I Thank You for Hearing

When Jesus was ready to resurrect Lazarus, He said to God: Father, I thank you that you have heard my prayer.

This is amazing.  He had not prayed out loud.  There is so much to be gleaned from this.  Prayer was His way of life.  He could speak anytime and say thank you for hearing me.  He was always in the Father’s will.  Any request was a prayer that was of the Father’s will.  

What a beautiful lesson and example for us.  The world looking on accused Him of blasphemy for speaking of His relationship with the Father.  They even said that He was of the devil.  This has a powerful message.  We have a relationship with the Father, too.  We are children.  Do we REALLY believe that?  Can we walk through our day and say, “Thank you for hearing my prayer?”  His biddings are His enablings, therefore, they are His will and have His blessing.  

The path of Jesus was the “seek first the kingdom of God…” path.  It isn’t like His life was broken into pieces that He called work, church, social, etc.  His life was all about God’s will.  He had just as many pieces of life as we do.  He just did not allow them to fracture His life and its purpose. 

I wonder sometimes if our lives have become too complicated?  Too much to do.  Too many places to be.  Tight schedules.  Projects, plans, people’s expectations…our own expectations.  Could the life of Jesus have been this difficult?  Or are we missing something that explains His ability to be so focused and yet so calm?  Is it the "I thank you for hearing" awareness that Christ had?  

Think about it…He gets the word that Lazarus is sick and dying.  He delays.  That is not what we would do  He delays the trip because He knows that if He is there, Lazarus will not die.  Beautiful.  In the death of Lazarus we can see that He wanted us to learn resurrection lessons.  He wanted us to have a visual aid of triumph over death…even before Christ trumped over death.  He was living, moving, walking in faith.  Wow!  That says so much about living in alignment with your purpose.

I am searching and sorting through ideas this morning because I think that there is so much that we have not understood about all the examples Christ has given.  I think we have seen the stories and put them into the human perspective instead of the spiritual/heavenly perspective.  We are trying to understand heaven’s ways by making them line up with the earthly instead of making the earthly experience line up with heaven’s way.

I think that this is what Christ did.  In that, however, He did not minimize the beautiful things of earth…like a wedding celebration or meals with others.  However, the raging storms, He slept through and rebuked.  He knew they had no power over Him.  Maybe this needs some meditation and prayer.   We try so hard to fix everything (storms) so that our peace is maintained.  This is believing the lie that our peace comes from externals.  If we buy that, we are always giving our power away to that.  If we never have to face disturbance, we will not have to walk in faith, we will not have to experience death to the things we hold too dearly and by which we are expecting Christ to do what we want instead of doing what He has to do to get us to our own resurrection.  

As I said, today, I am searching and sorting.  I am meandering all over the place in response to my reaction regarding Jesus speaking to the Father: Thank you that you have heard my prayer.  I think that I have just scratched the surface in what this has to say to us.  This usually means that there is something wonderful that will reveal itself more fully as we think on the subject.  Praise God.

The Heart's Joy

How sweet to plan to meet with God in your own personal place of worship!  It is like planning for a very special guest.  The invitation to do so comes from Him in many different ways.  Over a year ago, I heard the invitation.  Like the children of Israel, the Lord said, “Linda, I want you to take this little room and turn it into a chapel.  I have some things I want to tell you.”  It has been an amazing experience.  The idea that God would tell me He wanted to experience time with me and for me came as a surprise.  It really shouldn’t.  He is constantly coming down to us.  He even died for us.  

I believe that He extends this invitation in many different ways.  Some of them are not comfortable.  We keep thinking someone else is going to provide this experience for us.  This is a misconception.  Not even the church can provide this very intimate experience that the Lord wants to give us.  Our disillusionment with much in life is because this need is going unmet.  This is modeled by Christ in the examples that come from His life.  From the very beginning of His story, we find that Jesus was not found in Jerusalem, the religious center.  There was an extra trip that had to be made to find Him…the trip from Jerusalem and Bethlehem.  

