"They Have No More Wine and Mary's Trust"

 The Holy One calls to me this morning.  So many mind-bending things are happening in the world and humanity needs help.

The call to be an intercessor came long ago in my life. Lessons on intercession are always being taught.  It seems so strange to look back and see the honing process over time.  I feel the burden to pray for specific things that I think the people or situations "need".  When people ask for prayer, it usually comes with a desired resolution to the problem.

Sometimes it seems that the Lord wants me to participate in being part of the answer like when a person voices a deep need for something I can provide such as food or clothes or paying a bill in their behalf.  Other times it seems that He wants me to think of a creative resolution and petition for that resolution, thus co-laboring with Him in the crisis.

Today He speaks yet another response to the burden to help as I am slowly learning to see all things in light of eternity.  He simply said, "Mary got it right".     

His words are often so mysterious at first.  But that is His way to lead me into all truth.  He knows I love a mystery and He is the greatest mystery that exits for man to try to solve. 

He first reminds me of the essence of the model prayer that Jesus taught the disciples to pray.  That prayer begins with the acknowledgment of the One from who all blessing flow: Our Father who is in Heaven.  Then He moves on to the honor due His name.  But then, Jesus teaches us to surrender all things to Him:

Thy kingdom come

Thy will be done

in earth as it is in Heaven.

As one who prays and all who should, this passage cuts through human pride and motivation.  We struggle with this because we allow the chasm to exist between God's will and our own.  If we truly understood the Kingdom of Heaven and God's will, we would pray without ceasing for all the goodness that Heaven holds and is God's ultimate will for His beloved.

As I ponder His statement, the Holy One directs me back to the very first miracle we find in the Gospel of John.  Jesus and His disciples were in attendance at a wedding in Cana.  It was a time of great celebration and running out of wine would be a horrible social faux pas.

As the story unfolds, Mary, the mother of Jesus was aware of the problem:  they had no more wine.

As I imagine the scene, Jesus was just a guest and the people at the celebration had no idea who He was for He had not yet revealed himself as the Son of God.

But Mary knew her son and most likely watched Him handle other issues in their lives.  But upon that we can only speculate since there is no record of that in scripture.

I am fascinated by the exchange between Mary and Jesus in John 2:3-5. "When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine".  "Dear woman, why do you involve me?  My time has not yet come".  His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever He tells you".

Here was a major social crisis unfolding.  A beautiful wedding feast that was still in progress was about to be ruined.  One very important element in their celebration was the fruit of the vine I.E the wine and that well had run dry.

The failure to have enough wine for the duration of the entire wedding feast was an unspeakable humiliation for the parents.  That social custom was loaded with Spiritual symbolism, since the Jewish wedding and marriage celebration is a picture of the ultimate wedding of Christ to His Bride, the Church.

For all the arguments that focus on the alcohol issue pro and con, the turning of the water into wine is much different and deeper than the drink it represents.

John, the disciple who penned this Gospel, was intent on sharing the "miracles" as "signs" and not to be enamored with the miraculous details but rather to stand in awe of the One sent from Heaven who could change earth's reality.  These were "signs and wonders" that identified Jesus as God in the flesh.

As I read the account and the exchange between Jesus and His mother, I understand what the Holy Spirit has pointed out today:  Precious Mary, went to her son Jesus and simply stated the crisis that she saw in the making, "They have no more wine".

She did not go into all the explanation of what it would do or what it would mean to the host or the guests or the social standing of the family. Nor did she go to Him with a blueprint, or list of suggestions on how to handle the uncomfortable situation.  There was no evidence of her opinion or personal plan as to what Jesus could or should do to resolve the problem.

What an amazing picture of how we as believers are to handle our problems in life especially those we cannot personally fix.  And then to try to understand the answers that come in light of eternity and the bigger picture of God's purpose in each trial.

Our Father in Heaven cares about the details in each one of our lives, but His perspective traverses all of life and all of eternity, past, present and future, where ours is limited to the very specific hour and day that we are in at this moment.

