Where your focus is, your heart will follow. I have heard this before in many places, but it was highlighted this morning in my time in the opening portion of Genesis 11.
Many are familiar with the story of the Tower of Babel, how the men of the land of Shinar find the area and settled there. They begin to consult with one another rather than with the Lord. "They said to one another, 'come, let us make bricks and burn them throughly.'" (Genesis 11:3 ESV)
I imagine one guy tells another and they begin to work on their plan and others join in and no one has turned their eyes to the Lord as weeks pass. The bricks gather and the men work hard, not even realizing all their effort is in vain.
Psalm 127 reminds us, "Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain."
As the piles of brick grow and their focus on self increases, the men then consult with one another again, "Come let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth." (Genesis 11:4 ESV)
How quickly our focus turns to self. We are so full of self that we are drowning in the depression, the sadness, the pridefulness, the selfishness. Our eyes are too enamored with what we see in the mirror to turn them upward to the only One worth gazing at. We think self loathing and shame help us be humble when all the while we are still self focused. We build towers to the heavens only to be our own gods and all the while our souls are rotting away in the sin of it all.
Oh to have the heart of the psalmist! "I lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:1 ESV)
So where is your focus today? Are you navel gazing or hill gazing?
How does we turn these eyes back to the One we were made to look to? What if we literally looked up, cried out and asked Him, "Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderous things out of Your law. Fix my eyes on Your ways." (Psalm 119:18, 16 ESV) He just might do as He promises and meet us where we are and give us eyes to see.
Friday, October 18, 2019
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
teaching not just telling
Recently, the passage in Exodus 4 where God is calling Moses to something beyond him, was brought to my attention. I haven't been able to stop mulling it over. This is the place where,
after proving His Presence by showing Moses the miraculous sight of a burning bush that isn't being consumed, God gives Moses his next assignment.
"Go to Pharaoh that you may bring My people out of Egypt."
Daunting, impossible task for this has-been palace dweller turned shepherd. But God gives him a magnificent assurance. "I will be with you." God Himself was intending to go with Moses every step of the way. He is a Present God who never leaves or forsakes us. But this Truth wasn't enough for ole' Moses. He kept pressing the Lord. He kept looking at himself rather than looking at his God.
Don't we do this sometimes? Don't we spend more time navel gazing and working on the excuses of why we shouldn't and can't do the very thing God is saying: "Yep this task- this one is for you. I have done this more times than I care to remember. Always pondering if and how I can do something rather than just trusting the God Who knows me better than I know myself and calls me to a task in order to bring Him glory.
Moses tries to pre-think, something I am good at too.
"I am not eloquent (who said eloquence was required?)" Moses explains to the One who made his tongue. God reminds him of that very truth: "Yes, I know, I made you, remember?"
And then God tells Moses something that has been flashing in my mind these last couple weeks.
"Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak."(Exodus 4:12, ESV)
God did not intend to TELL Moses what to say to Pharaoh. He intended to TEACH Moses what to say. He intended to TEACH him how to lead and bring His people out of their captivity.
This is especially interesting because Moses, was in a self-made captivity of sorts when God met him in the wilderness. Moses had sinned, failed God and his people. He had murdered a man and out of fear and conviction he ran. I wonder if, in a way, he was doing what Adam did in the Garden--run and hide. Unseen among the sheep in the Judean wilderness, he likely felt he was secluded. Until the One who sees all saw him and appeared to place a calling on him far beyond his imagination.
God does that you know. He calls the messed up, broken sinner to accomplish His purposes. He calls us with a divine calling to His glory and excellence, knowing FULL WELL our failures, mistakes, sins, and short-comings.
Why? Why bother? I really think it's like He told Moses, He desires to TEACH us what to say, write, do whatever so that we, the weak and broken, display His grace and goodness in a way that draws others to Him.
