Inconceivable

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
      he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.   Psalm 34:18 NLT

Ever watch the old movie The Princess Bride?  The villain continuously repeats the word "inconceivable" basically because his thinking is so small that he cannot wrap himself around new possibilities that he has never before experienced.

During traumatic times in our lives when events and circumstances hit us right and left we find ourselves thinking "inconceivable".  What will happen next?  How much more can I take?  I seem to have a series of 24 hour pockets of traumatic events.  For instance, one Wednesday evening my (X) husband arrogantly confessed his adultery. A couple hours later I found out my son was busted with a MCA (minor consuming alcohol).  By midnight I found myself in a hotel room with my close friend whose husband just tried to commit suicide and was rushed to the hospital. Lord, how much more?

Yet when I look back during those times of tremendous suffering I find God is so close I can feel a thickness around me.  Angels pressing into me?  He's there to rescue me.  Jesus rescued me that night.  He’s close to all the brokenhearted.  He is close to you, too.  Jesus will never leave you, ever.

I'm willing to walk with You, God, through places dark and difficult.

 Use every hardship and place of suffering to make me more like You.

The Survivor

The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). John 10:10

As I was sitting at the most famous crowded beech in the world: Waikiki, in Hawaii, I watched a lady emerge into the ocean waves.  I was intrigued because she was bald, obviously a cancer survivor.  She had no hat or wig to hide under.  Nothing hindered her to live her life and have fun with her granddaughter.  There was no shame.  Her presence screamed, “I am a survivor!”

That scene made me think how many times I want to hide after I’ve gone through a battle – maybe mine wasn’t physical, as the bald lady, but more emotional and spiritual.  The Lord didn’t create us to just exist, but to live life abundantly.  Enjoy life and enjoy worshiping the Creator of the Universe.

This is the day the Lord has made.  I WILL rejoice and be glad in it!!!

No matter what happens today, Jesus, I know you are with me and I will enjoy this day.

Taking the Higher Road Part 3

Based on Deuteronomy 30 (MSG, NLT, CEV)

In part 1 I listed the blessings given to every person who loves and serves the Lord with a pure heart.  Whoo Hoo!

Part 2 listed the curses of the person who walks away from the Love of the Lord and serves the evil one.  Booo!

Today we will see what happens to the person when he or she decides to love and serve the Lord again with a sincere heart in absolute devotion.

J     The Lord promises to give him back his freedom!

J     Jesus will feel sorry for him and restore him!

J     The repentant person will have success, favor and blessings!
      (Read part 1)

J     He will love God with his whole being and live.  God will put all the curses on his enemies who are cruel to him.

J     The Lord will be happy with this person who whole heartily clings to the Spirit of the living God!

J     The Word of God is very near to his heart and mouth.

It boils down to two choices, according to this passage:

1. Choose life and blessings or
2. Choose death and curses

The Lord commands the wayward person to turn and love the Lord, keep His commands, obey His Word, and then the Lord will bless him.  If he chooses death, the Lord will turn away from him and all the curses will come upon him.  He will be destroyed.  Today, Jesus is offering this person life or death, blessings or curses.

CHOOSE LIFE! (Deut 30:19) To choose life is to love the Lord, our God, obey him and stay close to him (30:20).  He is your life.  He will let you live many years.  It’s your choice.  What will you choose?

I choose life, Lord.  Help me to serve only You, not the world or myself.

Taking the Higher Road Part 2

The Low Road

Based on Deut 28:15-48 (MSG, NLT, CEV)

What if someone decides the high road is too hard?  What if he decides to take a wide, crowded, easy road that leads to destruction?

"Taking the high road is usually not the easy one to take or the most popular. The low road seems to offer instant satisfaction. It may seem better for the moment, but if you compromise your principles and your integrity, it will always end up costing you far more in the long run."
- Billy Cox

 

The Lord speaks about the damage that would fall on someone if they decide to turn away from God and follow their own selfish interests.  Deuteronomy 28 lists these curses for Israel, but can be personalized for the individual (male or female):

N       Everywhere he goes he is cursed, whether he is in the city or the country.