To delight ourselves in the Lord is not to delight ourselves in merely the momentary provision for our needs met or done our way, but to delight in His Being and the relationship He operates in with regard to His beloved.

I know that apart from Him we can do nothing yet by His Holy Spirit within are set apart to do (and witness) incredible things, all according to the bigger picture that brings glory and honor to the Creator and provides the evidence of His being and life to the world around us.

The answers we are provided are not just to ease our pain or win a battle victory so we can get puffed up with pride.  The answers are not for us to "brag" about having God's ear or to justify our righteous cause.

The answers come for a much higher purpose and that is to bring glory and honor to the One who provides them and recognize His greater purpose in them.

My lesson in today as I look at the account of Mary, Jesus and the problem that presented an opportunity to connect with the Power of heaven, is to follow the model of Mary and the exhortation in Philippians 4:4-6: 

"Rejoice in the Lord always I will say it again rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all the Lord is near.  Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God and the peace of God that transcends all understanding will guard you hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

Mary reflected the peace, confidence, and trust that Jesus would take care of the problem and He did.    

Our world today is a crazy terrifying place, but God is still on His throne and still giving all of us the evidence of His being.  As we face what seem to be impossible circumstances in our lives, I pray we all will remember that "Mary got it right" and what we can learn from her simple assessment of an impossible situation that brought her to her powerful God: "They have no more wine."

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him? 

Imagine This: The Empty Seat

Many years ago, I learned a lot of valuable lessons, understanding Biblical principles from the Parables Yeshua spoke to His audiences.  Ancient principles conveyed in stories of (then) current life situations.  I was moved to create short stories from the pictures the Lord painted in my mind like the parables He spoke back in the day.   

I will be sharing some of these word pictures from out of my "Imagine This" file.  I pray they speak to you as they have spoken to me.  

IMAGINE THIS: The Empty Seat

You come from a big family…..

Almost too many to count…..

You feel like you are just one among so many.

You Father has a big heart…..

But with so many siblings…..

You wonder if He could possible care about you.

You lost contact with Him…..

So long ago…..

It seems that your thoughts of Him…..

Are no more than a figment of your imagination.

Year after year you have been getting…..

Something that sounds…..

Like a family invitation to come home.

But even that seems vague…..

And you doubt that it’s real.

You have gone to the websites…..

That track family histories……

Wondering if your family is even there.

Then, one day, comes a knock at your door…..

A friendly face appears…..

There is something familiar…..

About the one standing there…..

A family resemblance, perhaps.

You listen to the words of greeting…..

There is excitement about having found you.

Something about a family reunion…..

And where you belong.

You agree to go with this “excitable” friend.

Just to see for yourself…..

If what was spoken is really the truth.

You arrive at the place of family celebration.

You enter the banquet hall and feel the unity.

Then your eyes meet…..

With the One you now know is your Father.

The tears fall…..

The ache in your heart is no longer there.

From the doorway you see…..

The seat that is yours.

The one that has been empty for so long.

You now know that the message is true……

You notice the look on your Father’s face.

There is love and joy…..

But something else that seems like relief.

These family gatherings…..

Have been going on…..

For a long, long time.

You look around…..

At all your brothers and sisters seated there…..

It finally dawns on you…..

In all these years of celebration…..

Your seat has remained empty.

With each passing year…..

Your Father’s heart grieved…..

Over you……

The one missing at His table.

Little did you know…..

How important you are…..

And have always been…..

To your Father and the family.

Your empty seat says it all…..

No matter how big the family may get…..

The look in your Father’s eye tells you…..

No one else can fill your place…..

In His heart or at His table…..

Can you imagine that?

If this touches your heart.  Maybe it's time to "come home"!

The Holy Spirit is Calling.  Can you hear Him?   

"Doubting" Thomas: His Story, Our Story

The Holy One calls to me this morning.   On Sunday we came together as a faith community to share in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper.  The reminder of His sacrifice and the Glorious Resurrection He modeled as a preview of our own.  As we sit in personal assessment of what human sin cost Him, and confess what represents sin in our lives, we lean into the forgiveness offered by His death on the cross.  My mind tracks back to that historic time after His death and resurrection, when He appeared to many in His glorified form. 

