What Shakes Up Our Faith?

(picture from wwcconline.org)

How does an evil teach us to pray? Sunday morning Pastor Mark mentioned that while on his recent trip to Africa, a prominent African Christian leader told him that Idi Amin taught their people how to pray. Um, what? Well, no, he didn’t gather them together in an auditorium and share with them the wealth of power in prayer, or how to petition the Father of Life, or about the freedom found in praising God. No, he didn’t instruct them on the finer points of prayer at all.

But, he did force them into a corner, challenging their belief in God and the power and effectiveness of their prayers. And they responded, together and overwhelmingly. The tides are turning in their nation. We hear great reports from Africa regularly.

I looked for photos of the devastation under his regime. I couldn’t bring myself to share them here….

Is this what it will take for America to hit our knees? The rich outpouring of blessings from God has given us an entitlement mentality and has turned a great many of us from an attitude of gratitude to a gospel that simply promises financial prosperity and all the material wealth we seek after. The heart of the matter is fading in America. We don’t routinely hear of the miracles happening here on our soil that seem to be reported in abundance in the parts of the world where they don’t have “the privileges Americans enjoy….”

My depiction of an American bunny..... (picture from sustainableman.org)

Not that any of us wants to choose between a huge bank account and submitting our will to the Living God of the universe; surely we can have both. Can’t we? Well, can we?

I saw an article on the internet mocking American Christians in the south, living in some of the poorest counties in our nation. Yes, with toothless smiles, they praised God. Those who don’t share our faith in God laughed at them, saying, “You thank God – for what??”

Do I want to live in a shack or scrounge for my daily bread in a trash can? No. I admit it, I live quite comfortably and I like it. I’m not at all saying there’s anything wrong with abundance. Jesus said, “…I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” – John 10:10 (NKJV)

(picture from joyfulbusiness.org)

 But, does the man at the top of the mountain of Wall Street have peace with God?

I’m not saying he doesn’t, but which is more important to you? Wealth or peace? I’ve heard Rockefeller died in misery, despite his millions; what did they gain him? Material possessions he couldn’t take with him; possessions that perhaps brought him temporary pleasure?

I have a friend who shares her definition of a Christian as one who would answer the door when Jesus knocks and drop what she’s doing to go with Him; leaving behind everything and everyone. Ouch! Not my babies! Not my lover! Not my things!

Jesus doesn’t generally ask us to leave everyone and/or everything behind, but if He did put that challenge to you, could you run into His arms and trust Him to take care of everything and everyone else?

Gathering possessions is clearly what not what life is all about. Most of us consider Mother Theresa to have been a very holy and righteous woman. Of course, she never claimed to be righteous in and of herself, but through Christ. Yet, her material possessions were few.

(picture from loscuatroojos.com)

Am I judging the rich televangelists out there? No. I’ll leave the judging to God. My own heart is the one I need to contend with. I’m not responsible for what you or anyone else does with their heart.

But think about this: if devastation (such as what Idi Amin brought to his people) visited your life and all you were left with is your faith in God, would you be able to embrace it with your whole heart? Or would you then turn your back on God? Some say that faith isn’t faith until it’s all you’ve got to hang on to. Personally, I don’t ever want to be in that position. But, like Job, if I lost everything I can see with my eyes, I’d want to hang on to all that I have in my heart.

What we can see with our eyes is sooooo temporary.

(picture from sallyandsam.blogspot.com)

“As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.” – Psalm 103:13-16 (NIV)

Yet, so many of us feel the need to accumulate “things” and consider them signs of success.

To quote an old Kansas song, “All we are is dust in the wind……” (Well, I guess dust does collect….)

(picture from sunsetevansville.com Lissy Elle)

Psalm 8:4 asks, “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” (NKJV)

God’s love for you is eternal; forever and ever and ever – and unconditional. Nothing you could ever think or do can cause Him to stop loving you. What kind of a love is that??