N       He will have lack of food.

N       The Lord sends confusion and punishment in everything he does.

N       He will be destroyed and suddenly ruined because he left the Lord and chose a life of sin with an unrepentant heart.

N       He will have terrible diseases. Fever, swelling, bad growths, open sores & itches that can’t be cured.

N       He will feel the heat, lack of rain, drought, dehydration, blight and mildew until he dies.  Everything the person does will be hard.

N       Enemies will defeat the person who chooses sin.  He will try to attack his enemy from one direction but he will flee in seven directions.

N       He will be a thing of horror to others.

N       Madness, blindness (natural and spiritual) and a confused mind will possess this person. It will make him crazy and he’ll grope around in the middle of the day like a blind person feeling his way through a lifetime of darkness; he will never get to where he’s going.

N       He will fail in everything he does.  People will hurt and steal from him everyday.  No one will be there to help him.

N       He will build a house and not live in it.  The woman he is engaged to will have sex with someone else.

N       He will lose everything and no one will come to his rescue.

N       Other people will reap the benefits of this cursed person’s hard work that he has produced.

N       He will be tired of looking for things he can’t quite grasp.  What he sees will drive him crazy because he can’t quite reach it.

N       He will be mistreated.

N       This person who hates God will in turn be hated everywhere the Lord sends him.  People will laugh at him and make fun of him.

N       Children will be estranged from him.

N       Others around this person will grow stronger while he gets weaker and weaker.

N       He will go into debt because of the things taken and stolen from him.  He will be the “tail”.

N       He will be hungry, thirsty, naked and poor.

N       All these curses will come upon the person who deliberately turns away from the Lord.  These curses will chase him down and catch him because he did not serve the Lord with joy and a pure heart.  This is someone who is unrepentant and as long as they live that way these evil things will sweep over him.

N       All the curses will be signs and miracles to him to lead him back to the road of repentance (the higher road) and right standing with God again.

 

These things will happen to someone who decides to turn his back on loving and serving the Lord with a pure heart.  It is a deliberate act of disobedience and rebellion against the Lord and His commandments.

But wait…There is Hope!   

What if that person repents and turns back to the Lord?  Read Deuteronomy 30 and part 3 of “Taking the Higher Road”. 

 

Lord, help me to always follow you and keep my eyes open to any areas of

compromise that would cause me to turn toward the wrong path.

Taking the Higher Road Part 1

The High Road
Based on Deuteronomy 28:1-14 (MSG, NLT, CEV)

High road refers to a higher moral ground. "Taking the high road" expression refers to one being a "class act" during a very difficult time. Those who take the high road, are demonstrating being honest, fair, and selfless while not being completely defenseless.

– Urban dictionary

You are taking the “high road” when you choose to rebel against the evil in the culture especially when people around you sin and deliberately walk toward wickedness. Scripture refers to a straight and narrow path that is not very crowded.  Abundant blessings are promised to you for taking that narrow “high” road, as we see in Deuteronomy 28.  This scripture lists blessings promised to the nation of Israel, but we can personalize it and see the blessings for us if we whole heartily live for the Lord.  Here are the blessings promised for you, His faithful one, in this passage:

©      The Lord will make you great. God will chase you down and overtake you with His blessings.

©      You are blessed in the city and the country and anywhere you go or live.

©      Your children have many blessings bestowed upon them.

©      You will have favor in your business or place of employment.

©      Your kitchen will be blessed with lots of food.  There will be plenty for you and your family and enough to share or give away.

©      You are blessed coming and going.  Everywhere you go you are highly favored.

©      The Lord will defeat all your enemies that come against you.  The enemy will come and try to attack from one direction but will scatter in defeat in seven different directions.

©      The Lord blesses everything you do. 

©      He causes the land to be abundantly fruitful and produce good crops.