So what is He calling YOU to do? What is the assignment you feel unworthy to walk in? He finds us in the very wilderness where we're trying to hide and comes with a calling so He might teach us to display His goodness and grace for all to see and glorify our Father in Heaven.
"Go to Pharaoh that you may bring My people out of Egypt."
Daunting, impossible task for this has-been palace dweller turned shepherd. But God gives him a magnificent assurance. "I will be with you." God Himself was intending to go with Moses every step of the way. He is a Present God who never leaves or forsakes us. But this Truth wasn't enough for ole' Moses. He kept pressing the Lord. He kept looking at himself rather than looking at his God.
Don't we do this sometimes? Don't we spend more time navel gazing and working on the excuses of why we shouldn't and can't do the very thing God is saying: "Yep this task- this one is for you. I have done this more times than I care to remember. Always pondering if and how I can do something rather than just trusting the God Who knows me better than I know myself and calls me to a task in order to bring Him glory.
Moses tries to pre-think, something I am good at too.
"I am not eloquent (who said eloquence was required?)" Moses explains to the One who made his tongue. God reminds him of that very truth: "Yes, I know, I made you, remember?"
And then God tells Moses something that has been flashing in my mind these last couple weeks.
"Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak."(Exodus 4:12, ESV)
God did not intend to TELL Moses what to say to Pharaoh. He intended to TEACH Moses what to say. He intended to TEACH him how to lead and bring His people out of their captivity.
This is especially interesting because Moses, was in a self-made captivity of sorts when God met him in the wilderness. Moses had sinned, failed God and his people. He had murdered a man and out of fear and conviction he ran. I wonder if, in a way, he was doing what Adam did in the Garden--run and hide. Unseen among the sheep in the Judean wilderness, he likely felt he was secluded. Until the One who sees all saw him and appeared to place a calling on him far beyond his imagination.
God does that you know. He calls the messed up, broken sinner to accomplish His purposes. He calls us with a divine calling to His glory and excellence, knowing FULL WELL our failures, mistakes, sins, and short-comings.
Why? Why bother? I really think it's like He told Moses, He desires to TEACH us what to say, write, do whatever so that we, the weak and broken, display His grace and goodness in a way that draws others to Him.
So what is He calling YOU to do? What is the assignment you feel unworthy to walk in? He finds us in the very wilderness where we're trying to hide and comes with a calling so He might teach us to display His goodness and grace for all to see and glorify our Father in Heaven.
Saturday, September 14, 2019
run or fight
Just wanted to share a word of encouragement from my time in Psalm 78 this morning.
Whether you are going through major trials in this season, like illness or marital struggles, or if you are about to start another school year with your homeschooled children or sending your young adult child off to college for the first time, Psalm 78 has a word for us.
In verse 9 it says the Ephraimites armed with the bow, turned back on the day of battle.
They were well armed. They had their bows ready. Yet when the going got tough, they turned back. They turned away from the battle for which they were armed. This is what they were armed for!
Those of us in Christ are also armed for the battle. Ephesians 6 tells us to put on the full armor of God to be ready when the fiery darts of the enemy come for us. We have the armor we need, and yet, we often back down from using it in the very battles we face.
Those of us in Christ can put on the belt of Truth, the breast plate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation with the sword of the Spirit in our hand. But then we have to apply it, use it, go with confidence into the battle ahead.
The hard battle is to keep our heart and mind on truth, making the God honoring choices, standing on truth when our feeling argue, being guarded with the faith that says I act as if God is telling the truth. We will remember truth and trust God over our own feeling and fears when we get the bad news or walk through the scary seasons or have to relinquish our child to what the Lord has for him.
So let's put on the armor and then go forth in this battle knowing He has seen us through trials before and will do so again for His great glory and good.
What is so interesting is that this verse is right here in the midst of this generational theme.
But after praying this through with the Lord, it makes perfect sense...passing on our faith to the next generation is certainly a huge battle. But it is not one that we have to lose. It is one that Jesus has won. He arms the next generation too! But we have to be faithful to tell them and to pray for them. As the battle rages before us in this media driven world and as our kids (and us!) are attacked from all angles, remember your armor! Stand firm, do not shrink back, you are armed. So will you run or fight?
