Hope and Passion Ministries

When UNDERNEATH Is More Important Than OVERCOME

Posted on July 10, 2010 by admin

Have you ever failed? You prayed, you hoped, you tried . . . and you failed. You really meant to overcome. But there you were, unable to succeed.

I recently had another opportunity to prevail in a particular area of trusting the Lord in which I had failed numerous times before. Were I to share the circumstance, some might say it is not big deal. Yet, it is a big deal, because I have tried again and again to commit this fear to the Lord and be one who overcomes.

I returned home having to hang my head as I realized how weak I truly am. I cannot even wholly trust the Lord in an area so many others find so simple. As I began mentally to beat up myself, our God of everlasting mercy spoke gently to my heart.

“It is more important to humbly realize your dependence on Me than to be proud of your own self,” He seemed to say. “In my infinite wisdom there are times when I know it is more important to be underneath my mercy than to overcome the circumstance,” I felt Him whisper.

Oh, Lord, this is difficult for an aspiring perfectionist such as me. Yet, I feel so safe knowing God is working on the core of who I am.

This musing of mine is not an excuse for failure or lack of trust in anybody’s life. Rather, it is a call to remember who’s who! God is God, and I depend wholly on Him. My only strength comes in knowing – and having to be reminded – that I am a humble human being who desperately needs Jesus to hold me every step of the way. My striving and subsequent failure vividly brings this dependence to the forefront.

King David knew the secret; He had been brought low by many encounters with his own sin and inadequacies. Thus, he said, “Though the Lord is on high, He looks upon the lowly, but the proud He knows from afar.” (Psalm 138:6, NIV)

When we are lowly, brought down by circumstances and our own finite humanity; let it remind us of the beauty of humility in God’s sight. Let it focus our minds on a God whose love and mercy are so pervasive that He chooses to strive with lowly people like us.

I love you, Lord, for reaching down to me.

Not a Hoof Left Behind

Posted on July 5, 2010 by admin

“Therefore, our livestock too shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we shall take some of them to serve the LORD our God. And until we arrive there, we ourselves do not know with what we shall serve the LORD.” – Exodus 10:26 (NASB)

There exists nothing that is off limits to God. I do not mean just the general stuff of the universe; I mean the very things of our own lives. Everything – absolutely everything – must be yielded to the Lord if we hope to walk in His freedom.

Who knows what God will require of us? The one thing that is certain is that He expects our willingness to give to Him anything. Therefore, at all times we must stand ready to hand over some particular component of our lives.

When exasperated by the plague of darkness over the land of Egypt, Pharaoh angrily told Moses to leave Egypt with all the people, including the Israelite children. However, Pharaoh stipulated that the Israelite flocks and herds be left behind. One can only imagine how tempting it might have been for Moses to take the offer and run, given the horror suffered by the enslaved Hebrew nation to that point. But Moses remembered God’s clear directive to leave the Egyptian land in order to worship the Lord. An exit at this point would be disobedient; a departure under these circumstances would prohibit Moses and the Hebrews from offering whatever sacrifice God would require.

Moses stands wholeheartedly before the God He trusts and proclaims to the powerful Egyptian ruler that he and his people will not leave without every last Israelite animal. Moses explains that God will require some of those animals as sacrifices; and because it is not currently known which ones, all must go with them.

How accurate a portrayal of the stance each Christian must have when it comes to the proper entrance to freedom! We do not yet know what God will require of us, so we will take everything with us to Him in anticipation of our sacrifice!

The final plague – the death of the firstborn – will bring the ultimate deliverance of the Israelite people. Ironically, that plague is brought on by Moses’ refusal to leave Egypt without every last animal. Had Moses given in and left without all of God’s requirements, what would have happened? In God’s scheme of things, the willingness to give it all precipitates the genuine freedom we gain because of the death – and resurrection – of Jesus.

Do not hold back. Know that God requires everything. Do not allow the difficulty of yielding any and all of your life to stop the Lord’s plan of deliverance for you. Let the words of trusting Moses resonate in your mind, “Not a hoof shall be left behind.”

More Than We Can Imagine

Posted on May 23, 2010 by admin

A trampoline is a load of fun. Of course I am talking about the big trampolines with protective netting around the sides. It would be an understatement to say that I jumped quite vigorously in one with my nephews yesterday.