©      Father God calls you Holy.  You are his Holy child and He promises you all good things.

©      You are raised up and exalted in the community and among the people of earth.  God is glorified in your life by raising you up.  People will hold you in respectful awe because of the Lord in you, as you set your heart and mind on obeying His commandments.

©      The Lord will make you rich.  You will have success in family, ministry, business, and work.

©      You will have successful children (natural and spiritual).

©      Jesus will do all that He promised you and your ancestors.  He will give it ALL to you!

©      The Lord will open the flood gates of heaven and will rain down favor and blessings at the perfect time.  He will lavish on you all good things.  You will have more money than you need so that you can give it away and never need to borrow from others.

©      God will make you the leader (the head) not a follower (the tail).  You are FREE!

All these blessings belong to you because you love the Lord and carefully follow His commandments.  It is simply out of complete LOVE for Jesus that you don’t swerve an inch to the right or left from His words.

 I claim all the promises You have said in Your Word, Lord Jesus,

because I love You so much and desire to do everything You say to do.

Lord, turn Your face to me and bless me and my family.

The Lion

You are my hiding place;
   you will protect me from trouble
   and surround me with songs of deliverance.  Psalm 32:7

 Imagine this.

 You are standing in a desolate place, perhaps a desert.  What do you see?  Envision a stream running through the barren land.  The stream of living water was put there to refresh you. Drink deeply.  It is life, hope and beauty.

Do you see Jesus?  Set your eyes on a Lion by the stream resting by the one and only flourishing tree.  It's the Lion King of Kings.  The Lion of Peace to you today. In Alaska, His name would be Denali, “The Great One.”   He is bidding you to come to him.  He is asking you to bury your face in his mane.  As you approach Him, you realize how large He is.  You can be completely engulfed in His mane.  It is a warm place of peace and rest.  There is absolutely no fear, no worry, just perfect love.  Hear his heart beat?  Listen to him purr.  Does a lion purr? No...  Could He be humming, singing over you? Most likely.  You are protected, hidden away from the enemy.

Peek out of His mane for a moment.  What do you notice?  Far off in the distance there is evil, watching, waiting and laying traps for you. You hear the Lion King give a short low growl under His breath.  The enemy flees!  Vanishes!  Darkness is forbidden to come near.  Even the slightest growl sends the enemy retreating.

Watch out! The Lion is getting ready to ROAR! When the Lion roars the enemy will be obliterated.

Jesus,  I hide myself in You.

“Denali,” annihilate the enemy in my life with Your ROAR!

I hear your ROAR setting all things right in my life.

The Scarlet Letter

No one's ever seen or heard anything like this,
   Never so much as imagined anything quite like it—
   What God has arranged for those who love him.  I Corinthians  2:9

What you have experienced so far in your life has probably not fully prepared you for the amazing things God has in store for you.  A life filled with hope and incredible adventures.

There are two ways to divide up people in the world: those who let their past define their future and those who are able to conceive a future much bigger and broader than their past.  I want to be counted in a group of people in the world who are able to conceive a future much bigger and broader than the past. I won’t let my past define my future!

B  Remember the movie The Scarlet Letter? The woman in the movie who committed adultery had to wear a red "A" on her front to display her shame.  When one is divorced we theoretically feel we are wearing a scarlet "D" for all to see.  Will this define my future?  Hardly.  My spirit-filled friend I visit for encouragement said, "We don't wear a "D".  Strip it off.  God puts on us a large "B" for Beloved or an "R" for Redeemed!"  What great wisdom and insight.  Sounds like a T-shirt idea.

The hope that is given to us as a beloved, redeemed individual is hardly imaginable.  What great thing does God have in store for you?  Hope takes risk! Face the risks with courage.  Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Don’t try to figure everything out on your own.  In everything you do give God the glory and He will guide and direct everywhere you go! (Proverbs 3:5-6) Your future is bright. I pray this prayer everyday:

 

Lord, Amaze me today!