Whether you are going through major trials in this season, like illness or marital struggles, or if you are about to start another school year with your homeschooled children or sending your young adult child off to college for the first time, Psalm 78 has a word for us.
In verse 9 it says the Ephraimites armed with the bow, turned back on the day of battle.
They were well armed. They had their bows ready. Yet when the going got tough, they turned back. They turned away from the battle for which they were armed. This is what they were armed for!
Those of us in Christ are also armed for the battle. Ephesians 6 tells us to put on the full armor of God to be ready when the fiery darts of the enemy come for us. We have the armor we need, and yet, we often back down from using it in the very battles we face.
Those of us in Christ can put on the belt of Truth, the breast plate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation with the sword of the Spirit in our hand. But then we have to apply it, use it, go with confidence into the battle ahead.
The hard battle is to keep our heart and mind on truth, making the God honoring choices, standing on truth when our feeling argue, being guarded with the faith that says I act as if God is telling the truth. We will remember truth and trust God over our own feeling and fears when we get the bad news or walk through the scary seasons or have to relinquish our child to what the Lord has for him.
So let's put on the armor and then go forth in this battle knowing He has seen us through trials before and will do so again for His great glory and good.
What is so interesting is that this verse is right here in the midst of this generational theme.
But after praying this through with the Lord, it makes perfect sense...passing on our faith to the next generation is certainly a huge battle. But it is not one that we have to lose. It is one that Jesus has won. He arms the next generation too! But we have to be faithful to tell them and to pray for them. As the battle rages before us in this media driven world and as our kids (and us!) are attacked from all angles, remember your armor! Stand firm, do not shrink back, you are armed. So will you run or fight?
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
the next generation
I have spent some time in Psalm 78 lately.
This call to tell the next generations of God has been dancing on my heart lately. With all the swirling and evil and sin in this world, with the increasing depravity our children have to see and hear about all around them. Where is there any stability and hope? What can we possibly offer the next generation as they embark on their quest to take up the baton of faith?
Children are the future. Cliché maybe, but true. Not just the ones we have personally birthed or adopted. But the children of our siblings, our neighbors, in our churches. the next generation is our responsibility. All of them. For us of us in the faith to pour into.
Psalm 78 says,
This call to tell the next generations of God has been dancing on my heart lately. With all the swirling and evil and sin in this world, with the increasing depravity our children have to see and hear about all around them. Where is there any stability and hope? What can we possibly offer the next generation as they embark on their quest to take up the baton of faith?
Children are the future. Cliché maybe, but true. Not just the ones we have personally birthed or adopted. But the children of our siblings, our neighbors, in our churches. the next generation is our responsibility. All of them. For us of us in the faith to pour into.
Psalm 78 says,
"He [God] established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children,
that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children,
so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God,
but keep His commandments;
that they should not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast."
God gave His word, works and wonders for one generation to tell the next and the next SO THAT they would set their hope in God. So they would have a place to securely set their hope.
Then history doesn't repeat itself. Then revival comes. Then generations are marked by Christ, for Christ, and many are saved.
So as a generation how are we doing? Are we faithful to invest in the next generations? Or are we buried face deep into screens and selfish pursuits that we miss the very reason we are called to know His word, works and wonders? You and I are commanded to teach, tell and not forget! So who are you investing in this very week?
Sunday, August 11, 2019
left to himself
God left him to himself, in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart. (2 Chronicles 32.31, ESV)
Some of the scariest words in Scripture. Left him to himself. To himself.
What do we come to when we are left to ourselves? To our own wretched hearts. To our own decisions, our own strength, our own sinful lusts and desires. To ourselves.
Upon reading this, I instantly felt my heart leap with fear.
