Walking on Eggshells

Psalm 121:3-8 "He will not let your foot slip -- he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will not slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you -- the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm -- he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."

Jeremiah 29:11 "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"

Ever feel like your walking on eggshells? We use this expression to symbolize having to be careful in what we say around certain individuals, but does it ever seem that you have to be extremely cautious in all you do in all facets of life? Does life ever seem to be so overwhelming that at any moment things could just crack and break completely like an eggshell?

I believe we have all felt this way at one moment or another. Trials we face can cause us to be unsure of our "footing." We begin to question things that are happening to us, trying to find the reason as to why we would be going through such a test. We sometimes live in fear of the next blow the devil will have for us, afraid that it will be the one that completely does us in. "When it rains...it pours" - as the old saying goes. But what if, just maybe, these things we go through - these things we tread upon, might not be about to break? What if the things we face are actually not making us weaker, but part of a grand scheme that is making us stronger?

I know what you're thinking. How can cancer, divorce, infidelity, loss of a loved one, financial difficulties, and things of the like make me stronger? Does God really desire for us to face such awful circumstances? Does God care if we feel weak and about to break?

It is absolutely true that God loves us beyond our wildest imagination. It is true that he is a healer, deliverer, and savior. It is true that he is able to work miracles in our darkest situations. It is also true that our lives will not always be smooth sailing. It is also true that sometimes, God does NOT cause, but allows us to go through situations. It is also true that as he waited four days to raise Lazarus from the dead, sometimes he waits to deliver us until the moment he deems perfect.

If I told you to take your carton of eggs from your refrigerator, open them up, and step on top of them, you would think I was crazy, wasteful, and silly. However, it is a scientific fact, that it is possible to stand on top of eggshells that are placed in the correct position. The egg's shape is actually one of the strongest structures on earth. The arch shape of an egg allows it to be able to withstand weight hundreds of times more than its own. Now, an egg laying on its sides, will be crushed immediately at the slightest amount of pressure. An egg standing up, however, is strong enough to walk on. It's all about the design and position the egg is in.

Just like an egg, God has allowed things into our lives, not to crush us under pressure, but make us stronger. When put through a test, we are always stronger when we come out. God has designed a plan and a way for trials to make us overcomers. How? When he sent his son, Jesus, to earth to die for us, he conquered every sickness, pain, and hardship we could ever and will ever face. All we are called to do is keep walking, trusting, obeying, and holding to our Father. Just as the egg was designed by its Creator to withstand large amounts of pressure, those things in our lives are designed by satan to make us weak, but God takes them and makes us stronger through them.

Another element of the eggshell experiment is the design of the egg carton. The egg carton was invented by Joseph Coyle in 1911. His design positioned the eggs in a way to where they were their strongest. As long as the eggs remain in that position in the carton, they will be safe. If one would by chance fall down on its side, its weakness would then be exposed. The Bible says in Ephesians 6:13 "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." Similarly to an egg in the upright, standing position, we are strongest when we stand. This strength does not come from our own power, but from the Father. His hands are like our egg carton, holding us steadfast. We won't succumb to the pressure of the trial if we continue to stand firmly in his hand.

You were designed for greatness and victory. Jesus has already won the battle. He's already conquered the trial. These things, these eggshells, we seem to walk on are not meant to give us unsure footing, but to allow us to display our times of greatest strength through Christ. Never ever for our own glory -- but always for his! Sometimes, it's okay to walk on eggshells.

The Prisoner in the Third Cell

What do you do when life doesn't go the way you think it should?
What do you do when things don't end up the way you had planned?
What do you do when God doesn't meet your expectations?

If you're any normal human being, you've been disappointed with some things in life. A lost job, a betrayal, loss of a child, an illness - these things and more can bring more than just disappointment. They can bring shear despair. How will you react when things don't go the way you thought they would? What will you do when God doesn't move in the way you expected Him to?