From the beginning, Christ did not meet their expectations.  That is because we have preconceived ideas of how His coming into our lives will be.  He will take us all by surprise!  We do not expect that He will come at this time or in this manner.  We do not think that it will cause us to rearrange our lives and maybe a room in our house.  We have left it all up to Him.  It came as a complete surprise to me that I might be asked to create a place for Him.  The irony, He does not need a place, I need to give Him a place.  Like the children of Israel who needed a visual representation of His presence in their midst, I, too, needed a place of remembrance.  

Is this not sweetness that the Lord wants to meet with you, and He wants to tell you things to guide and instruct you.  We are told that when the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide us into all truth.  The truth of the Bible is just the beginning.  I think that He likes to say things like, “What I mean by this story is…”  There is such great depth in the Bible.  Like His gatherings on the side of a mountain, the Lord wanted to give them more.  This is where the real Jesus was found…the mountainsides, the roadsides, the gardens, an upper room and on Mt. Calvary.  He was a master in laying our expectations in the dirt.  The cock crows the third time and then we are broken.  It is funny that we do not hear the cocks two previous calls giving us a heads up.

My sister turned a closet into a pretty little chapel.  It has bifold doors and when open it is spacious.  It is perfect for her.  I know that I am so blessed to have my little room as a chapel in the home.  It is good to have a place set aside for these gatherings.  You come to expect some amazing conversation with the Lord.  You also come to appreciate His silence.  What is He “saying” in His silence?  What questions is He waiting to hear from you?  

I know some young people who recently consecrated a room in their home as their family chapel.  They have been busy getting things in order for their special chapel.  I think that the Lord must take pleasure in this sweetness.  Going to the chapel is much different than going to the church with all its busyness.  It is an intimate time of getting to know Him in Spirit and Truth.  A God who cannot be measured and kept by time, steps into time as we know it because He delights in being with us!  Beautiful!

Simplicity On the Other Side of Complexity

Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "For the simplicity that lies this side of complexity, I would not give a fig, but for the simplicity that lies on the other side of complexity, I would give my life.”

I believe that which makes things complex is the various levels of non-disturbance that we are trying to avoid…what will people say, what will people do, what will people think.  So often we try to make our lives work through the expectations of others.  We also try to make life work by having our expectations of others manifest.  At either extreme, people pleasing leaves everyone wounded and disempowered.   

The Bible counsels us to seek first the Kingdom of God and HIS righteousness…everything else will be OK.  Making this commitment is essential.  This is the settling into the truth that will make all other truths line up under the category of this chief aim.  You measure everything else by this chief aim.  

What is the simplicity that lies on the other side of complexity?  It is about truth, honesty, integrity…being congruent with God and oneself.  A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.  This is another scripture that is being validated by science.  We have a brain/heart in our brain, heart, and stomach/gut.  When congruent, these three help us be happy and healthy.  

Simplicity does not mean easy.  Sometimes the righteous thing is the hardest yet the simplest.  If I am living a life of right-doing and right-being, it will be simple and yet it may cost you dearly.  Sometimes, we do not even need to try to explain or justify our stand because most of the time people will not understand it.  What fellowship does dark have with light?  I was talking with someone in my office today about their own journey in this.  She was saying that what she was trying to do with her life was basically confusing to others…and even sometimes to herself.  

I find more and more people asking God their questions because they have come to terms with the business of wasting time trying to discuss it all with others who may not have the same foundation or chief aim as someone else.  It is so important that you do not compromise that foundation.  It is way too easy to try to create each other in an image that is not God.  

As mentioned before, a room full of pianos will only be in tune with each other when they have been tuned to a Master piano.  That happens individually.  I cannot do your tuning nor can do do mine.  It is a matter of relationship with God.  It is sometimes frightening when some of our journey companions have a call on their life that maybe others are not ready for.  We have to be selfless in this matter.  The easy thing is to want to hold on to them…persuade them of our same path.  We have to learn to support others in a way that is not self-centered.  It can feel like our world of friends as we know it is threatened.  Let them hold tight to themselves and you do the same.  God will hold His arms around each of you, and I believe He will bring us to something safe in Him even if we have a different time table.  Praise God.