I was reminded by the Holy One that Jesus hung around in His glorified body for "forty days" and was seen by many to give evidence of His resurrection to the Disciples who knew Him.

Acts 1:3, "After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave them convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke of the Kingdom of God".

While the personal stories may vary, each one of us has (or needs to have) one that relates to the first time we really "see" the Lord for Who He is.  Today, the Holy One takes me to the disciple named Thomas and his interesting story of that day in his life.  The day he "saw" the Resurrected Christ.

John conveys the account in His Gospel record, and how the disciple came to have the nick name of "doubting Thomas" in John 20:24-29.  We can join in with the crowd that has looked down on Thomas until we admit that all of us have had our doubts about God.

In reading the Biblical account of the resurrection, others told Thomas that they had "seen" the Lord.  They told him of their personal encounter and testimony, but Thomas wasn't buying it.  In fact, he told everyone that, despite knowing Jesus the man, and having heard His words about His death and resurrection, he would not believe in Jesus as God unless and until he put his hands in the nail holes of His crucified body.

What Thomas was desperately needing was a personal encounter with the living and resurrected Messiah.  I think that sometimes the real importance of this story gets lost in the judgment of Thomas' doubt.

For me, the really awesome point of this account is that Jesus met him in his doubt.  I believe the Lord's response and why it was recorded was so that we could read about Thomas' wrestle. In the deepest places of our heart's desire to truly know the Lord, we simply are not satisfied with someone else's testimony.

The Holy Spirit speaks encouragement to my heart today, "Keep praying for manifestations of my Presence for I will surely appear".  Could it be that the Lord wants to use our doubts to open the door to a more personal encounter with Himself?

Scripture says in John 20:24, "now Thomas, (called Didymus) one of the 12 was not with the other disciples when Jesus came, so the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord".

I cannot even begin to imagine the sorrow in Thomas' heart that he missed the most amazing moment in history.  Jesus made an appearance post death and Thomas was not there to witness it.   He was not present with "the others".  Was it extreme self-disappointment and faux pride that said, 'unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my hand into his side, I will not believe"?

I would be saying "poor Thomas" if I haven't been in that place myself, listening to someone else's testimony without my own. 

But what happens next in this epic story is nothing short of a personal love relationship forged forever in the furnace of desire.   Thomas has a personal criterion in order for him to believe in the resurrected Savior.  Thomas declared it, God heard it and Jesus met it.

"A week later His disciples were in the house again and through the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you".  Then He said to Thomas, "put your fingers here: see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into, my side.  Stop doubting and believe."  Thomas said to Him, "My Lord and my God" Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed: blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed".

Personal relationships involve personal encounters.  Should we expect anything less in our personal relationship with our Savior and Lord?  The wonder of Thomas' story is that Jesus met him where he was in his doubt.  And that is our hope and assurance: that Jesus will do the same for us.

The world turns, life spins out of our control, doubts arise and failures in faith happen, but through it all we can be assured that Jesus IS here and ready to provide the convincing proofs of His resurrection life, not if, but when we need them. 

Sanctification is a process.  Faithfulness is a fruit and the evidence of the Holy Spirit of Jesus within each one of us.  It is a quality of a life that bares His fruit.  I am having to re-think my judgement of Thomas and his stated criteria for belief. 

For Thomas who knew the "man" Jesus, to see the body that was pieced was not a "fleece" but a foundation.  In that moment when his hand touched the place of those mortal wounds, Thomas moved beyond any and all doubt that Jesus is God.

What is the equivalent of Thomas' criteria in our lives today?  What would it take for us to move beyond all doubt that Jesus is Who He said He is and Trust Him as our Savior and Lord?  If Jesus was willing to appear and show Thomas what he needed to see, He will do the same for all who truly want to believe.

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him? 

