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Do You Know What You Have?

“For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Mark 4:25

Recently God captured my attention with a portion of scripture from Acts 3.

It begins with Peter and John heading to the temple at the hour of prayer. As they were about to enter, a man who had been lame from birth asked them for money. Peter responded with something the man did not expect.

And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. Acts 3:4-5

I wonder how many times this man had lived this very scene. Verse 2 reveals that he was carried and laid daily at the temple gate to ask for alms. I imagine the monotony of the routine left him with little expectation. I wonder how many temple visitors passed by pretending not to see him. Still others may have tossed him a coin without ever actually looking at his face.

And yet this day, Peter and John gazed right at him and asked him to do the same. “Look at us.” Their response got his attention, stirring the lame man’s heart with hopeful expectation. These two would surely provide him something.

But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. Acts 3:6-7

I can only imagine what the man must have thought in that life-changing moment. He extended his hand to receive coins from a stranger. Instead a hand raised him to his feet. And immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.

Most of us can’t remember our first steps. This man, lame from birth, would never forget his.

And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. Acts 3:8-10

Are you desperate to experience wonder and amazement at the hand of God, dear one? I am. I long to see God reveal Himself again in our midst. And I believe what I desire is something God longs to give.

You see, Hebrews 13:8 declares simply,

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Jesus hasn’t changed, dear one. If our experience of Him has changed since He first birthed His church, that only leaves one explanation. We’ve changed.

What’s different now? Take a look at Peter’s words when he addressed the crowd to reveal the power behind this miraculous healing.

And his name [Jesus]—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. Acts 3:16

Faith in the name of Jesus gave a lame man perfect health. Legs that had never stood before lifted him to his feet. Muscles that should have atrophied from years without use carried him into the temple. And he didn’t just walk. He leapt.

What had been dead came alive, all because of faith. Sounds like the Gospel message to me.

But whose faith, dear one?

This is the part of the story that intrigues me most. You see, it wasn’t the faith of the lame man that ushered in his miracle. It was Peter’s faith that produced a work of God on his behalf.

I can’t seem to let go of Peter’s words to the lame beggar.

“I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”

Peter knew what he had. He knew exactly what was available to him through Jesus. And he knew he was free to give it. He believed, and his belief poured out blessing on a man who had no faith.

I wonder, dear one. Do we miss seeing Jesus reveal His glory in our midst because we don’t know what we have to give? Do we simply no longer believe?

Perhaps it’s a good time to revisit our opening scripture.

“For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Mark 4:25

Jesus repeats those words five times in the four gospels. [See Matthew 13:12, Matthew 25:29, Mark 4:25, Luke 8:18, and Luke 19:26] I think He may be trying to get our attention.

At first glance Jesus’ words appear confusing. How can God take something from someone with nothing?

Take a look at His words again.

From the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

What if Jesus’ words reveal that this man’s problem isn’t really that he didn’t have, but rather that he didn’t acknowledge and use what he had? The consequences are clear. If we don’t use it, we lose it.

You and I need to know what we have, dear one.

Let’s not allow unbelief to quench the Spirit of God in our day. It’s not our place to tell God how He should move. He manifests His Spirit through each of us as He chooses (1 Corinthians 12:11). But if He’s going to release His work through you, He will require something of you.

A little faith.

Opening the Gift of Joy

. . . I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:11-13

Last week we discovered in scripture that we are abundantly blessed and lavished in grace. In case you missed it, take a moment to revel in the wonder of Ephesians 1:3.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

God the Father has spoken every blessing available to us in Christ over each of our lives. Do you know what that means, dear one? Nobody has a greater blessing than you.

I know what you’re thinking. You see a lot of people with sizeably greater blessings. You have friends who have better jobs. Your neighbor has that great car. There’s that one family at church that always takes those amazing vacations. Your sister has those perfect kids.

You don’t feel equally blessed. Perhaps you even feel forgotten.

I’d like to suggest to you that’s precisely how the enemy wants you to feel. That’s the reason he continually shifts your gaze to worldly blessings. If he can convince you God has not blessed you, you won’t walk empowered by your blessing. Then he can keep you right where he wants you: defeated under his oppressive yoke.

I think this is a perfect opportunity to ask God to help us “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2).