If you are struggling with situations such as these, I hope you will take the time to read the following book written by Gene Edwards. It's called Prisoner in the Third Cell. It is a story featured around John the Baptist, one of the most devoted followers of Christ to ever live. John the Baptist faced a life of hardship and a death far worse. This book depicts his possible questions, feelings, and reactions to a God that didn't come through the way he thought he would. I hope as you read this book, it blesses you, encourages you, and puts a deeper devotion to God inside your heart. It did mine! At some point or another, life will take a turn. Will you stay true to God, or will you crumble and retreat under the pressure? How will you react when God doesn't meet your expectations?

An Epic Destiny

"Epic": -adj of heroic or impressive proportions, -n an episode in the lives of men in which heroic deeds are performed or attempted

Why are we here? What is our purpose? What does tomorrow hold? Is this all there is to life? Does my voice really matter? These questions and more I believe have raced through the mind of every human being at some point or another. Let's face it, life's not always easy. For some, to survive the day is considered a victory. Others find success in life, but struggle to understand their purpose. Others question their very existence. In this whole scheme we call life...is it possible to make a difference?

Even believers in Christ who know they were created to worship him, can allow questions like the above to linger. This dangerous ground has caused many Christians to fall away and be consumed by life itself. I think to some it seems that we come out of one battle only to turn and face another. We get into a rut of just existing. If I can just make it to the weekend...If I can just make it to the next church service...If I can just make it until God moves in my situation. If I can just make it...

This whirlwind of mediocracy in our lives is not, beyond a shadow of a doubt, how our Creator meant for us to live. We were fashioned, designed, planned, purposed to be EPIC. Being epic means being heroic in impressive proportions. It's facing "life" and all the fiery darts of our enemy head on. It's going toe-to-toe with hardships and overcoming through the power of our great God.

In one of the definitions of the word "epic," the Old World Dictionary states that it is "an episode in the lives of men in which heroic deeds are performed or attempted." In our lives, we will face enemies, battles, hardships. We will fight tooth and nail against the devil on a regular basis. We will have to kill our flesh and succumb to the leading of the Spirit everyday. Sounds impossible? It might be to something that was created to be ordinary or mundane. It might be too much for something whose existence was not meant for more than just that...existing. Not you, not me. We were meant and destined for heroic acts. We were meant to be epic.

There will be times, everyday in fact, that you will be called upon to be heroic. Does this mean that you will be called upon daily to sell all your possessions and go be a missionary in the Congo? No, not necessarily, but there might be a co-worker considering suicide, a neighbor facing divorce, a prostitute who doesn't understand her worth, a child who's being abused, a fellow Christian who faces severe discouragement, or your own flesh warring against your spirit. In times like this, our most heroic and epic acts can take place. Don't get me wrong, it has nothing to do with us in and of ourselves, but it's when we allow Christ to use us to minister to these individuals that we see our epic purpose unveiled.

These battles, although huge in the scheme of life, are easy to overlook. We walk around everyday, almost blindly, to the fact that individuals need us to be selflessly heroic. This world is dying. It's decaying and rotting in the filth of bondage and sin. There are people, who may not even know they need rescuing, that need us to face danger (persecution, humiliation, rejection) to save their eternities. Don't overlook your moments to be epic. They happen every day. God has set us up for epic destinies, because he has a divine plan and purpose for his glory. He is an epic Father, therefore he can make us epic children. Keep your eyes open. Don't miss your "episode in life in which heroic deeds are to be performed." Don't worry, don't fret. If GOD be for you, does it really matter what's against you? Be EPIC.

The Wedding Dress

Revelation 19:7-9 "Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

This past Sunday night, our administrative pastor, Pastor Josh Adkins, preached a sermon entitled "Dress for the Wedding." In his sermon, he expressed the importance of "dressing" for where your ultimate destination is and not simply for your stops along the way. He used the illustration of someone traveling to a wedding that makes a pit stop at a gas station to fill up or buy a snack. Your outfit would be one that would fit at a wedding - suit or fancy dress. On your pit stop at the gas station, your outfit would clearly be out of place, because you would be overly dressed for the place you were currently in. However, you would be perfectly dressed for your ultimate destination - the wedding. 