Does projecting yourself vertically many feet into the air and landing in an “Indian style” sitting position, only to shoot right back up on both feet in the same bounce sound like vigorous trampoline work? Well, repeat that motion time and time again without stop. Then, add two little boys to the situation who ask you constantly to “bounce them higher” by forcing yourself to jump higher and harder. This is the stuff of trampoline heaven.

During one of my stints on that trampoline yesterday, I remember a distinct thought as my body rose into the air, enabling me to nearly brush the leaves of the surrounding trees. It was a beautiful day, and the feeling of nearly flying beneath the sunshine brought to mind a point from Ephesians 3:20 (NIV): God’s ability to do immeasurably more than all we can imagine – according to His power working in us.

As a type 1 diabetic of 26 years, I am thankful to Jesus for His sustaining, healing power in my body. By His grace, I have been active and have exercised most of my life. And, although I will suffer great soreness after being on that trampoline, I was exhilarated by the feeling of every part of my body – every muscle – being used to propel me up and all about. It felt like freedom. You cannot help but laugh while you are jumping like that, and you cannot help but feel like you are young all over again – like you have the world by the tail.

God reminded me while bouncing in that silly trampoline that we do have the world by the tail! We are free.

I want God to use every part of my life for His glory. I want to be totally spent for Him. How good it felt to have every muscle and joint used to “fly” yesterday. How good it feels to have every thought of our mind, every emotion of our heart, and every movement of our body used up by God; that is freedom.

It is hard for me to imagine that I can jump like I did. I know that someday soon I won’t be able to in the same way.

Sometimes it is also difficult for us to imagine that God could move through us mightily. But here is the key: God is able to do immeasurably more than what we can even imagine!

So get on the trampoline of life and let God use every part of you, while we wait for the day our resurrected bodies will literally jump again too!

Healed Bruises

Posted on May 20, 2010 by admin

Bruises hurt. The soreness of a significant bruise on my right wrist may cause me to be very careful about using my arm for a few days. I may become apt to slow down, be too cautious, and miss out on activity because of the tenderness.

The Bible tells us that Jesus came “to set at liberty them that are bruised.” (Luke 4:18b, KJV) We humans get bruised spiritually in this life. While physical bruises are ruptured blood vessels resulting in pain that can cause hesitation, spiritual bruises are hearts broken by sin’s effects. These bruises of the heart can stultify our emotional lives and compel debilitating cautiousness.

Whether we read in the King James Version of the freedom bruised ones receive, or we read in the New International Version of the release of the oppressed; the Greek word implies that we are broken, shattered, and blown to pieces in a spiritual sense.

Jesus came to free us from the effects of sin’s bruising. Do you feel stifled by the guilt of your past? Are you hesitant to enter into God’s plan for your life because of sin’s effects? There is no bruising effect from which Jesus cannot set us free!

Some spiritual bruising is the result of our own rebellion against God’s righteousness. Some bruising comes because we suffer under the general effects of sin: broken relationships, illness and disease, disabilities, economic hardship, emotional weaknesses passed down through generations, and dozens of other agonies.

Know this: “Jesus came to set at liberty them that are bruised.” His shed blood and resurrection from death provide the healing for our bruises.

Please do not allow the enemy to steal from you the glory of moving forward each day in God’s plan without hesitation.

Our past sin will not stifle us.
Our former failures cannot make us stagger.
Our undeserved heartache will not command dawdling.
Our suffering bodies will not make us tentative.

We are resolute and ready to pursue every dream and purpose God has for us. Why? Because Jesus has set us free from life’s bruising effects!

Shark Bites Or Dog Bites?

Posted on May 18, 2010 by admin

Shark bites or dog bites? Burglaries or identity theft? Americans killed by terrorists or Americans who die from seasonal flu?

As Newsweek reports in its “Back Story” of the May 24 & 31, 2010 issue, “. . . much of what we worry about today is based on hype rather than reality.”

The same Newsweek edition notes that while 28 Americans suffered shark attacks last year, 4.5 million suffered dog bites!

2.2 million burglaries occurred in 2007, while 8.3 million people had their identity stolen in 2005!

In 2008, 33 Americans were killed by terrorist attacks around the world, while 36,171 died from seasonal flu!

Perhaps our concerns in this world are often misplaced; so, too, in the realm of the spiritual.

The statistics above demonstrate that we often dread extraordinary things while the ordinary destroys and kills. We become accustomed to exalting hype. We forget to pay attention to the seemingly mundane . . . until the seemingly mundane proves its exceptional nature by actually giving us something with which we must reckon. We may fear a terrorist while the flu kills us.

