LEST WE FORGET!

I am concerned with the way Christians are dealing with Christians, using the examples of the harsh-toned discipline of Christ to the money changers in the temple; the fray between Paul and Barnabas over Mark; Paul's rebuke of Peter and the church for putting more on the Gentile converts to Christ than they themselves were able to bear.....etc.

To see Christ as harsh, and demanding as a pre-requisite, as an example of how we are to treat each other, is hurtful and offensive to my vision of the Savior. Some may say that I have created my own Christ and He is not the Christ of the bible but I would answer that the Christ of the Bible is the True Christ and is the Christ that has brought me to salvation and to an understanding of His great love for all.

He is the Christ who said, "Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more." "Rise and be healed, your sins are forgiven." "Suffer the little children to come to Me." I will never leave you nor forsake you but will be with you to the end." My sheep know My voice." "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Was Christ passionate about His Father's House being a House of Prayer? You bet! It was His passion that drove the money changers out of the temple. Was He passionate about the corrupt teachings of the religious community that was used to manipulate and control the people? You bet!

Was Paul justified in his refusal to allow Mark to accompany his group on their next mission? He may have been, but we see Barnabas pleading on Mark's behalf and then leaving Paul's group and taking Mark with him. In the end, Mark is restored and Paul and Barnabas are still brothers. Who was right? Only God knows.

We are given specific instructions for correction in the church and are also instructed to do it with love, remembering that 'but for the grace of God, are we.'
If we are being harsh and demanding on our fellow laborers, I submit that it is not God's way. What is done for Christ must be done out of a heart of love for Him. Our goals will not be accomplished any other way. If we are using a tough, harsh, demanding type of leadership, it speaks of manipulation and control.

Even when we must turn and leave the one who will not receive instruction and turn him/her over....the very thought is so that somehow, someway they might be saved.

So then, do we just allow a fellow laborer to walk in error and in slothfulness? No! We do have to address these situations as they arise, but we must move cautiously as these are the children of the most High God and He will deal with us according to how we have dealt with others. Remember, He used heathen countries to overrun Israel to discipline Israel, but those countries were punished according to their wickedness toward Israel. Be careful, how you deal with God's children.

God is Just but He also is the God of Love. Bathe everything you do.....in Godly Love.

WE CAN TRUST HIM!

There are times when we may not be sure if we are where God wants us to be. Have we obeyed His calling and direction, or are we on a path that we have set for ourselves?

It is not easy sometimes, to discern that still small voice, that unction that we sense when seeking direction for the project, the occupation, the vocation, the relationship or just the day. Many times we are influenced by our own wants, desires, ideas and then the waters get murky. I suppose that most of us have found ourselves in the middle of a decision that we have made, realizing that perhaps, it may not have been God's idea after all.

So now what? Do we abandon the current decision, project or whatever we find ourselves involved in or do we make the best of the situation, move forward.....or cut our losses and jump ship?

It's not an easy decision to make but there is an answer and it is found right where we should have started to begin with. Seeking Him and His righteousness and all the things that we need, including wisdom, knowledge, and understanding will be given to us. He instructs us to ask for those very things and they will be given us.

So if we seek Him and His righteousness, put Him first above everything and everyone, will we know, for sure, that this project, idea, etc., is His perfect will for us? Not always....but we can know this, if we have put Him first, confess we may have made a mistake, He can turn that mistake into good. He can cause it to produce a blessing that perhaps you did not anticipate when you began or He can bless your decision abundantly beyond what you could have dreamed or envisioned.

We cannot trust ourselves because our hearts are deceitful but we can trust God to watch over us and answer us when we bow before Him and allow that we cannot do this alone. The Word says for us to "ask, if we lack wisdom, and it would be given to us, without condemnation." (James 1:5) And the Word goes on to say, in James 1:6, "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed."

Is the Word of God true? Then what say ye?

We can trust Him!

REFLECTIONS

It's not like I haven't been here before....you know....where the road you were on suddenly changes and you begin to wonder if you missed your exit. Your GPS is turned off and your mind is busy mulling over what you have accomplished up to this point and what is on the to-do list for this day and the days ahead....and suddenly you become aware that the road seems unfamiliar.
I would imagine that many of us have experienced similar situations as this on a road trip to somewhere....but perhaps we do not always realize in our day-to-day world a very similar, subtle transition may have happened.
A good example of finding our roles changing with us sometimes struggling to shift gears, is when our children transition from needing our watchful eye, into becoming adults themselves, very capable of finding their own way just as we did. Sometimes, we keeping offering advice when it is not asked for; we keep instructing them in their choices, when they are now responsible for their own conduct; we keep anticipating a need and try to meet it without them ever hardly recognizing they had a need.
If we learn nothing else from this kind of behavior, hopefully, at some point we will realize we are on a different road now and our role has changed. It is to our children's harm when we continue to try to hang on to the control of their decisions beyond the time when they need to be making their own. They sometimes see what we do as interference in their lives and think we don't trust them to handle things on their own.
Boom! We missed our exit. We missed that transition where we became cheerleaders and sounding boards, available if needed, ready to advise if asked, and fully trusting that they would find their way because you equipped them to do that in the 18 years you had them in your School of Life. Now there are hurt feelings, strained relationships, nothing seems to go just right, resistance where there should be none.....wrong road....wrong role.
God has a way of still teaching us, even after we are off the 'milk' and into the 'meat' of His Word. He gives us the freedom to find our own way once we know His Son as Savior and Lord. He teaches us through His Word and life experiences how to seek Him in the decisions we make, the direction we take......but sometimes that road we were on transitions to the next level and we are still trying to move forward on the 'old road'.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 teaches us that there is a time for everything. Sometimes when we are struggling with changes that are inevitable, we resist because what we are doing, the road we are on is familiar, comfortable....when in reality, we are switching lanes to set us up for the transition exit to our next assignment.
God won't make those decisions for us because He wants us to make the right decision for ourselves. When we fully trust His plan for us, we will become more willing to let the Holy Spirit (our Heavenly GPS) direct us in making the transitions that are going to continue to honor God and build His Kingdom.
In reality, we were called here for a purpose, and as long as we remain committed to follow His calling and leading, He will propel us forward on this highway to Heaven. For at the end of this journey, lies Home.

