Friday, April 16, 2010

Boundless love...

Boundless Love with Loving Boundaries

If you have read my blog in the past you might have read my posting on Lessons from a Schnauzer.  Oh, that little loving pup or ours is in some ways like my prodigal son, in that she is  used by God to teach me more about Him.

Over Easter weekend, we had an incident that only happens thankfully once in a while.  I am always praying against this happening because I am fearful of the consequences.  Elsa, is a Schnauzer who is very true to her calling, she loves children and loves to ‘hunt’.  Schnauzers were bred to mind the kinder and keep the vermin at bay on the farms.  Even when she hears children on the Television or radio she perks right up and would love to join the kid party.  As to her inquisitive nature to hunt and chase after ‘vermin’ she would constantly be off to the woods and who knows that we would see her again.  She even thinks that she should investigate the deer that are always roaming through the property.  So in light of her natural calling we are not able to let her run free.  If we are out she must be hooked to something to keep her from doing her ‘Schnauzer thing’.  It sounds rather cruel but she knows that is the way it is and the leash has just become a part of her life.

Like our own human nature every now and again, Schnauzers like ourselves need to have a taste of freedom.  Elsa’s latest fling without the leash came on Easter Sunday as we were getting ready for church.  My daughter and I were the last to head out and I asked her where Elsa was and she thought she was possibly downstairs.  Knowing that the kids were not in the house I suddenly entertained a thought that I really didn’t want to think about.  I went downstairs with a heavy heart knowing that she was nowhere to be found in the house.  I hollered up to my daughter and said Elsa must be outside to which she opened the door and promptly tried to coax her back into the house.  All to no avail for all the coaxing in the world was not going to ruin this fling with  freedom.  By the time I ran up the stairs and grabbed the leash and headed out doors she was springing  for the highway leaping like a lamb through the front yard and I imagined hearing her yelling, “I’m free, I’m free…”  I began to pray immediately to the Lord beseeching Him to not let her get hit on the road as the cars were coming up and down the hill.  Yes, she leaped across the ditch and across the road she went up the neighbor’s driveway.  I continued my praying, pleading with the Lord to please keep her safe and direct her homeward.  We were all calling for her as I am sure she continued in her little puppy mind, “I’m free, I’m free…”  Then, (thank you Lord!) she turned around and headed back home, darting past my son-in-law heading right to my oldest grandson, Zachary.  I said gently, “Grab her and don’t let go!”  Which he did and then they came over to me and I promptly took her and put her on her chain by the kennel.  She only uses the chain and kennel when we have to be gone for a time and have no one to watch her.  Or, sometimes just so she can be out and about when it is nice out.  Then off to church we headed.  I was praising God the entire way to church that He kept her from harm and returned her to home.

Well naturally my immediate application was regarding a loving God who gives us loving boundaries for our good.  For Elsa it is the leash and for us it is in the Word.  For a long time I resisted some of God’s boundaries because I wanted to maintain my freedom.  I realize now that I make enough mistakes as it is without thumbing my nose at a bunch of rules, regulations and warnings.  There is this sin nature that we wrestle with that is directly contrary to our Christ-like nature.  It is a battle that we will wage until we go home to glory.  But if we consciously live our life desiring God’s ways instead of ours we will provide less opportunity for the enemy to trip us up.

Paul tells us himself how he too very wrestled with doing what he was not supposed to do in Romans 7:15

For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.”

I am amazed that Paul would openly admit his struggles.  And for me it is freeing to know that a man of Paul’s character—although probably not very often—struggled with sin.  He understood sin’s character and the impact it leaves behind.  (I think we would call that consequences.)
Sometimes, we may only struggle with seemingly small issues and the Bible warns us with a blinking yellow light like the following verse:

1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."

And search the word fool and see the many ways the word shows up.  Like in Psalm 14:1 and 53:  that says only fools say there is no God; Proverbs 1:7 says that fools despise wisdom, and discipline; Proverbs 1:22 says that fools hate knowledge!  I could go on and on for there is much for us to learn about fools and foolish behavior.

It is sometimes these grey areas that are not terribly obvious that can be used to trip us up and lead us astray.  All for the sake of “freedom”, freedom to choose what I will and will not allow myself to get into.  I know that for years I have struggled with thinking I know best what is and is not good for me.  It is just crazy how a little time here or there can leave a lasting impression on us when we spend time where we probably should not.

There is this book of God’s Word that is full of practical wisdom that God Himself has given us to keep us safe and to warn us about old behavior patterns because in His lovingkindness.  He wants us to be safe and continue to grow more and more into Christ’s image.  There will be times when we will succumb to old patterns or we may take a risk and do something that could put us in immediate danger because we have not heeded the warnings from our loving Father.  We will suffer the consequences from blatant disobedience and sometimes we may just realize that we slipped without much thought as to what we may have done. Then we repent and we say, “whew, I am glad I didn’t continue down that pathway.”  So whether it is not ‘completely’ telling the truth, a little flirtation with the opposite sex, watching that thing on the television that stirs old feelings inside of us or reading the same, all of these little blinking yellow lights are flashing when we enter into the danger zones of life.  But, there is something that we can do to heed the warning signs.  For me it is this check in my spirit when I know that I shouldn’t continue down a certain pathway and the key is just acknowledging the danger sign, backing out, and praising God for His Holy Spirit that protects us in essence from ourselves helping us to crucify our sinful nature.  Freedom is wonderful but not freedom that bites back or is only fleeting!