What Do You Do With the Lies

I find an interesting dynamic happening in all churches right now.  People are having to come to terms with the lies.  People are coming to terms with the things they have been taught and are being taught that are not true.  People are stepping up and standing up for what they believe the Bible does say instead of man’s false interpretation of the word of God.  Many people are seeing through the distortion of God’s character as has been and is being presented.  

This is not specific to one particular church.  If you are into details, read some of the Barna Group statistics.  They have studied these trends twenty or so years.  Being aware of this information has helped me help others who are going through their own time of stepping out of the lies.

Here is a statistic that is amazing taken from some Barna research.  Reading the scriptures dropped from 64% in 1991 to 48% in 2001.  It has since climbed back to 57%.  I wonder if this increase in Bible reading could actually be the reason that people are now becoming more aware of the lies they are being told. John 16:13:  “When He the Spirit of Truth is come, He will lead you into all Truth.”

There is so much we can gain by our own Bible study.  Take a concordance and dive in.  Recently, we have been very blessed by looking up ancient Hebrew pictographs that give us a clearer understanding of what these words mean.  What this means is that you have to be willing to study for yourself.  Often we feel like we are not smart enough.  That is a lie.  Read the above promise again!  I encourage you to be in the Word.  

I have been encouraged as I have talked to people of different faiths going through their “time of trouble.”  They have come out on the other side feeling a great deal of freedom because they know they are being faithful to God and truth.  I believe that God has His hand on His people and His truth.  Those who want to worship in Spirit and Truth will be directed on their journey.  Do not expect that every one will be excited about your truth encounters.  They will not.  In fact, they will be threatened.  They will call you backsliders and other names.  They had such things to say about Christ so you are in good company.  Again, you will know the truth and be made free.  It isn’t easy or comfortable.  Praise God that He is training people to stand for the truth though the heaven’s fall. 

The Altar of Sacrifice

Psalms 51:17: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 

The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.  Psalm 34:18

Hebrews 13:15:  By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

The altar of sacrifice…visualize standing before this altar.  Look at the above scriptures.  Do you see the  extremes in emotions that we can bring to this altar?  A truth that I believe is being presented is this: Our extremes are acceptable to God.  

I remember when I found Psalms 51:17.  I did not like it at all.  I told God that I had done the broken spirit and contrite heart.  Been there.  Done that.  I wanted a different assignment.  Then I found Psalm 34:18 and saw that in that experience of brokenness, He was there.  He saved me in that experience.  He is near to those who have a broken heart.  He saves those who have a contrite spirit.  

God knows that “In this world we shall have trouble, but be of good cheer for He has overcome the world.”  This is another scripture that looks at the extremes in our lives.  I want to live in the “be of good cheer He has overcome the world.”  Praise God.

A sacrifice costs something.  It cost Jesus His life.  It will cost us our personal agendas.  A sacrifice of praise means that it costs us something.  It means that those places were we offer up our lack of understanding, our grief, our anger, our humiliation, etc. alongside our praise is practice in living in the “be a good cheer” part of this journey.    This part of the journey is about learning that even the hard stuff which doesn’t look like an answer to our prayers IS an answer to our prayers.  It is helping us let go of something. This refines us. 

If we only praise we when all is going well, then the relationship is missing something. It is like being happy “just” when all things are going your way.  It is A. W. Tozer who said that God needs not so much to teach us things as to help us unlearn that which is not true.  We have the admonition to be happy in whatever state we find ourselves.  That is a sacrifice of praise lived out.  God is with us in this process… the broken spirit and contrite heart are waiting for the songs of praise.  It ceases to be about me and becomes about Him.   

Respect Your Heart's Truth

No one likes to deal with emotional and spiritual wounds.  They kind of get in the way of our belief that “we are just fine.”  They bring us face to face with the truth that others are not to blame.  We have to take responsibility for our part of the situation.  Honestly, it is no one’s fault if we are not happy.  I remember that at one point on my journey God spoke these words: Linda, if you can get over yourself, no one else will bother you.  I sat quietly…a woman of many words…had nothing to say.  All I could do was to stir that soup for a while.  No one can take away our choices of how to respond.  