This illustration depicts our spiritual lives, ministries, and callings. Although we may be just beginning a new ministry or calling for the Lord, we should "dress"/conduct ourselves for the place we ultimately want to end up. If I'm opening up a bakery, I wouldn't serve mediocre cupcakes to my customers, using the excuse that I'm just opening. You wouldn't be in business for long behaving that way. You would want to put your very best foot forward and provide the best product possible, because your ultimate destination is a successful, fully-functioning bakery. Even beyond this, when God lays a calling on our hearts, we ought to "dress" for the outcome we want in that ministry and not make excuses that we are only beginning and can't give it all we have. 

Another aspect of dressing for the wedding is making sure that not only our ministries that involve other people are where they should be, but we also need to make sure that our own personal relationship with the Lord is where it should be. The Bible equates the church/God's TRUE followers to a bride adorned for her wedding day. A bride will spend countless hours, days, weeks, and even months preparing for her special day. She chooses only the most perfect dress for the occasion - one that will knock her groom right off his feet in love and adoration for her. On the day of her wedding, she will take the utmost care of that dress, making sure that it doesn't get tarnished, stained, or ripped in any way. In like manner, we must keep our lives untarnished, unstained, and whole so that on that awesome day when we join with the Bridegroom, He will be pleased and full of overwhelming love with the way we have prepared ourselves for Him. He deserves our best, because He gave His best for us.

We, God's people, are the bride and His Son Jesus is our bridegroom. Our Bridegroom is preparing a place for those that love Him and follow His commandments as you are reading this blog. To be a part of this wonderful celebration, you must know Jesus as Lord and Savior. We must recognize that we have sinned and are in need of God's grace. We then must make Him Lord of our lives and keep Him at the center of each day. One day, on that awesome wedding day, He will receive us, His bride, to Himself. We will feast in a celebration to end all celebrations! Let's keep our "dress" as pure and untarnished as possible. Let's not lay off our wedding clothes for any reason. Dress for your ultimate destination - not for your current location. 

Class is Not Dismissed

Psalm 86:11 "Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name."

This past Friday night I had the privilege of speaking to our women's group at church a message entitled "Class is Not Dismissed." In this message, I talked about the importance of our encounters with God. Every time someone spends time with the Lord, it should be looked at as an opportunity to learn. Everything we go through in life is meant to be a learning experience to elevate us to the next level in our walk with God. There is an extreme importance in the process of learning. When we stop learning, we stop growing. When we refuse to learn, we choose death.

My husband teaches a leadership class at our Wednesday night Audacity service. In his class he asks the following question: "Who is the most dangerous person in the church?" Most people answer this question by saying the hypocrite who tries to live a double life, the church gossip who stirs up strife, or the "negative Nancy" who seems to want to keep everyone else down. It is true, all three of those types of people are dangerous and will destroy a ministry if not lovingly dealt with, however, none of those three are the MOST dangerous to the church. The most dangerous person to darken the doors of a church is someone who is unteachable - someone who refuses to learn. This person will always hold a ministry back, because they will never see the necessity of learning and growing. They feel they have arrived and are no longer in need of assistance from anyone...including God.

This past week was the first week back to school for students in Roane County. I teach 5th grade at a small elementary school. It amazes me the different types of learners that sit in my classroom. Some learn by listening, some by music, some by organization and pattern, some by bodily-kinesthetic strategies, and some even by sitting alone and reading a book. However, across the board, students learn best by DOING. If you can practice it and master it...you've learned it. Sometimes the reason I think people become unteachable is because they fear the learning process. They are afraid to go through the necessary training that might hurt, require patience, or require commitment to obtain the knowledge their Teacher wishes them to know. We must not fear the learning process, but rather embrace it as a mechanism for growth and ultimately spiritual survival. Louisa May Alcott, a famous author, said it well: "I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship."