Oh God, I have seen glimpses of the wretchedness of being left to myself. To remedy my own insecurity, my own emptiness. I have seen past the veil of my own heart and it is a dark place, Lord. Never. Never leave me to myself, Lord. I am so very desperate to cling to You. I have no other hope. No good lives in me. Jesus alone.
Hezekiah was left to himself, not after a season of trial and sin, but rather in a season of healing and prosperity.
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pic by Lynn Clemson Fritzinger
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Oh how vulnerable we are when we think we've got this all figured out. Pride creeps out of our wicked hearts and begins to make itself known in a fresh way. Look what I have, what I accomplished....Me. Me. Me.
Hezekiah had been so blessed, so healed. But not one bit of it his own doing. But where did he point when the envoys of Babylon came sniffing around? To the One who heals? The Blesser and Giver of all good and perfect gifts? Weak in his natural man, like me, when given the opportunity to point to God and glorify Him, instead points to self.
God misses nothing.
He saw Hezekiah's motive and his response. He knew in advance what it would be. Oh and still our gracious God healed and blessed. Such grace.
So, God left him to himself, in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart. Not for God to know, He already did. But rather for Hezekiah to know.
The God of all grace, and mercy, and love comes, at times, to test our hearts, to prove us genuine. Not for His own knowledge. He has all knowledge and intimately knows the heart of man.
No, God tests hearts so we will know. So, we can see the sin we are capable of apart from Him.
Had He never left him to himself, would ole' Hez have ever come to repentance? Would he have ever come to know and trust God in the same way? Depend on Him so desperately? Not likely.
Why not?
We are so good at tricking ourselves, though often no one else is buying it. Tricking ourselves into thinking we've got this, and we believe our own hype. Before we know it then, we come to the point of believing ourselves to be indestructible. We would never admit it. But one day, before we know it and while we are still seeped in the word, our pride throws a shovel full of dirt over us. We realize we dug this hole ourselves, wearing the blindfold of our own pride, hiding us from the reality of our own sin.
But when our eyes are opened to the reality of who we are and the sin we are capable of, suddenly we recognize our desperate need for Him. Our daily desperate need for Him. It's grace, really.
Sweet grace that brings us back to our Savior. Sweet grace that pours out over us to wash clean the wretched sinner. Sweet grace that reminds me constantly to press into His side because without Him, I am at a complete loss and only steps away from another ditch.
Never leave me to myself, sweet Jesus, lead me only ever near to Your side.
God misses nothing.
He saw Hezekiah's motive and his response. He knew in advance what it would be. Oh and still our gracious God healed and blessed. Such grace.
So, God left him to himself, in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart. Not for God to know, He already did. But rather for Hezekiah to know.
The God of all grace, and mercy, and love comes, at times, to test our hearts, to prove us genuine. Not for His own knowledge. He has all knowledge and intimately knows the heart of man.
No, God tests hearts so we will know. So, we can see the sin we are capable of apart from Him.
Had He never left him to himself, would ole' Hez have ever come to repentance? Would he have ever come to know and trust God in the same way? Depend on Him so desperately? Not likely.
Why not?
We are so good at tricking ourselves, though often no one else is buying it. Tricking ourselves into thinking we've got this, and we believe our own hype. Before we know it then, we come to the point of believing ourselves to be indestructible. We would never admit it. But one day, before we know it and while we are still seeped in the word, our pride throws a shovel full of dirt over us. We realize we dug this hole ourselves, wearing the blindfold of our own pride, hiding us from the reality of our own sin.
But when our eyes are opened to the reality of who we are and the sin we are capable of, suddenly we recognize our desperate need for Him. Our daily desperate need for Him. It's grace, really.
Sweet grace that brings us back to our Savior. Sweet grace that pours out over us to wash clean the wretched sinner. Sweet grace that reminds me constantly to press into His side because without Him, I am at a complete loss and only steps away from another ditch.
Never leave me to myself, sweet Jesus, lead me only ever near to Your side.
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