Seeking Him Early

January 25, 2016

6:00 a.m.

Buzz, buzz, buzz.. I hear the soft whirring off my cellphone alarm and slowly drift towards consciousness. Reaching into my nightstand drawer I feel the hard surface of the smart phone screen and swipe across it to turn it off. Still groggy with sleep and enjoying the warmth of my soft blankets, my mind starts to fill with excuses to sleep just a little longer. You’ve had to get up for both Justin and Alexander during the night; you deserve to sleep a little longer. You’re going to be so tired today if you get up now. You can always spend time with God later sometime, maybe when Alexander is napping this afternoon or tonight when the boys are in bed and Jason is at fire practice.

I force those thoughts away. The truth is NOW, in the quiet of the early morning, is the best time to spend with God.

Our wedding text and one I’ve been reminded of recently states:

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33) Not do it later.

David writes in Psalm 5:3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

God speaks in Proverbs 8:17 I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.

Resolutely I pull myself out of bed and pull my robe snugly around me. In the kitchen I turn on the kettle and then get comfortable on the couch.  After reading and meditating on Psalm 4 and 5 and spending time in prayer I turn to my Bible study book. The timely topic is on putting God first in our life and how if we do that, everything else falls into its correct place.  It then directs me to look at Psalm 119 and the value of spending time in God’s Word.

God’s Word:

Cleanses us (verse 9)

Revives and strengthens us (verses 25 & 28)

Comforts us in our afflictions (verses 50 & 52)

Is more precious than thousands of coins of gold and silver (verse 72)

Makes us wise (verses 98-100)

Gives us understanding and light (verses 104 & 130)

And gives us great peace (verse 165)

Just the night before when doing devotions with Jayden we had read together about being plugged into our ‘Power Source’ based on Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. In contrast Jesus says in John 15:5: Without me ye can do nothing.

The truth is that waking up early to spend time at Jesus’s feet is not going to make me more tired, but quite the opposite; it recharges me, gives me focus and sets a solid foundation for the whole day!  God fills the emptiness in my heart that can never be filled with anything here on earth so I don’t waste my day looking for it elsewhere. In His presence is great peace and fullness of joy. (Psalm 119:165 and 16:11)

He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life!

“He had come for sinners who could never get it right, and than just like the snow now blanketed the dirty earth HE would perfect us and clothe us with HIS righteousness.” That thought stayed with me. I knew on my own I would fail and could never be perfect, but what did it mean for Christ to perfect me?

Digging deeper into God’s word I found glorious truths. Matthew 7:7-8 says:

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. And God is not a man, that He should lie; (Numbers 23:19)

Instead He instructs us in Jeremiah to: Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Jeremiah 33:3

The truth is that we don’t need to live in fear or failure. Jesus came not only to give us eternal life but also abundant life.  John 10:10b says: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

How does he do this? In John 14:6a it says: Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: And just like He combatted Satan’s lies with truth when He was tempted in the wilderness, He is our Truth. And through Him and His Word we can combat the lies of Satan, the world and our own sinful self. Psalm 60:12 says: Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies. (Psalm 60:12)

We can resist the devil with the Truth. James 4:7b Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. John 8:32 says: And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. And later in verse 36 it continues by saying. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.           

We are a new creation in Christ Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. Sin no longer has dominion over us. Instead we can find freedom and an abundant life through Jesus, Who alone is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

What are you struggling with in your life? Dissatisfaction? Fear? A sense of failure? What is the lie you are believing? Look to Christ and His Word for the truth. The Truth will set you free.

I remember struggling with fear when I lived in Haiti, particularly during election time. It was common to hear gunfire, explosion, screaming and sirens.  More then once we were forced to go on lockdown where we weren’t allowed to leave our home and fear crept in.

I remember clearly that the Holy Spirit directed me to the Truth. And the truth against that lie of fear was:

2 Tim 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

1 John 4:18a There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear:

Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

I memorized those verses and clung to the Truth and overcame my fear. I found freedom through Him and in Him.

Ever since the Garden of Eden the devil has continued to plant seeds of doubt and deceit to trick us and to wreak havoc in our lives, but Jesus has come that we might have life and have it more abundantly. John 10:10b I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

What temptation are you struggling with right now? What lie are you believing? Look to Christ, ask Him to show you through His Word the Truth that will set you free!