When He comes to your door – run to Him! Don’t wait for persecution to learn to pray. It may come. And sooner than we think.

How amazing - He calls ME friend!

I AM A FRIEND OF GOD - ISRAEL HOUGHTON

State of the Union Address

(picture from grandhaventribune.com)

Here in America, we regularly sit in front of our televisions or other internet accessing devices, to watch the leader of our great country expound on the state of affairs under his control. We call this the State of the Union Address.

Here in the Williams’ household, my husband and I occasionally sit down and discuss the state of our union. This fall we’ll celebrate thirty-seven years of a terrific marriage and, no doubt, this educational discussion plays a role in that longevity.

But let’s expand further. Every relationship we’re in is a union. What’s the state of those unions? Some are in disrepair and in much need of an overhaul. But, where do we start?

It’s hard to work on any relationship when only one of the parties in the union is aware that there are problems; perhaps impossible. One spouse doesn’t make the marriage work. There are plenty of marriages where one spouse (or perhaps both) is “putting up with” the other without saying a word. So, in name, the marriage exists, but the relationship is not “working”. In order for it to work well for both parties, information on the state of affairs needs to be communicated back and forth.

The same is true about all relationships, be it parent/child, boss/employee or friend to friend. In order for both parties to benefit fully from the relationship, it needs to work for both of them. Now, in a boss/employee relationship if the boss is getting what he’s paying for and the employee is content with what he’s being paid, in essence it’s working for both of them. Perhaps that’s all the relationship necessary. However, the more disclosure there is about what’s expected from each party, the more satisfactory the relationship will be.

In many relationships, we assume what’s expected of us; and we assume the other party knows what we expect from them. Not so. We all know what happens when we assume. Yet, we continue to do it.

This may be a lame example, but, if I assume Dave expects me to put his clean laundry away for him, I might be surprised to discover that it annoys him completely that I mix his socks with his underwear. We can avoid that frustration by discussing the issue. He can put his own clothes away, or I can learn his little idiosyncrasies. But without communication, a simple frustration can eventually lead to a big argument.

The same goes for all of our friendships. If we value our friends, we owe it to ourselves and to them to explore a state of the union address when necessary. We may be burdening ourselves down needlessly. We may be imagining offense where there is none. Or we may be the source of another’s exaggerated frustrations.

Now, unlike our president’s state of the union address, where there is no intelligent exchange of ideas, simply a rendition of what’s on the paper or teleprompter before the most powerful man in American politics [ahem], we can actually benefit by our commitment to the exchange of ideas about how things sit within our relationships. One person can never have absolute say over the union if the other is to feel valued.

One of my favorite scriptures comes from an Old Testament book: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD:” ~ Isaiah 1:18 (KJV) Our Creator goes on to say, “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

Even in His omnipotence and in His mercy, while pouring out elaborate grace on us, He invites us to reason together with Him. By example, He teaches us to reason with each other.

Who came to mind? What relationship in your life seems one-sided? Pray over the idea of exploring a state of the union exchange with that person, entering the conversation with grace and instruction from God. Divine insight goes a long ways.

This state of the union address is simply a conversation addressing the state of your union.

Sisters VS Friends

“Friends are the sisters I picked out for myself” – that’s what it says on my new favorite mug, and I love it! My precious friend gave it to me in a restaurant the other day and her son told me to pour my soda into it. Always one to oblige a child when I can, I did. The waitress loved the mug, too. Since then I’ve enjoyed coffee, tea and even chicken noodle soup from this big, meaningful mug. Another incredible friend gave me a mug that reads, “God is using you for His special purpose – to shine His light, to share His love, to shape His people.” What an awesome revelation to take to heart. God uses all of my sisters and friends this way, whether they know it or not.

The ladies are my friends and they’re also my sisters.