No matter our age, current status, or prior knowledge - learning is never done. God has an unlimited supply of astounding things for us to learn, one of those things being His infinite love for us. There's more to learn, because there's more to be done. Let's not let our brains atrophy while a lost and dying world is abandoned of the knowledge of who God is and what He has done for them. Class is not dismissed. There's more learning to do. Sit at His feet. Learn from His heart.

Do I Serve a 10% God?

Luke 17: 11-19 "Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out with a loud voice, 'Jesus, Master, have pity on us.' When he saw them, he said, 'Go, show yourselves to the priests.' And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him - and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, 'Where not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?' Then he said to him, 'Rise and go; your faith has made you well.'"

This past Sunday morning, Pastor Nick delivered the first sermon in the new series "Make It Rain." In this first sermon, he mentioned the story of the ten lepers. In this story, as you can read above, Jesus is traveling along the border between Samaria and Galilee. Along the journey, he encounters ten lepers. He heals these lepers and instructs them to show themselves to the priest to prove their cleansing. Only one of the men return to give thanks to the Lord for what he did for them. As Pastor was speaking on this the Lord truly spoke to me and showed me a few things that I need to work on. Here they are...

The first thing that jumped out to me is that out of ten men - only one returned. That's 1/10 or only 10% of all those that were healed that gave thanks for what Jesus had done. Leprosy was a disease that automatically made you an outcast because of it being highly contagious. Lepers were quarantined away from society, their families, their homes, their jobs, their way of life in general. Jesus wasn't just giving these men back their health, he was giving them back their life. It was truly a wonderful miracle! If you lost everything you own, your family, your job, and your way of life, then someone came along and gave that all back to you free of charge and in an instant - wouldn't you leap for joy and fall at that person's feet in gratitude? We would think so, but the truth of the matter is, I have been given an even greater gift than these leprous men. I have been given salvation, hope, an abundant life, eternal life, love beyond my wildest dreams...do I only thank the One who gave it to me 10% of the time? What about in other areas of my life? Do I only give God 10% of those too? What about my job, my time, my family, my addictions, my insecurities, my worries? Do I give all of me or only 10%? Do we tell God, "Here Lord, here's 10% of me. The other 90% I think I'll keep though." We give ourselves a pat on the back for the 10% of our lives we give God, but in reality, we don't serve a 10% God. We serve a God that wants and expects all of you. Yes, I know that my tithe (10% of my income) is owed to God. He requires that, and yes, it is disobedience if it is not given. But, do I ever go beyond that 10% in my financial giving? Do I heed to the voice of God when he asks me to sacrifice monetarily? I hope that when God sees me - He sees someone that gives 100%, not just 10%. Think about it this way...what if God kept His promises and was faithful only 10% of the time? What if he met only 10% of your needs? How would we feel then...

Another thing that stuck out to me was the fact that the one man that returned was a Samaritan. In those days, Samaritans were outcasts to Jewish people. They did not get along. Our awesome Jesus was walking along the border between Samaria and Galilee - between the outcasts and His own people. It amazes me that it wasn't his own people that came back to give thanks, it was an outcast. Those of us that have been raised in church our whole lives or have been in church for a long time can grow very complacent about serving the Lord and remembering what He has done for us. We forget that we had a condition far worse than leprosy. Our sins, no matter what they were, had us bound and destined to live eternity in hell far from God. I, one of His children, who ought to know better, am the first one to criticize, be lazy, and be an ungrateful spoiled brat about a lot of things. Sometimes, those of us that have followed the Lord for awhile need to take a step back and rekindle that gratitude. We need to watch the zeal of new converts and try to recapture that excitement and passion for God. I know I am guilty many times of not doing this. Jesus was standing on the border between these two countries. Similarly, He stands in gap between His people and those that are lost and are searching. He died for us all. He paid the same price for us all. We were all bound for the same destination without His grace and mercy, yet many of us think we can sit back and only skim the surface of what God wants from us. We think we'll be "good enough" to receive the reward He has for us. The truth is - we are missing the point. He has redeemed us for a relationship with Him. We don't deserve it by any means, but His love for us caused Him to make the sacrifice of His Son for our redemption. This lost world needs to see a zeal and passion for God from His people. We need to show them that He is the missing piece they have been looking for.