Speaking of fear, I am quite concerned that we Christians have misplaced apprehension. We are so busy worrying we might not have or accomplish what culture expects of us; all the while, we are losing the battle with the powers of darkness. For the Christian, the real and daily battle is in the world of the spirit.

We all know Ephesians 6:12: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” But do we realize that while we are busy worrying about how our houses and cars compare to the neighbors’ possessions, demons of hell are tearing our souls apart at the core because we don’t perceive the danger of refusing to pray incessantly?

Do we shun the social stigma of not keeping up with the latest prime time television shows more than we care about the dark authorities and powers who have made it their aim to destroy our wholehearted devotion to Jesus and our determination to study His Word?

While most fear cultural hype, we ought to have a healthy respect for the spiritual battle taking place each moment that we live!

Only a fool would fear shark bites more than dog bites as he walks through his neighborhood each day.

And only foolish Christians would fear the death of worldly aspirations more than the death of our faith.

God, please help us discern the real battle.

Is That Hole Really A Portal?

Posted on May 17, 2010 by admin

When disappointed to see a hole six inches in diameter near the top of a thick, evergreen bush of ours; I assumed the obvious defect was the result of the severe winter’s huge icicles. I had knocked from my roof numerous icicles measured better in feet than inches. As soon as the beautiful spring weather made obvious the unnatural cavity near the top of our bush, I became annoyed at the disfigurement. “What needless damage,” I thought, as my mathematical mind longed for symmetry and completion.

Just a few days later, my husband – knowing how I love birds – excitedly asked me if I had seen the baby robins yet. “Where?” I asked. You can guess his answer . . . “In the bush under the kitchen window.” I rushed with my little nephews to see the oddly cute baby birds. How precious they were tucked away in the six-inch recess of our otherwise perfect bush. What a secure nest in which they rested, safely on the inner branches of the evergreen.

So, after all, the annoying hole in my bush is not just a hole, it is a portal . . . to new life. The dark cavity I thought a result of the random damage of winter months was a truly purposeful haven where life could begin.

And so it is with our God of creation. He shows us that holes can be portals. He shows us that seemingly bad or needless things can – in all reality – be entrances to life.

Romans 5:3-4 says, “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (NIV)

I can no more definitively explain how suffering results in hope than I can explain how robins construct sturdy nests with little beaks, or how God brings tiny birds out of eggs and makes them grow.

But I know this, for people redeemed by God through Jesus, behind every dark recess there is the victory of life. For the Christian, every abyss of suffering is truly a portal to perseverance, character, and – ultimately – hope. I have known no suffering not accompanied by the need to persevere; I have known no trial that could not result in increased character, and I have known no heartache that the hope of Jesus could not soothe.

Our suffering is not an inconvenient hole in the otherwise orderliness of life; it is a portal to hope when viewed through the perspective of God.

And, even now as I write this devotion, the baby robins chirp, “Amen!”

Of Fountains and Vacuums

Posted on May 16, 2010 by admin

When we turn away from God, we are not simply turning to something “not quite as good” as God; we are veering toward a veritable vacuum. When we choose to disregard God, we actually descend into a vortex that sucks the vitality of life from the core of us.

Our Creator spoke through the prophet Jeremiah, “For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” (2:13, NASB)

Evil number one: people turn from God, who is – metaphorically – the Fountain (or Spring) of Living Water. As earthly springs provide a fresh flow of natural water, so God is the source of real life and joy. Spring water is not produced through our efforts, but rather enjoyed when we come near and drink. The supply is endless; it just keeps coming, and we drink happily though we’ve not had one bit to do with the water’s production. The refreshment is ours; the production is His.

What utter shame it is that we would walk away from the source of all life and joy. It is more than a shame; it is sheer evil to forsake the One who provides.

Evil number two: people turn to man-made cisterns – broken cisterns – that can hold no water. Make no mistake; when we abandon the Fountain of Life, there is no hope of gathering life in containers of our making. Whatever containers we fashion to feebly attempt to hold joy – riches, successes, relationships, fit bodies, etc. – they simply cannot hold life. As with broken cisterns, real joy leaks out – sometimes oozing, sometimes gushing.

Living for God and living for something else are not opposites. Living for something other than God is the absence of genuine life. As broken containers leak water, so people turned away from God leak the essence of life.

God is the Fountain, the Giver of all good things. All else is a broken cistern, sucking from our soul true vitality.