He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life!

Jesus is Enough

I knew it could happen; this enchantment of living in the land of plenty.

God Himself warned the Israelites about it in Deuteronomy when they entered the Promised Land.

 For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills;

A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey;

A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.

When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.

Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Deut 8:7-11

And although I knew it could happen to me too, transitioning from the Third World to North America, it crept in so slowly, so sneakily, that I didn’t realize what was happening till it smacked me in the face.

I was falling for it.

The old lie.

That if only I had this, or looked like that, or did this, I would be happy.

Satisfied.

If only, just that one more thing, then I would stop wanting.

But it was a lie.

The next thing was never enough.

It filled me like junk food and left a stomachache in its wake.

And then, not long afterwards, I would feel the emptiness again,

My search for the next best thing would continue and the cycle would repeat.

And repeat.

And repeat.

Just yesterday it hit me in the face.

I had believed a lie.

That somehow, something other than Christ could fill the void in my heart.

But it was a lie.

The truth is that Jesus IS enough.

God is enough.

If I have Him, I have all I need.

“Though flesh and heart should faint and fail,

The Lord will ever be

The strength and portion of my heart,

My God eternally.”

Psalter 203:4 (based on Psalm 73:26)

The truth is: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Mark 8:36

The truth is that: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Ps 23:1

He wants me to stay focused and seek His kingdom and His righteousness and then, when I keep that as my center, everything else will fall into its correct place.

Matthew 6:3 Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.

Only He can truly satisfy us and fill the void in our hearts and lives.

O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Psalm 90:14

Fullness of joy is only in His presence.

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Ps 16:11 

Wholeness. Joy. Contentment. Peace. Everything our hearts desire, is only found in Him. 

Perfection.

December 27, 2015

Gazing through the living room window I stare in wonder at the swirling snowflakes creating a sparkling white blanket over the dirty, brown earth.

Today is my 30^th birthday and for once I’m the first one up. Normally, long before the sun comes up little figures start to appear at my bedside, with whispered words like: “Mom, I’m so hungry.” or “Mom, can I play Ipad!” or just “MOOOOM” (which in Alexander’s baby language means “I’m done sleeping! I wanna come out! Now!”). But not this morning; for some reason they’re all still sound asleep and I soak in the golden silence of the moment.

Standing there, wrapped warmly in my housecoat, I silently thank God for giving me thirty birthdays and for His special gift of snow! After the past seven tropical birthdays a winter one with snow is definitely a special treat!

30, I really should really have my life together by now, I muse.  In the weeks prior to this milestone, I had already come up with a whole list of new resolutions that were going to make me perfect somehow. 

These included:

Being thankful for what I had, instead of always wanting more.

Being a God pleaser, instead of a people pleaser.

Abiding in Christ.

Loving others.

Not judging.

Talking less, listening more.

Taking the time to understand others.

Showing grace to others and remembering that every one has their own trials and struggles.

Showing grace to myself.

Praying.

Encouraging others.

And treating every day like it’s my last and my best.

(And of course there was the: eat less chocolate, exercise daily and drink more water; but that seemed to be a yearly standard on my resolution list!)

It all sounded wonderful of course, but standing there now, I realized something. I couldn’t do it. Regardless of how wonderful those resolutions may be I was going to fail. I was going to get tired; I was going to get cranky; I was going to get frustrated; and I was going to fail; and fail again and again and again.

I thought back to Christmas day, only two days prior, and how I so badly wanted the day to be perfect. But it didn’t take long for perfection to mar. We were running late for the Christmas day church service, and I for one HATE rushing, so I got frustrated with my husband and then as I was rushing the kids out of the van and into church, Justin face planted on the icy parking lot so he started to scream and howl. As I dragged him to the nursery, people around us tried not to stare and I struggled to keep my composure. Inside, I was frustrated, angry, disappointed; this was NOT how I pictured Christmas day going at all! And right then and there God ever so gently reminded me that that was why Jesus had come. Because we were broken people, living in a broken world and only He could come to save us. I needed to stop trying to be so perfect and stop trying to make everything so perfect because it was in the imperfections and brokenness of this life we saw our need for Him.   

He had come for sinners who could never get it right, and than just like the snow now blanketed the dirty earth HE would perfect us and clothe us with HIS righteousness.