You see, the blessings available to you in Christ are far greater than the fleeting blessings the world offers. That fabulous car can be smashed to rubble in one terrifying moment of impact. That great job can disappear tomorrow. Truth be told, so can those perfect kids.

And our emotions can spiral in a frenzied plummet from overjoyed to nearly suicidal as what we trusted for our happiness reveals its frailty. What we imagined was so sturdy and certain suddenly cracks and shatters in an instant. Our joy shatters right along with it.

Until Christ returns in perfection and restores this earth to its sinless state, nothing is certain. Nothing, that is, except Jesus.

And He offered up His life on the cross to pour out blessings in your life that are otherwise unattainable. What’s more, they can’t be taken from you. You can only lose them if you deny them or give them away.

Maybe we should take a minute to count some of those blessings.

Salvation, forgiveness, redemption, holiness, love, adoption, purpose, joy, peace, power . . . the list goes on.

Let’s settle on joy for a minute, a blessing we all long for that often remains elusive. Joy is a spiritual blessing spoken over you by God and guaranteed through Jesus. Jesus Himself spoke of His priority for joy in your life in John 15:11.

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Beloved, your heavenly Father has blessed you with joy—the fullness of joy. It’s a gift of grace poured out through His Son that He desires to see manifested in your life.

Listen carefully, dear one. No one has been blessed with more joy than you. Joy is not a blessing God gives to some but not others. He didn’t skip over you with that one. His Word tells us He blessed you with every spiritual blessing. Your circumstances don’t dictate it. No matter what is happening in your life, you are meant to experience the fullness of joy.

Do you, beloved? Or do you find yourself chasing after it, hoping to attain it with various things? That relationship . . .that house . . . that degree . . . that acclaim . . .

We have allowed the enemy to convince us that we can only have joy if the circumstances in our life cooperate to provide it. We translate the blessing of God to mean we and our family members will remain healthy, and that our financial needs will not only be met for today but also all our tomorrows—in advance.

And when we don’t experience those blessings, we believe the enemy’s whispers that God has forsaken us. We feel crushed under the weight of it, and our misery creeps into every aspect of life. It hurts our relationships. It pulls us from our purpose. Our bitterness empties us.

What if you and I chose to start believing God for the blessings He’s already given? What if we stopped allowing the enemy to rob us of the joy we are equipped for and meant to experience?

How? We shift our gaze from our lack and settle it on the abundance of what we have. Our heritage as believers is to experience the miracle Paul described in our opening scripture.

I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. Philippians 4:11

Can you imagine it, dear one? Being content in whatever situation you find yourself in?

Do you know what Paul is describing, beloved? Peace, another one of those great spiritual blessings only available to you in Jesus. A heart at rest whether facing abundance or need. A blessing that God has spoken over your life and is waiting for you to receive.

Don’t let the enemy convince you you’re not blessed, dear one. You are. Abundantly.

You are extravagantly loved, adopted into the family of God and coheir to the inheritance of the King of Kings. You are saved, delivered from the hand of the enemy in this life and the next. You are empowered by God Himself dwelling within your heart by His Spirit. And you are lavished in grace that provides all that you need.

Believe Him.

 

 

An Invitation to Pray

In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly . . . and the Lord remembered her. 1 Samuel 1:10, 19

It’s 6:30am on Wednesday morning. Blog day.

I should have something ready to post, but I don’t. I started writing a teaching for you last week—a message on friendship with Jesus—but I never finished it. The hours I set aside to complete it were interrupted by a phone call. Instead, I spent my afternoon with a friend in the Emergency Room.

Perhaps you’ll get to read it next Wednesday.

To be honest with you, I could have finished it up last night, but that would have meant missing my son’s soccer game. And I didn’t want to miss it. Sometimes moms just need to be moms first, especially on the hard days.

You see, people I love are hurting. I’m not talking about my immediate family. I mean my church family. Dear friends of mine are struggling with some hard things. Big things. Things that desperately need God’s touch—like finances, rebellious sons, and cancer.

It’s hard watching people you love struggle. At times the feeling of helplessness seems overwhelming—and that’s just what the enemy wants us to feel. But then I’m reminded that in Christ we are never helpless. We have a powerful gift at our disposal, one that we often take for granted . . . or use as a last resort.