What is evil? To turn from the Source of Life and turn to a vacuum, thinking we have somehow done better for ourselves. Come back to God.

A Hymn to God the Father – by John Donne (1572-1631)

Posted on May 10, 2010 by admin

Wilt thou forgive that sin where I begun,

Which is my sin, though it were done before?

Wilt thou forgive that sin, through which I run,

And do run still: though still I do deplore?

When thou hast done, thou hast not done,

For I have more.

Wilt thou forgive that sin which I have won

Others to sin? And, made my sin their door?

Wilt thou forgive that sin which I did shun

A year, or two, but wallowed in a score?

When thou hast done, thou hast not done,

For I have more.

I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun

My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;

But swear by thy self, that at my death thy son

Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore;

And having done that, thou hast done,

I fear no more.

He Will Get Us There!

Posted on May 4, 2010 by admin

Do you wonder how you’ll get to where you need to go? Do you doubt that you’ll make it to the destination God has for you? If you’re thinking destination with a capital “D” – Heaven – let’s add to that the myriad, smaller harbors along the way as we traverse this life. How will we make it?

We must embrace the exciting truth of one of the most overlooked, under-appreciated verses in the Bible, John 6:21.

Here, John relates to us the power of Jesus to manipulate the very fabric of space and time for the safe transportation of His followers to their destination! Unbelievable, science fiction-like action is displayed here. But this is not fiction. This is the Maker of reality manipulating reality under the feet of His followers!

After Jesus walked on water to get to His disciples’ boat out on that old sea, our Savior was finally invited into the vessel. He had to convince His friends that He was not a ghost, as His supernatural power overwhelmed them.

Although Matthew and Mark focus more on the water-walking, John zooms in precisely on the next miracle: So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

Astounding! That boat was transported supernaturally to the shore. Overpowering space and time, Jesus carried the vessel of His feeble-minded followers! In an instant – without added effort and rowing – there they were, at the other side!

Why did Jesus manipulate the fabric of the created universe that day? Of the infinite number of reasons God may have, we can be sure one is for our current comfort. We need tangible examples of God’s control of circumstance on our behalf.

Who knows how Jesus will transport us to tomorrow, or past this difficult trial, or over this heart-wrenching disappointment, or to the future years of our life, or through the tumultuous times of our culture, or over the anxiety that would destroy us?

But He can. And He will . . . if we will let Him into our boat.

Troubled by the Tribulation

Posted on April 30, 2010 by admin

Recently a group of second grade students at my school was very much troubled by the tribulation. Some had become fixated on the number “666” as their little minds pondered the end times. A few had actually become afraid of the devil’s work as the day of Christ’s return approaches.

As a principal who loves my students and loves the Word of God, I was happy to visit the classroom personally and attempt – by God’s Holy Spirit – to calm these precious souls.

I emphasized three basic points for these adorable, inquisitive kids:

1) The reality of God’s power and control,
2) The reason for Jesus’ second coming for Christians, and
3) The status of heart Jesus wants us to have regarding the end of time.

I found that the reiteration of these basic, Biblical principles did me a world of good! I hope a brief discussion of each vital concept will lift your heart today.

1) The reality of God’s power and control

Follow-up: No one made God because He is the biggest and most powerful. He had no beginning, and no one can stop Him or His plan!

Question: Who made Satan?
Answer: God.

Follow-up: Though first created as Lucifer, an angel of light, the devil is only a created being. Therefore, He is nothing compared to God, His Creator. He is no match for Jesus in any way, shape, or form! (Even in the desperation of the end times.)

2) The reason for Jesus’ second coming for Christians (based on Hebrews 9:28)

Question: Why is Jesus coming back the second time?
Answer: To rescue us!

Follow-up: We are forgiven because Jesus came to Earth the first time to bear our sins on the cross.

When He comes the second time, He will rescue us from all of sin’s effects and influence.

In the Greek, the word for “salvation” here is equated to “deliverance” or “rescue.”

Jesus is coming back to make us completely safe! No more will we battle sin, no more will people hurt one another, no more will anyone be sick or die.

3) The status of heart Jesus wants us to have regarding the end of time.

Follow-up: When we think about the New heaven and the New Earth that Jesus is making for us, we ought to do so with a heart that is untroubled.

Though Jesus has left the Earth for now, He wants us to know that He is completely trustworthy. He made this world and all its glorious contents, and He is making the next world. The difference is that the world to come will be perfect and complete because God will have His way unhindered there!