Our wounds serve to reveal truth to us.  In this way, they are a gift. I did not say that they are comfortable and pretty.  Our wounds are really a type of being offered on man’s altar of ignorance.  That is why Jesus could say, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”  Some people may be flat out mean and evil.  I want to be charitable and say the words of Jesus over them, too.  Better for me to pray this over them and leave the consequence up to the Lord.  In the case of one of my abusers in childhood, I am not sure that these words did much good.  He was evil.  However, I am going to leave that with God.

Our wounds can bring us wisdom that gives us freedom.  I think that we all collect wounds.  These wounds hurt the heart emotionally, spiritually, and eventually physically.  The Bible says “from the heart flow the issues of life.”  I think wounds create death.  In the western world we have externalized everything.  We are more comfortable being victims of the external wounding and then endeavoring to fix it all through some man-centered work.  To go to the heart of the matter is just in the last twenty or so years surfacing in the western mind.  The Bible has some amazing things to say about it, and one of the things it says is: the power of life and death is in the tongue. 

Our wounds teach us lessons in security.  Too often our security is in the externals.  When that lets us down, we are face to face with a truth that we gave away a lot of power to the things and people of this world.  This world is a mess of wounded people expecting others to make it better for them.  It just is not going to happen in the long run.   Short term, we may experience some success in getting security in the things of the world—even from people.  Long term, this programming will eventually reveal itself for what is it—a dysfunctional belief that continues to wound.

Our wounds can lead us to our greatest victories.  What wonderful grace this is!  When we let others off the hook and turn our eyes to God, we are in the most secure position possible.  

The Stages of Life

You know how when you get something new…does not matter what it is…you have an adjustment to make in your life to accommodate this new thing?  Even if you really really want this new thing, there is an adjustment.  Same thing is true of going to new places and doing new things.  The same thing is true of learning new things.  Sometimes the learning of new things is the hardest of all new things to accommodate.  

I have said, and others have said things similar, that it seems our life journey is in stages.  The first stage is an embracement of the rules of the “father’s house.”  You learn those rules of survival.  How to get along, fit it, and basically make others happy.  It is pretty much about making others happy.  At some point, you start questioning all this (hopefully) and start having some thoughts of your own.  It usually happens when we get tired of living everyone else's life instead of our own.  

I have said before that my observation was that from about twenty to thirty I thought I knew everything.  After all it was what I had been taught.  From late thirties to forties, these rules started letting me down, and I realized that I did not know anything.  Then from my fifties on I understood that I did not even know what the questions were.  I would say that the feelings/emotions that go with these stages are arrogance, terror, and peace.  When you get over the terror of knowing that you know nothing and further realize that you don’t even know what the questions are, there is a sweet peace that is your reward.

I wish someone had given me this road map when I was younger.  I could have prepared for the crash and burn part at the end of stage one.  One problem is that in stage one “being right” is a life and death matter.  Stage two is kind of like a death of all you thought was “right” and your old self.  For a while, you kind of feel like you are never coming out of the tomb.  I remember asking God, “OK, who am I now that I am not who I used to be?  What do I believe now that I know that what I used to believe is a lie?  And, who am I going to be when I grow up?  I truly was standing in the middle of my home office (in the middle of this crises) having this conversation with God.  

God reminded me that when Moses was at the burning bush of truth and asking “Who am I?” that God did not answer that question.  He simply told him: I Am that I Am.  It seems it is enough to know that I AM is with you.  In the ancient Hebrew pictographs, the symbols that translate to “God” are an ox, yoke, and man.  It means that God is the strong ox who is yoked with you and teaching and helping you.  I really like this.  It is not at all Western man’s legalistic interpretation of God who is distant, separated, and has His face turned away from us.  Again, our Western teaching has distorted the image of God and who we are in God.  No matter where we are on the journey. we will find ourselves at the burning bush of new truth.  Remember, it is really all about I AM that I AM.  Praise God!