We have prayer.

I believe God wants to teach us a few things about prayer. I mean, if we’re going to be honest, it doesn’t really make sense to us. How can speaking a few words really do anything?

But you and I were created in the image of a God who speaks things into being. He says it, and it’s so. So it only makes sense, really, that what we speak would also be powerful.

Beloved, our prayers release what God has willed in the heavenly realms to be poured out on the topsoil of this earth. In His desire for relationship, He ordained that His people would partner with Him to see His Kingdom come where we live.

I don’t know about you, but it wearies me that it often looks like the enemy is winning. I’m tired of it. I believe the promise of 1 John 4:4,

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

I think it’s time we showed Him we agree.

So I’m doing something a little different today. I’d like to invite you to pray with me. Would you set aside some time for intercession, dear one? Would you offer yourself to Jesus today as a vessel for glory?

He only needs a few minutes of your time and a yielded heart. You don’t need to worry about what to say. You just need to submit yourself to His authority and invite Him to lead. Allow His Spirit to fill your thoughts with His desires for prayer, and then give voice to them.

Amazing things happen when God Himself becomes the source of our prayers.

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15

We may just start moving mountains in the name of Jesus.

Shining Like Stars

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.”  Matthew 5:14-15

Jesus called you and me the light of the world. It only makes sense, really, since He is the “the true light that gives light to every man” (John 1:9) and now He dwells within us. As His body, saved and redeemed by His blood, He asks us to shine His light. And according to Matthew 5, that light should never remain hidden. Instead, it should light up the sky like a city on a hill.

Do you shine, dear one? Are you giving Jesus what He asked for?

I can’t help thinking of the song I used to sing as a little girl in Sunday school. We’d proudly hold up our hands with fingers pointing toward the heavens and proclaim, “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.”

But it didn’t shine. I never let it out.

We often make the mistake of trying to act like Jesus. We think we shine His light by imitating what He would do. Only we don’t have the strength to act like Him all the time, so that inner “self” we try to hide through our good behavior reveals itself more often than we’d like it to. And the watching world looks at our version of Christianity and calls it hypocrisy.

Can we really blame them?

You and I aren’t supposed to act like light, dear one. Jesus intends for us to become light.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21

… God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5

Jesus carried the burden of our sin to the cross so that we could become His righteousness. He gave it to us the moment we put our faith in Him and received His Spirit to dwell within us. Now we need to let Him out. We need to yield to the power of His Spirit within us and let Him take over.

You see, beloved, Jesus shines through a transformed heart.

Have you offered Him your heart to mold and change, dear one? Have you told Him you’re willing to let go of your bitterness? Have you invited Him to circumcise your heart to love with His selfless love?

It’s time we stopped pretending and let Jesus set us ablaze with His light!

Times are changing. Evil seems to show itself in increasing measure. Scripture foretells of astonishing things to come—some of them terrible, some wondrous—but all of them remain certain.

Yet in Christ, we have glorious hope!

But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. Daniel 12:1-3

When will these things be fulfilled? God made this astonishing announcement to the prophet Daniel centuries ago.

… When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed.” Daniel 12:7

When the power of the holy people has finally been broken? What on earth does that mean?

Consider for a moment the power struggle that rages within you. Each day you must choose whether to bow to your own self-will, or to bow to the leadership of the Spirit. More often than not, your own desires win the battle, quenching the Spirit’s power.

Yet in the last days, the power of the Spirit will rise victorious. Christ’s own will finally learn to overcome and claim the victory Jesus purchased for them through the cross. As in the days following the church’s conception, believers will choose to abandon self-will, leaving its power broken. Christ’s church will rise, yielding to His Spirit in glorious surrender, uniting in the love and unity glimpsed at the birth of the church and restored in time for the return of the King.

Beloved, you and I can hasten His return.

You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. 2 Peter 3:11-12

As we choose to surrender to the work of the Spirit in our lives, allowing Christ to sanctify our hearts and renew our minds with His purpose, we move us toward the fulfillment of God’s great plan of redemption.

Like the Disciples who first answered Jesus’ call and paved the way for us, will you choose to live radically for Jesus, abandoning all else to the rise of His glory? I pray that you will, beloved,

. . . so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe. Philippians 2:15

Then our eyes will finally gaze upon our Lord and King without a veil. Glory rises, dear one. Will you allow Christ to release it through you?