In the meantime, do not become unduly focused on the details of the end of time. Rather, become intently focused on the God of all power, Who is returning to rescue us, and Who wants us to be untroubled in the meantime.”

May this response to a second grade concern comfort our adult hearts. God’s Word is beautiful in its simplicity for all!

Disturbing News About the Millennial Generation

Posted on April 28, 2010 by admin

In this post, I refer to the April 27, 2010 USA Today article by Cathy Lynn Grossman titled, “Young Adults Less Devoted to Faith.”

I guess the title of the article begins to tell the tale. True Christians are not devoted to faith so much as we are devoted to God. Somewhere along the way, we as Christians have failed to communicate that we are not adherents to a religion; we are partakers in a relationship. I believe the root of this failed communication is not our failure to tell the truth of the core of Christianity, but to live the truth of the relationship.

In a world of relational disconnectedness despite a technological link to nearly everyone and everything, people long for an intimate relationship with the One in whose image they are made. Please remember, God is triune; Father, Son, and Spirit have been loving One another and relating perfectly to One another forever. God is relational. I find it no accident that the enemy of our souls is demeaning relationship and promoting shallow contact.

Josh McDowell said it well in Beyond Belief to Convictions (2002), “The core of Christianity is far, far more than a set of true propositions; it is the news of ‘a God who is passionate about His relationship with you.'” (p. 86) It seems we Christians have neglected reflecting that passion. Are we living like we have truly received that passionate love from God? Are we showing the people around us that we love to hear God’s voice through His Word, that it is crucial to us that we talk to Him always, that His plan is at the forefront of our daily decisions, and that He gives us joy to live?

The USA Today article sadly reports the following absolutely unbelievable facts:

36% of 18-29-year-old people who “believe they will go to heaven because they have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior” RARELY OR NEVER READ THE BIBLE!

68% of the same group DID NOT MENTION FAITH, RELIGION OR SPIRITUALITY WHEN ASKED WHAT WAS “REALLY IMPORTANT IN LIFE”!

Herein lies the problem: The devastating statistic about Bible-reading held up to the light of II Thessalonians 2:9 (NASB), which says, “. . . and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.”

This pivotal verse does not say that people die because they refused the truth. It says they perish because they refuse the love of the truth.

Perishing because we do not receive the love of the truth.

The Bible is the only tangible communication we have on earth from God to hold in our hands and have saturate our minds. It is the link to the One we say we love with all our hearts. God’s Spirit promises to illuminate its truth to us. And yet, 36% of people who claim Christianity rarely or never read it. God please help us.

Let us ask these questions today. Where is my Bible? How worn are its pages? How much are its words hidden in our hearts? How often do we carry it with us? Who sees that we love the truth?

Who Is God’s Favorite?

Posted on April 27, 2010 by admin

Students always envy the “teacher’s pet.” Siblings tease about who is mom’s favorite. Employees long to be “in good” with the boss. Why?

Clearly, teachers wield moderate power in the educational context, parents have a tremendous impact during our growing-up years, and supervisors definitely influence our professional lives. But, would you not love to be a favorite of God?

God is sovereign over every realm. Now, I understand that being the teacher’s pet has fleeting advantages, and promotions may come easier when the boss has high regard for us; but what are the infinite privileges of rapport with the One who owns galaxies, causes flowers to bloom, provides breath to all people, and decides just when and how to close out this chapter of human history and usher in a perfect world? I want an advantage with Him for sure!

Hold onto your hat, because favor with God comes in a way you might not expect . . . bearing up under suffering for doing the right thing!

For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly . . . but if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. (I Peter 2:19-20)

And there it is – simple, but not so glamorous. Straightforward and rock-solid, but not fitting the appetite of this culture. No matter, for we know the One who transcends the ebb and flow of civilization, the One who fashioned our soul with His own hands and understands that our heart’s real need is His approval.

Therefore, stand strong. Do right. Do not sway in the midst of fervent attack against virtue. Though the fury of hell comes against your soul and even brothers turn to enemies, be not dissuaded from acting rightly. Allow no excuse for sinful reaction.

Though you are mistreated, neglected, ostracized, and castigated for doing what God calls you to do; persevere with your mind fixed on Christ and your heart wholly yielded to God.

Of two things you can consequently be sure: His Spirit will fuel your arduous journey, and the favor of the Maker and Sustainer of the universe will rest on you.

No one can imagine what glorious reward awaits the person who is favored by the One who tells both galaxies and electrons what to do!