Living in the Light of Eternity

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  Temporal life is about to change and with it the need to adapt is pressing down.  Temporal life as we know it never ends well.  As hard as we try to avoid it: from dust we came and to dust we will return.  Gen 3:19

Physical death is the end of temporal life no matter how we live it.  It has been that way since the very beginning with two exceptions that we are told about in the Word of God: Enoch and Elijah. These men were the two exceptions, and their lives are the model for those of us who believe in a rapture (sudden taking up) of the Body of Christ when the Lord returns for His own.  Scripture tells us:  

 1 Thessalonians 4:

"16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

18 Therefore encourage one another with these words." NIV

Not knowing the day or time of that epic event on our earth calendar, we will be wise to live out each day as if it could be today.  Both of these men lived in Old Testament times but since our God is a precedent setting and honoring Sovereign, we can be sure that their lives and translation out of this reality has significance to us today. 

If nothing else the thought of a sudden evacuation out of planet earth should have an impact on how we live our temporal lives in light of eternity.  For me this means to see the events here with eyes on the long range of Heavenly purpose.

Paul exhorts us over and over to get our temporal lives in a bag so we can focus on the much more of the Kingdom of Heaven and God's purpose in what He allows to transform us. 

2 Corinth 4:16-17, "Therefore we do not lose heart though we are outwardly wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So, we fix our eyes not on what his seen but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal."

Make no mistake the Lord is preparing us for life post this earth.  His word tells us that He is not content that ANY should perish but that all might come to the saving knowledge of Jesus; that Jesus was sent to rescue us and return us to a personal relationship with our Creator.  That potential was accomplished when He paid the price for a sin nature that all humanity is born with, was crucified in flesh, and resurrected as a model of our own future resurrection from the dead.  Only, that is, IF we accept His death in place of our own.      

There is a way to live out our days here in light of eternity and I, for one, want to live that way.  Since everything that makes up this realm materially will be turned into ash one day, the focus then must be on the only thing that will survive the burn and that is our relationships, beginning with our most important one which is with HIM!  Once that is firmly established, we look to those we know and love to share such Great News of God's Love, Jesus' Sacrifice and the gift of eternal life that we have been given. 

We will not enter into eternity with things, but we will enter in with people.  All those who share in a love relationship with our Savior God, will be gathered together and inhabit a New Heaven and a New Earth.  These are just the cliff notes and an overview, but the complete story is EPIC, and we are a vital part of God's plan.    

Believers in Jesus are advancing our Kingdom one day at a time, seeing our Kingdom enlarged one life at a time! We have our marching orders called the Great Commission and we are to share what Jesus has done for us and what He is willing to do for all who call upon His Name.  

Is today THAT day when you meet Him?  Are you that "one life" He has left the 99 to save?  I pray so! 

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you Hear Him?

God's Immutable Sovereignty

The Holy One calls to me this morning.   Life has taken some serious turns of late, and I realize a new season is upon me.  Things and people in life that I have held near and dear to my heart have suddenly been removed or resolved in a way that represents forms of closure to past seasons, relationships, and even my life lessons journaled, now turned to ashes.  

I cannot help but wonder, "What's next?"  Holiness speaks to the deepest thoughts in my mind regarding circumstantial decisions I am preparing to make:  "Apart from Me you can do nothing".  I realize that any plans I might make or even desire to make, in and of myself is destined to fail unless He enables and provides. 

Knowing this, I have been asking the Lord for a promise out of His Word that is personal to me and one that I can take claim to in this upcoming season.  The Holy One has been teaching me about His Sovereignty for some time now.  Today, in answer to my request, and judging by the promise I have received, I know the lessons will continue.

God's immutable Sovereignty is a deep dark mystery.  It is the least understood and most questioned Characteristic of our Creator God.  God's Sovereignty seems to end every discussion, and it goes far beyond our quest to understand Him.

All the "why" questions do seem to go back unanswered to the mystery of His Sovereignty:

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Why are the innocent taken and evil ones left to thrive?