 

A Mother’s Struggle to Trust

Not again.

Clutching my Bible and prayer journal, I retreated to my favorite chair, eager to spend some time with the Lord. Well, that’s what I told myself anyway. I really just wanted to feel better.

Here I am, Lord. I scratched the words on the page, searching for where to begin. Worship filtered through my headphones, the uplifting beat of the melody marking a stark contrast to my mood. My mind tuned to the lyrics, “All we need is You.”

Instantly, conviction pierced my heart with the unsettling knowledge that I didn’t agree—at least not that day. That day I needed more than Jesus. I needed Him to fix things.

Guilt compelled me to confess. I’m sorry, Lord. I want you to be enough, but this is too much . . .

A jagged scar from an old wound had just been torn open. The familiar longing for acceptance tugged at my heart, crying out for satisfaction. Rejection had found me again. But this time, it had come for my son.

That changes things. I can handle the battle when I’m at the heart of it. I’ve learned to trust God’s plans for me even when I can’t make sense of them. He’s proven Himself faithful over and over again.

But this felt altogether different. This wasn’t about me. This time my child’s heart had been shattered, and I desperately wanted to fix it. I can’t be expected to idly watch one of my precious ones suffer.

My heart rebelled at the injustice of it. Anger mingled with the pain, begging retaliation. This wasn’t fair. He deserved better.

God should do something.

Soon His gentle Spirit stirred within my heart, lifting the veil so I could see. Realization dawned, penetrating my grief with this undeniable truth: God knew. He understood rejection. He understood the pain of seeing His Son cast aside—of wanting the world to recognize His great value, yet seeing it deny Him.

“He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” John 1:11, ESV

In that moment, I knew His suffering. I felt His pain. How the Father must have wept when they rejected Jesus. How He still must weep as we repeatedly devalue His only begotten Son . . . the Son He loves . . . the Son He gave.

Hope flickered through my sorrow, God’s own understanding of my feelings encouraging me to press in close. I asked Him to speak to me, to help me trust Him with my own son’s fragile heart. I needed Him to help me believe what I knew His Word declared: that His plans for him are far greater than my own.

True to who He is, God answered. Once again, His Spirit stirred, reminding me of truth. God never allows suffering for its own sake. Suffering, according to Scripture, marks the path to glory.

“But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” 1 Peter 4:13, NIV

Then I knew. God had glory to reveal in my son’s life.

This pain would pass, and God would somehow bring good through it. It wasn’t what I would choose for him, but the God who created Him and wrote his story knew what I couldn’t. For whatever reason, my son needed to walk through this. His despair would not be in vain. Through it God would reveal Himself.

I sat in the stillness, pen in hand, and listened, inviting the God who speaks to do so again. Soon His quiet whisper stirred within me, and I found my hand moving once more across the page.

He is mine, beloved, just as you are mine. I AM greater than his pain . . . than your pain. You will soon see.

A promise.

Tears fell in response, my heart hopeful. God always keeps His Word.

I thought of Abraham and how he must have felt as he placed his son, Isaac, upon that altar. I imagine he did it with trembling hands and a breaking heart. But place him there, he did. And Isaac received the blessing that came through his father’s promise.

God had spoken blessings over my son as well, and I had a choice to make. I could retreat into my anger and justify my sorrow. Or, I could trust God to keep His Word in my son’s life. I could fight to change things and try to manipulate his circumstances so I’d like the look of them better, or I could choose to believe the God who speaks and entrust my son to Him with open hands.

I decided I wouldn’t withhold him from the God who loves him even more than I do . . . and then it came. I experienced Jesus’ promise from John 14:27,

 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” ESV

The wonder of it always astounds me. I can’t explain the how of it. I simply revel in the miracle of it. But when I run toward Jesus in my confusion instead of from Him—and I listen—I find peace.

It happens the moment I resolve in my heart to believe.

The Power of One

“I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:  I in them and you in me.”  John 17:22-23a

Feeling stirs my heart as I ponder the words of our opening Scripture today. They flowed from the mouth of Jesus on the night of His arrest. You just read some of the last recorded utterances of the Word made flesh before His body dangled for you from a bloody cross.