I don't serve a 10% God - so let's give him the gratitude He deserves.

We Are Family

Judges 8: 18-19 - "Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, 'What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?' 'Men like you,' they answered, 'each one with the bearing of a prince.' Gideon replied, 'Those were my brothers, the sons of my own mother. As surely as the Lord lives, if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you.'"

This past Sunday, my husband, Nick, preached the last sermon in the series "Against All Odds." This sermon, like several others in this series, was about Gideon. In the verses above, Gideon was chasing after two kings that had fled. He asked for food for his famished men in two cities along the journey. Both cities refused and even discouraged Gideon in his quest to find these evil kings. Gideon vowed to not only capture these kings, but to then repay the two cities for their unkindness toward him and his army.
The main point that my husband made through this sermon was that the body of Christ should be loving and encouraging toward each other, toward those believers that are struggling, and also toward those that may not yet know Christ. This message really caused me to take a good, hard look at myself and how I treat my brothers and sisters in the Lord. In the verses above, Gideon asked the two evil kings he was pursuing who they killed at Tabor. The two kings replied that the men they killed were like Gideon - they resembled him. Brothers and sisters in a natural family often resemble each other. They have features that are alike which causes other people to recognize which family they belong to. In the body of Christ, we as God's children, resemble each other, because we were all wonderfully saved by grace and we should be displaying common spiritual fruits because of our decision to follow Jesus. There's a very popular song that says "They will know we are Christians by our love."When you are a follower of God, love will be your most prominent attribute. You will strive to love not only those that love you, but even your enemy that may hate you. You will deeply love your brothers and sisters in Christ - wanting them to go farther and continually grow in the Lord. You will love the fellow Christian that is struggling, trying to hold on through their circumstance. You will love the unbeliever, because you want them to understand that their life can become more personally meaningful, purposeful and abundantly awesome by surrendering all to God.
When Gideon realized that these two kings had killed his brothers, he was infuriated and would not stand for the wrong that was done to his family. In the same way that Gideon was righteously angry about the injustice done to his brothers, we should also protect our brothers and sisters in Christ. When the devil attacks them, we should pray and encourage them as we would want to be when we are going through a trial. We should offer help not insensitivity. I wish I could say I've gotten this right every time, but unfortunately there are times I have failed in this.

 In the picture I have posted above, you can see a marathon runner working very hard to finish a race. To the side of the runner, you see people holding signs that encourage the runner to continue. I absolutely love this photograph, because I think it is an example of how we ought to be with our brothers and sisters in Christ and with those we want to see come to the Lord. If you look closely, you will see the sign says, "Go, random stranger, go!" Even though they have no clue who this runner is, they still knew the importance of cheering her on as she completed a difficult race. The Bible compares life to a race. It won't always be easy and many times we'll feel like giving up and sitting down. That's when we need our brothers and sisters the most. Whether we know them well, or even if it's someone we don't know that well - we need to offer our support, help, and encouragement. If we could know the thoughts of the runner in the photo, I have no doubt that she appreciated the support of her "cheerleaders" and pushed herself onward to finish her race. Wouldn't we win a lot more souls to the Lord if they saw us loving and supporting each other than tearing down one another? I pray that we all grab ahold of this and really take a step back to look at our lives and how we perceive and treat our fellow believers, because "they'll know we are Christians by our love..."

Photo taken from http://www.lululemon.com/community/blog/bmo-marathon-cheer-squad/