Why are some people healed while others suffer the same infirmities unto flesh death?

Questions abound for things we cannot control or explain, and each one takes us back to God's Sovereignty.

As a person of faith and in a deeply personal relationship with Jesus, the Christ, the issue of God's Sovereignty comes up over and over during my journey here on earth. 

Trusting in His Goodness is always challenged by the enemy of my soul.  Nothing has changed since Eve was approached by a serpent with a lying tongue suggesting the Creator's motives and His rules for successful living were not in her best interests.

If we are settled in a belief that this temporal life is all there is, the reason for our hope dims as the circumstances overwhelm our desperate need for resolutions here.

However, if, as the Word of our Creator God teaches, and there is a life after this one; another place far and away from the things that cause our pain on earth, then the subject of His Sovereignty can actually draw us closer in fellowship and not repel us away from His Presence.

Who do I trust in any situation in life?  Who did I trust when death and divorce knocked at my door and took someone I loved?    Humanity will never have all the answers and at some point, we all will have to just trust that God's Sovereignty is ultimately good. 

The story of Job has helped me resolve this issue in my own heart and mind.  The ancient account of his life and trials have given us a look past the temporal into the Spirit Realm where God resides. It gives us a picture of dark created beings that also exist past all the human senses of sight, sound and touch. 

This unseen realm and those dark beings must be factored into our understanding of God's Sovereignty as the Creator of everything even those things that we cannot see or explain in human terms.

This earth and all that may seem permanent due to its age is really just a temporary setting in light of eternity.  The mystery and some of the "why" questions in our minds may just have to wait for God's purpose in our eternity to be revealed.

The important point I register today about Job's life and trial was the humbling fact that Job had to wait, amid all the discomfort of his losses, until God chose to speak and bring relief to his pain.  Job was powerless to protect himself in or from the hard things that were brought to him.  He truly suffered and, in every way, we might also suffer, but in his multiplied agonies, he chose NOT to judge THE Judge.

Job began in the human way of trusting in his own righteousness but in the end, he trusted only in the Sovereignty he learned of his Creator and saw that it was good.

The Promise I have been given for this new season in my life is out of Isaiah 55: 8-13

Isaiah 55:8-13

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.

9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the Sower and bread for the eater,

11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

12 You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”

Have you asked the Lord for a personal promise to hold onto in this month, year, day or season?  Growing in intimacy with The GREAT I AM, requires surrender so why not ask for a promise to make that a delight? 

The Holy Spirit is Calling.  Can you hear Him?

The Real Test of Job's Life

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  Trust has been the subject and issue between the Lord and me for some time.  Maybe even longer than my conscious awareness has registered.

His voice pierces the darkness in my room and removes the last sleepy covering off my mind.  I hear Him almost proclaim "God trusts His creation!"  I cannot help but think, "What a bizarre twist of the trust we have been discussing lately I.E. mine in Him."

The crazy world we live in and the circumstances we have to deal with, are not only upside down, but way too out of control to imagine a potential fix. They seem to be pressing down and onto all believers these days.  At every corner and every turn humanity seems to be on a track to do evil and flesh is driving the train.  Despair is a knee-jerk reaction for all who hope for a better life.

Since the account of Job has had my attention lately, it's not surprising that the Holy One wants me to return to his story.  I have read about the enemy identified as "Satan" and know the part he played in all that Job suffered.  Today the Lord calls me to re-read the exchange between God and Satan.

I notice that God initiated the conversation, so I can be assured He understood what was going to happen next.   The Eternal One does nothing and allows nothing without knowing what every player in the scenario will do.  Our education calls for things that will teach us about ourselves and the Master...things that He already knows. 

The first important thing I saw is that Satan is a created being just like the human, but with a little greater power that he must gain permission to exert.  That eliminates the feeling of being a "victim" of his evil, so long as I am trusting my God.

Back to the conversation in Job 1:8 NIV.  God's assessment of Job was reflected in His delight for Job's heart of reverence.  "Have you considered my servant Job?  There is none on earth like him.  He is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil".