Father, my sweet little girl could have been a spot on the highway in her quest to run to places she had never been before.  I confess my desires can be  much the same.  I ask forgiveness for ignoring Your loving boundaries that are in place for my good.  I know those earthly desires that can sometimes screams at me to just give it up for a season of ‘fun and freedom’ but I  have done this enough to know how easily I can get trapped and caught up.  I am grateful for your Word to me in Corinthians that says that “No temptation has overtaken [me] but such as is common to man and God is faithful, who will not allow [me] to be tempted beyond what [I] am able.  And with that temptation will also provide the way of escape also, that [I] may able to endure it.”  If we go off a bit too far You provide a way for us to escape.  Help me to be listening and willing.  Thank you Pappa for Your amazing love that only wants the very best for those You love!  Amen.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Pleasing God or Man?

I want to please my Father!

As I conclude the series on strongholds-- that keep us from experiencing the abundant life that God has promised us--I want to look at a couple of things.

·    If I am tuning in to what God’s will is for my life, then I am going to have to know His voice and respond in obedience when He calls.

·    By getting to know and recognize His voice I should be able to detect when the enemy comes along to pull me off track.

John 10:27
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

Am I willing to forego pleasing men to be in the will of my Father?

There are times it seems that so many things pull and vie for my attention and all I really want to do is what my Father has called me to do. But, there is this voice over here that says how good I might be at that task or asking me if I could serve on this committee; and there was that burning desire in my heart to take up that cause so near and dear to me. Oh, there are so many things that are calling my name. But then there are also the negative voices that say you are crazy if you think that you can do that or go there, or you are so unqualified to be even thinking of doing that job. But, I just want to please my Father.
God can call us to do some pretty out-of-the- box things that people sometimes do not see as ‘God’ things. Would you respond and how would you respond to a friend who decides to move to the inner city to minister with a group of like-minded folks who see the lost and hopeless as another facet of God’s treasure? I don’t just mean a two week stint, I mean until further notice that will be the residency of that friend and his/her family? You might respond by saying that they are just too radical and throw all the ‘what if’s’ at them. Would you try to convince them that they should not be thinking of doing such a crazy thing after all consider your family? And you might fire right off with whether they were really certain that it was God’s voice that they were responding to, right? These do seem to be pretty valid questions!

I absolutely love when I run into or hear of someone who is so sold out and convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are doing just what God has called them to do, radical or not. These are people who care about one thing and that is being obedient to their God-calling! The coolest part of this is that amazing things can happen when we are obedient to our calling.

The flip side of this is when we succumb to the nay-sayers that keep us from taking that step forward by considering man’s opinion over God’s calling, even if we know we are capable. On the other hand, you may appear to be totally unqualified according to man’s standards and yet God calls you in spite of your lack of qualifications and you do something you never imagined that you could do.

A few years back our church lost its worship arts director. She was a gem that the Lord brought to usher us into a contemporary worship service. Our church decided to hold two services, one traditional and one contemporary. Her husband, after three years with us was called to serve at a different church and we were left without our worship arts director. She had asked me several times if I were interested but I just never believed I was qualified. I have minimal musical training but I love to worship. That was all I had to go on. After much persuasion and prayer I finally succumbed to the request and really gave it my best for a year. Friends, emotionally, it was one of the most difficult years I have ever had, I believe, primarily, because I allowed the varying comments of too many to cause me to doubt that I was doing what I was called to do. This affected the team, who lost confidence in me and began to resist my direction.

It was a horrendous year and I have often wondered if I became too concerned with making the team members happy, or did I just not belong in that position? After all I was only there until someone came on board who was a ‘true’ director? I prayed and sought the Lord big time! I love the element that worship brings to the Sunday service and I love to worship, and I so wanted this to work out of my worshiper’s heart, but I leaned more on people’s varied opinions instead of my Father’s direction. I remember screaming out loud one morning, “Lord, I just want to please You!” Well, circumstances at home would present a difficult summer ahead and I resigned the position after a year to be available to my mother who spends the summer with us. God knew I would not have the time required for the job and that I would be needed at home and frankly, it was a huge relief!

At the radio station where I work, we run into so many opinions from our listeners and music is the subject that causes the most dissension. Some years back, we had a difficult time when we clearly felt the Lord was calling us to change our music emphasis to primarily praise and worship. We were headed in a top 40 Inspo format and three of us distinctly heard the calling from the Lord to open the music format up to praise and worship. Yes, it was different and yes, most stations were not going in that direction. Our calling was to raise a canopy of praise over northern Minnesota and Northwestern Ontario. We were called to help usher in the presence of the Lord in a very hardened and dark region. We definitely ruffled feathers and it would have been much easier to try to flex to fit the opinion of many listeners. But the risk in compromise is that you lose sight of your calling for the ministry and what it is that God wants to do. We have to remember our focus, our calling, our purpose and that God, the creator of the universe, has positioned us to accomplish His purposes and His voice is really the voice we need to be listening to, not the opinions of hundreds of people who may or may not know what that calling is. Yes, it is difficult and people can be hurt or upset if when we do not consider their opinions.

So why is it so…hard to move in God’s direction? Most of us want to be loved and accepted and I do not know anyone who likes rejection, but if you are doing what you are called to do you very likely will take some heat for choosing to please God instead of man. But, how precious are the words of our Father as we read of the parable of the servants who tended to their master’s business while he was off in another country!

Matthew 25: 20-21So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'”

Father, I love You so much and I truly want to ‘dance’ for You and serve You with all my heart. But sometimes I hear voices that cause me to second guess whether I am doing the right thing. I am asking that You help me to know You more and to recognize Your voice when You call me to do Your will. I so want to hear you say well done, Kimberly; you have served Me well…enter into the joy of your Lord!” Your word says in Proverbs 16:7 that “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” The rewards for walking in obedience to Your calling are well worth the difficulty that can come when we are a God-pleaser! Thank you for giving me the courage to press on for Christ’ sake and in His name!