HAVE YOU LOST SOMETHING?

HAVE YOU LOST SOMETHING?

It looks like it has been about 3 weeks since I visited this blog page but so much has happened over the past three weeks, that it has been a blur.


My son, Michael, and daughter-in-law Lenora and their grand daughter, Trinity came down from Washington and spent a week with me and it was awesome. It had been four years since I had seen them and so much life has happened in the four years.

Trinity told her grandma and grandpa that they should just spoil great grandma while they were here and that is exactly what they did. They were such a blessing to me and I love them and appreciate them so much.

After they returned home, my grand daughter, Elisabeth, came home on R & R from Afghanistan. she was able to spend about 9 days with me before she had to return. She is always a joy to me.

While Elisabeth was still in Afghanistan, she purchased a miniature dachshund puppy for me and had her flown to Tulsa on June 30th. This little puppy is just the greatest little puppy ever born and what a little miracle worker she is!

She loves everybody unconditionally, she is full of joy and energy and I am sure her greatest desire is to be able to talk. Her little eyes are full of life and she communicates so much with them. She makes me know that God had a purpose for everything that He created.

When she is getting sleepy and wanting to go to bed or when she is loving you, she makes this little humming sound that gives you a sense of peace, a sense that everything is just right in her world.

How awesome would it be if we could be more like Molly, trusting that everything will be okay, trusting that even though our world can feel like chaos sometimes, that it's all in the hands of the One who loves us and it will be okay; trusting that His grace is sufficient for today and leave tomorrow in His hands as well.

I pray for all of us, that we will be found trusting that the life He has given us was born out of purpose and love and that He will never leave us or forsake us but will be there with us, even to the end.

"He that clings to 'his' life shall lose it and he that loses his life for My sake, shall find it." Matthew 10:39

Sharon Wilbur "Out of Zion"

LET GOD BE TRUE & EVERY MAN A LIAR!

June 28, 2010 - Monday
LET GOD BE THE TRUTH & EVERY MAN A LIAR!
Just wanted to give you an update and let you know that God is still in control!
Today has been the most amazing day of the Lord. Our altars filled in both services today with people who are hungry for the genuine move of God. Hungry for God Himself, to step into their lives and make their lives count in this generation.

I saw people come to the Lord today. I saw people re-commit their lives to Him today. I saw people filled with the Holy Spirit today. A little 4 year old girl from our congregation was bitten by a snake today and sent to Tulsa via ambulance because the weather would not permit her being flown. I heard the report from Tulsa saying that aside from the bites marks there was no evidence of a snake bite or any harmful thing in her blood! I saw God at work among His people today. I see Him preparing us for what is coming in this generation.

How about you? Are you satisfied with how your relationship with God fits into your lifestyle? Or are you hungry for a real relationship that will cost you everything? It will be worth it!

THINK ABOUT IT....

This morning as I was reading a daily devotional, one of the comments struck home with me. In 1Corinthians 3:16, the scripture says, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" The commentator of the devotional re-worded it to say, "Do you not know that you are the Tablernacle of God (in the earth)....."

That caused me to think... The writer went on to speak of the Tabernacle that God had Moses to build. With intricate detail, each piece and part of the Tabernacle was constructed according to very specific instructions that God gave to Moses. The Tabernacle was the place where God was going to dwell on the earth. It represented His presence on the earth. But today, that Tabernacle constructed and put together by man no longer exists.

The scripture tells us in John 1:14, that the WORD (Jesus) was made flesh and "dwelt" among us, (and we beheld His glory.....)full of grace and truth. So while Jesus was on earth, He was God with us, dwelling in a Tabernacle of flesh. He was the presence of God on the earth, wherever He went. He said, if you've seen me, you have seen the Father. Again, He said I abide in the Father and He abides in Me.

He told us that when He went away, He would send another Comforter and that He would abide with us forever, "He will dwell with you and shall be in you." Even though I am very familiar with the scripture that tells us we are the temple of the Holy Ghost, today, I am compelled to reflect on what it means for God, the Holy Spirit to Tabernacle with me. It's even too awesome for me to grasp!

Shouldn't I represent the presence of God then, to those who are around me? Shouldn't I then, bring the comfort of His presence, the knowledge of His mercy, the faithfullness of His lovingkindness? Wherever I go, shoultn't I be the Cloud by day and the Fire by night? How is it, that the Awesome God of the Universe, would dwell, Tabernacle, in me? I am full of flaws and imperfections, sin. How can it be?


The only knowledge I have, the only answer to the question, is the BLOOD Of JESUS covers me. It clothes me in perfection, with perfect design and purpose that God placed in me before I was born and justified me by the sacrifice of His Perfect Lamb, Jesus Christ.

How then, should I walk before men?