God was bragging on His Creation.  Job appears to have lived before Israel was a Nation, and before the law that provided for his right standing in God's eyes.  In many ways, Job was a man like Adam who, while tempted on earth and not perfect, kept himself above reproach in his flesh life.

The opening statements about Job reveal that he had temptations like "fear" but took his fears to God and by making a sacrifice for his children, he acted as the priest of his household and family.  We have no indication that he acted out of anything other than an inward desire to please the Creator God.

We read in Roman 1:20 NIV, that what may be known about God is plain, "For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities, His eternal power and Divine Nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Job lived in that knowledge and acted according to his faith before the law was introduced. 

Job was, therefore, a man who, like Abraham, looked up, understood Someone created the Heavens and the earth and chose to live his life to please that Someone.  Even the concept of sacrifice must have been instilled in the hearts of men since the fall and therefore, Job made sacrifices according to his faith.

For me, today, the most fascinating part of this account is God's "trust" in His creation. God trusted that Job's Divine DNA would hold and prove God's Sovereign wisdom in the creation of man and the free will Job had to worship and love the Creator. 

Remembering the rebellion of the Heavenly Host, Satan's game is to alienate the created from the Creator, man from God and God from man.

While the Law and the Prophets teach us how God dealt with a nation, a society of His people, Job reveals the personal one-on-one intimate relationship the Creator looks for with His Beloved.

God's delight in Job, reveals the challenge that evil takes up to defeat God each and every day here on earth through our human trials and tribulations.

As the conversation between God and Satan continues, we can see that Job didn't even know the high stakes that were on his humility in the furnace of his afflictions.  God's creative genius and wisdom that speaks in Proverbs 8:30 NIV, was being challenged by Satan through Job's trial. 

Personified Wisdom speaks, "I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing in the whole world and delighting in mankind".

Satan's argument suggested that Job was loyal and "feared" God in his reverent life only because of a love for God's temporal blessings.  Permission was granted by God to test Job's loyalty to Himself through the obliteration of God's blessings and beyond His hand of Divine protection.

God's confidence in the man He created was put to the ultimate test.  Would job fail and the enemy's accusation be proven right? Or would Job stand firm in his loyalty and vindicate God's delight in him? 

Through many agonizing chapters, we read of the pain of his losses and the human assessments of his suffering.  Thankfully we who study God's Word have a completed picture of Job's life and struggle. 

In a sense we have been given God's perspective and in this instance, we can see and know the end from the beginning.  We can even come to understand the bigger picture of the epic struggle between the great (although created) adversary, Satan and God the almighty and all powerful Creator.

God trusted his Beloved Creation and Job through his trial vindicated God's wisdom in our design.  God has created humanity for more than the days and experiences we have and focus on here in the temporal lives that we live.

While we have limited knowledge through God's Word, of what lies ahead or of His Eternal plans for man, the challenge Satan puts forth in an effort to destroy us, makes me believe it is so much greater than I can even begin to hope or  imagine.

Satan's accusations were very apparently to try to use Job to bring universal humiliation to God and His Creation.  Satan, we must remember was created to worship God and, in his pride, refused.  Man, now has that privilege and role.  Satan was cast out for his rebellion and awaits his final banishment.  His obvious goal is to denigrate man, whom God created in His own Image 

This greater understanding of what we are suffering on earth at Satan's hand should give us all hope and courage to persevere. 

God's delight is in us

God's vindication is through us

God's restoration is upon us

God Himself initiate the Sacred Romance with us

The devil is defeated when, through the hard times we face on temporal earth, we stand firm in the reverence and worship for our God.  Seeing the end from the beginning of Job's life, I know God will restore his Beloved. 

In the matter of our Eternity, God already has restored and redeemed His beloved through His Son, Jesus the Christ, but the personal trials on earth will continue until we shed the flesh and are given a glorified body beyond the inescapable decay and temptation to sin. 

The real test to Job's life was the delight that God had in him.  Keeping his reverence for the Creator, Job learned more about His love.  I have to ask myself,  "in all my trials, like those of Job, will God be vindicated"?  

