earnestly desires to hear from us. More than that, He desires to speak to us through His Word, His church and through the Holy Spirit that resides in every born-again believer.

You now have some tools, a road map if you will, to return to your path of personal sanctification. Do not be discouraged when you get side-tracked again...we all do. Our journey is rarely easy. Many obstacles will be set up to prevent our progress by the enemy. Remember, Christ has triumphed! Dear Jesus, please give us the strength to walk in a manner worthy of Your calling. Here's to JOY in your journey, my friends!

Commands and Blessings (Recap of Week 2)

Well this post has been a long time coming! It's been a busy two weeks for me...how about you? I know it seems every time I sat down to do this something came up so now I have a quiet moment at home to get this done. Ahhh.

The last week of June the class read Proverbs 1-4 and we had discussion after the various sections found within these Proverbs. The main theme I noticed in these four chapters is that of commands and blessings (the use of "if" and "then" statements were frequent). As you hear the parent or teacher urging the child/student in these chapters to "do this, not that" and "reap a blessing when you follow this command", we can begin to see the pictures of God the Father as well as Jesus the Shepherd.

There is Wisdom (in the person of a woman, interestingly enough) who calls out to anyone and everyone to hear her voice and heed her words so that we may find knowledge and thus gain understanding. As God alone is the one who gives wisdom (He is the author of wisdom) the "fear of the Lord" becomes the beginning of wisdom, which then grants knowledge. This isn't just head knowledge about Scripture. In James we read that the demons know of God and tremble (2:19). No! Wisdom is the knowledge AND understanding as a result of the fear of the Lord with regard to a reverent personal relationship (see prior post). Wisdom provides protection of the upright through spiritual discernment that no one can gain without their heart in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and a spirit that is now indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Wisdom offers many blessings for those who listen; however, for those who refuse, they will remain in their foolishness and ignorance. In turn, the naive ones, scorners and fools will not find wisdom and will have consequences to endure for the evil they seek and/or fall into due to their rejection of Wisdom's pleas.

In addition to responding to Wisdom, we are to learn to rely on and trust God. We are to go to Him with big AND small concerns. I know as women, we tend to be self-reliant. We need to be God-reliant. That's something as Christians we must work on and learn. Some of my favorite verses from these four chapters are Proverbs 3:5-7. It speaks of learning that God-trust and not relying on your own strength. Apart from Christ, we can do nothing (John 15:5b). This passage also highlights the reward that comes from trusting the Lord and not leaning on our own understanding in v.8.

God desires to bless His children! He not only shows His love by blessing but also by disciplining. That's the uncomfortable part! We want the love and blessings but not the correction that's often needed to keep us on the right path and out of danger that we may not see. One of the examples I shared was that of the shepherd. In the New Testament, the Bible often uses the analogy of the Shepherd (Jesus) and the sheep (believers). Even in the Old Testament this is especially evident in Psalm 23. Think about sheep...they are not the brightest creature created. They tend to be a little dumb. They'll wander into rushing water not thinking twice about how they will lose their footing and how their wool will absorb that water, quickly take them under to be drowned. They don't think about moving around a hole or not stepping on a rock, thus hurting themselves. They're just a bit dense in the noggin. That's why the Shepherd is needed!

The Shepherd is the one who walks the path and fields BEFORE the sheep to ensure they is nothing they will stumble upon or fall into. That is called "making the path straight" and He in turn "directs the path" (Prv. 3:6b) of the sheep. He seeks to lead the sheep to and beside "still waters" (Ps. 23:2b) so they don't lose their footing or fall into rivers of rushing water. He uses his shepherd's staff for defense as well as offense. The crook being used to pull a sheep from a ravine or water, the rod being used to beat off wolves or bears. This is what the psalmist (known to be David, who was a shepherd) meant by "thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me" (Ps. 23: 4c). When necessary the rod was also used for correction on the sheep. If a young sheep were to wander too frequently, the shepherd would break the leg of the lamb, place the injured creature on his shoulders for the days/weeks it would take the leg to heal. This was done so that the lamb would learn to trust the shepherd by feeling/hearing his heartbeat and learning his scent while upon his shoulders. The sheep know their shepherd by sound and smell more than sight. They learn to trust based on the work the shepherd does. We too can see Jesus' work evidenced on Calvary and in turn should trust Him implicitly! Sometimes we must be disciplined to get there. In fact, most of us have probably experienced God's discipline multiple times. I know I have! We can be dense, like sheep, hence the analogy. God knows what He's doing...LET HIM!