Sister vs friends: You sometimes get mad at your sisters, but then, that happens with your friends on occasion, too. Friends are there for you – when you let them know you need them, but yes, sisters are, too. Sisters were born into your family, but friends just prove that families grow. You discover new things about your friends all the time, but there are mysteries about your sisters you need to find out about, too. Some friends come in and go out of your life, but sisters can choose to do so, too. Sisters confide their secrets into your secret-keeping vault, but if you couldn’t do this with your friends, too, they probably wouldn’t be your friend for long. Friends can betray you, but so can sisters. Friends love you like sisters!

Is there a difference between sisters and friends? I will argue, no. No discernable difference at all. (Who knows, maybe one of your parents has a secret and your best friend is even your sister by birth!)

Proverbs 18:24 tells us in part, “…there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.”  I’m going to feminize that and tell you there is a friend that sticks closer than a sister… God has blessed me with some of these amazing treasures and they’re worth more to me than gold. Thank you to all my sisters and friends for being there with me and for me in this journey called life! I love you all!



Ezer Part 5

If something is worth holding on to, it’s worth fighting for. When we’ve been joined together in a holy union, before God and man – that union is worth fighting for. Not much pleases the enemy more than dividing what God has joined together.

Don’t look back to past marriages or failed relationships. Fight from where you are, for what you have now. Looking back upon our broken relationships may reveal flaws in ourselves we need to work on, but we cannot look back and feel guilt over what God has already forgiven. God casts our sins and failures into a Sea of Forgetfulness and doesn’t remember them anymore. When we repent (turn away from) the sins and mistakes of our past, God no longer sees those sins and failures because His Son Jesus stands in the way, saying, ‘Now she is mine, I’ve cleaned her slate, she gets to start out fresh and new today and every day she belongs to me. Her heart is one with mine, I’ve given her a new name and a new mission.’

When soldiers are in battle, they forge forward to gain ground. When the battle slows, they can tend to the wounded around them. Forge forward as the strong warrior called alongside your husband, tend to his wounds as well as to the wounds of others as the battle slows. But keep your eyes on the Master, follow the commands and leading of your ‘General’ and He will see to it you come through triumphant. There will be casualties of war, because there are those who will insist on fighting in the battles without establishing the true and firm foundation from which to wage war. And there will be those who try to fight someone else’s battles. God has equipped you to fight the battles He has already seen the enemy contrive against you.

To be continued again.....

Ezer Part 3

Any one we wish to receive love from is potentially in a very powerful place. We give them the keys to unlock the essence of what’s in our hearts, hoping to exchange with them the phenomenal source of life: love. But love is not always returned. Trust is often laughed at, behind our backs until the charade is revealed. Whether it’s a playground playmate that betrays our friendship or our first love that betrays our trust; the hurt our hearts suffer seems insurmountable. We learn to trust again, either out of hope or desperation. Someone comes along and sends out the signal that they can be trusted with our heart. Or someone comes into our life that challenges us to reach into their heart to love them. A knowing that there’s a place in them that needs to be caressed – and a place in us that needs to be filled.

I want to back up for just a moment to my opening greeting, which may have been puzzling. When God created man, He created us male and female. The female part was, in the original Hebrew, called the ezer. An ezer is one shaped to harmoniously fit together with the male part, but created to be his strong, warrior ally; the part of him that fights for him when he is weak or chooses not to battle himself. Together they can successfully bear the image of God and advance His kingdom. Nothing can frustrate our common enemy more, so he perpetually seeks to destroy the union between man and his ezers. To look at our society we find proof enough to see that the battle of the sexes rages forcefully.

We ezers often want independence and to tout superiority over the man instead of coming along side of man and stand in battle with him. Being fifty years old, I’ve encountered men along side of whom I would choose not to stand. But those are not the men that God has called me and created me to stand with. Through the years too, Satan has regularly lied to me and tried to tear me away from the man God created me to stand with. Praise be to God, Satan’s strategies, though powerful and hurt-filled, have not succeeded.

To be continued again....