Worship is the only way, in the furnace of our afflictions, to make sure that His is.  Will my worship of Him hold when my life goes haywire?  Will yours? 

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?  

Box Canyon or the Red Sea?

The Holy One calls me this morning.  I have been in a heated debate with myself over the subject of persecution or Divine discipline. I have come to the personal conclusion that both serve the same purpose:  The refinement of our souls.

Even as the circumstances heat up and both may seem the same, it is important that we properly assess our lives and the situations to ascertain what is happening.  While both are used to refine us, and God is in absolute Sovereign control of each, the lessons to be gleaned are quite different because one calls for repentance and the other calls for rejoicing.

The Holy One quietly enters into the debate with, "So you are trying to decide if this is a box canyon or the Red Sea."

That's an interesting way to put it, as both seem quite inescapable.  He reminded me of past performance issues, which is a polite way of identifying my gross sin. He brings to my mind one such situation whereby He spoke clearly to me through His Word in Hosea 14:1. "Return, Oh Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall.  Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to Him, forgive all our sins and receive us graciously that we may offer the fruit of our lips."

When we are in a box canyon, we get there by our own will.  There is one way in and one way out.  The way out is to find how we entered, confess the sin that brought us into that place of the box.  Repentance is the exit from the box that willful sin was the entrance into.

The Red Sea is a different place entirely.  We find ourselves at the shores of the Red Sea by God's ordained will.  We are usually persecuted to the Red Sea, chased there by the enemy of our God. There is no repentance that will change our position when at the shores of the Red Sea.  We are going to be delivered or die.  Here we find the Living God armed and ready to show His great and majestic power in and over our lives unto our rescue.

Sometimes under the heat of the circumstances, we don't stop to assess and therefore we don't understand how to react.  Persecution or Divine Discipline? When the Hand that governs all things feels heavy on our lives, we need to stop and assess whether it's time to repent or rejoice.

Sometimes, we settle into life in a box canyon.  High walls, no escape.  Could it be that we remain there because we do not feel the need to repent?  Could it be that we live less than victorious lives because we have assumed that all our sins are covered under the blood of the Jesus and there is no need to repent daily for the failures of our flesh?

The "sin" that Jesus died for is not just the sins that we and all have committed before we came to know the Saving Grace of our Savior.  The sin that Jesus paid the price and redeemed us from is the "sin-nature" that everyone was born with after the fall. 

The sin nature is at the core of the myriad of "sins" that we all commit, even after our salvation.  Jesus's death provided a "new nature" possibility and when we are "born again", we are the recipients of that new nature.  At the moment of our salvation, we are infused with the Holy Spirit who is to rule over the flesh man/woman representing our soul.  We are still stuck with the flesh and its lusts until the physical death of the flesh body, at which time we will get a glorified body that we will inhabit for the rest of eternity.

Until the day we exit our earthy flesh body, the potential to commit sins is present.  As we repent for these sins and allow the Holy Spirit to have more and more control of our lives, Holiness within flourishes.  The Holy Spirit within is our power over the daily temptations we face in our flesh.

The box canyon life is usually lived by those who don't find the need to repent.  One way in and one way out whether for issues of pride, as in, "I am already forgiven so why repent?"  Or ignorance as in "I wonder why the walls are so high with no escape...guess it's just God's will".

We are exhorted in Phil 2:12 to "Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling."

Holiness will not be found without effort on our part.  We must cooperate with the Holy Spirit of Christ and that means allowing Him to scrutinize us, correct us, lead us and guide us into all truth.

We are challenged in every day that we live, to make our choices and decisions based on the influence of Holiness in our lives.  Sometimes we fail and sometimes we prevail.  Divine Discipline comes in various forms as does persecution.  Wisdom gives the discernment we need to assess and the Holy One stands ready to show me the difference even if, at any time, they both "feel" the same.

As we process where we are and the decisions, we made to get there, is it a box canyon or the Red Sea?

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?