Finally, we learned of the security we have in Wisdom. There are warnings of temptations in v.14-17 that we should heed. We are even given the instructions on HOW to resist/avoid temptations in v. 24-27. To me that clearly parallels Eph. 6:10-18. Since sin easily enters our heart and mind via our body (eyes, ears, hands, feet--what we say/do, where we go, etc.), we need to carefully guard those areas! When you reflect upon what the "armor of God" protects, it is exactly those same areas of our body! The helmet of salvation (mind and head, eyes, ears), the breastplate of righteousness (heart), the sword of the Spirit (God's Word--the only defensive weapon by the way), the shield of faith (hands), the belt of truth (loins/lust) and the shoes of the gospel of peace (feet). Of course, as v.18 says, we need to cover this all (ourselves) in prayer so that we can stand in our evil world. So remember to pray God's armor upon yourself daily! Stay in His Word, seek His will and seek Wisdom. It is the most important thing! (Prv. 4:7)

A New Resolution

It's Christmas Day, 2009, well what's left of it, and I've been thinking about resolutions made and to be made. How many times have I thought of writing my thoughts, lessons learned and truths experienced of God's goodness on this blog? I've had my blog created for some time but was hesitant to write because I wanted what I wrote to be "just right" and then I realized...that could be many more months or years yet...so here goes! My first post as a novice blogger. I initially chose to create this blog to highlight and share stories of my 10 year (and counting) friendships with two very dear ladies, Dawn and Daphne. They are my spiritual sisters in Christ and are truly like sisters to me. The three of us have been roommates off and on (more on than off) for the better part of 10 years, which is something of a feat...or so I've been told. There are so many stories and life lessons I hope to share with you, dear reader, and hopefully they will blog a few stories as "contributions" sometime. I state my initial reason above for beginning this blog and I wish to clarify that this is entirely in God's hands. Therefore, the direction may change or refocus depending on His purpose for my blogging ministry (as I see this as a ministry). I invite you to join me on this journey of recollections, resolutions and new discoveries as we look forward to 2010. I can't believe the New Year is nearly here. What will your resolutions be? Reconnect or develop new friendships? What about with Christ? How does that relationship stand? I know I often reflect on my own Christian walk with disappointments of the many "resolutions" I've made in the years and months past to grow closer, study more, pray more, etc. Well I think it's time I get to doing things and not just making resolutions...it's time to actually see them through. What do you say? Will you join me in making and seeing through a new resolution? Father I pray for anyone reading this who may be struggling in whatever way (spiritually, physically, emotionally, financially). Lord Jesus on this day I celebrate your birth and am so thankful for the sacrifice You made coming to earth as a babe, leaving your Heaven, leaving Our Father, to come to earth to live a sinless life as a human in order to redeem sinFUL humanity to God. Thank you for bridging that gap that none of anyone's good works, good deeds, good thoughts could ever overcome. Lord I know all humanity has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. I know I have sinned and though I try not to, I still continue to sin and fall short of Your glory. Without your gift of redemption and forgiveness I would not have any "good" in me. I am grateful for your Holy Spirit that now resides in me as a Christian. I pray for Your strength to embark on sharing the truths You have shown me through my dear sisters, friends and family over the years. May these words bring You glory and be an encouragement to someone...anyone that You know may need to read these blogs. Thank you, Jesus, Amen!