We observe an intimate moment between God the Son and God the Father, the heart of God laid bare before us in His perfect Word. Did you know Jesus’ final prayers were for you?

Jesus had just finished praying for Himself and the disciples He would leave behind. Then in verse 20 He adds, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.” That’s you and me.

What did He pray for, dear one?

 “… that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”  John 17:21

Witness the Father’s revealed will spoken through the voice of His Son. His highest priority? Unity within the body of believers. Jesus prayed that believers would be one with each other in the same way that He is one with the Father. The resulting unity would cause the world to believe that Jesus did indeed come from God.

How is that possible?

Jesus and His Father are completely one in every way. Jesus declared it in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.” They share the same thoughts and desires; their actions flow from the same perfect will. So how can men and women with very different preferences and desires, longings, and needs truly share one mind . . . one heart . . . one will?

They can’t, at least not within the realm of the natural. But those who believe in Jesus and have received the seal of His Spirit within them aren’t limited to the natural. They possess the very glory of God.

Look at Jesus’ words in our opening verse. “I have given them the glory that you gave me.” According to Jesus, that glory will enable us to become one.

John 17:23 reveals His purpose in uniting us:

 “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

Unity within Christ’s church will reveal two things to the world.

  1. Jesus did indeed come from God
  2. God loves them

I have to ask you to consider something, dear one. Is our generation giving Christ what He asked for? Are we allowing His Spirit within us to crucify the desires of our flesh and unite us with His glorious will so that we can become one with our brothers and sisters? Or do we hold tightly to our own desires and allow our differences to separate us?

Beloved, our unity in Christ will release the glory of God.

Let’s visit a prayer meeting that took place in the early church after Peter and John had been arrested for preaching about Jesus. Upon their release, a group of believers united together in fervent prayer with spectacular results.

Here’s how they began.

“Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”Acts 4:29-30

Do you notice anything significant about their prayer? Is that how you have prayed?

Let your thoughts settle on the words you speak when you approach God in prayer. When I did, the Spirit revealed one obvious difference about their request. Instead of asking God to rescue them, they asked God to reveal His glory.

Amazing. They didn’t ask God to take away the danger, stop the persecution, or even to protect them from the threats coming against them. Instead, they asked Him to empower them to boldly stand for Him in the midst of it. They asked for strength to speak His word with boldness in spite of the threats. They asked Him to reveal the power that comes through the name of Jesus.

These believers had one, single-minded purpose. They desired to see God reveal His glory through them. In spite of the danger, in spite of their fear, they cast aside their own desires to exalt His. And how did God respond to His humble, unified servants?

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.  Acts 4:31

Oh, that we would once again become a body so united in heart and purpose that our prayers shake our meeting halls! Notice that God granted their request. He filled each of them with His Spirit to empower them and equipped all of them to speak His Word boldly. Not one of them was exempt from the gift.

Dear one, when you submit your heart to the Father’s will instead of your own, neither are you.

Convincing You of Righteousness

“They will say of me, ‘In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.’”  Isaiah 45:24

It wasn’t one of my better days. It began as a delightful treat—an unexpected outing with my husband to check out a piece of furniture. It ended with me telling him I felt like throwing my phone at him.

I remember walking out of the store thinking, “What just happened?” And I really had no idea. Anger erupted out of me like someone had flipped a switch. And over what . . . a phone call? A tone of voice?

Let’s face it; the flesh is just plain ugly. In our unguarded moments, we can be capable of just about anything. And unfortunately, the selfish tirades of our flesh often end up directed at those we love the most. Oh, how we need a Savior!

Ah, but we have One. His name is Jesus. And through Him, God did something wonderful.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

Jesus bled and died so that we could become righteousness. Did you get that? Maybe you should read it again. In Christ, we have been given a divine capacity for righteousness. He doesn’t ask us to imitate His righteousness; He asks us to exchange our old nature for His own. He promises to release us from the destructive nature of our flesh, and He sent us His Spirit to do the work. Celebrate 2 Corinthians 3:18,

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

It’s a great plan. Trouble is, we have a hard time seeing it come to light in us. We’d like to be different, but those old habits are difficult to break. The power of that sin nature seems so strong at times—too strong to overcome. So we reason that everyone slips up sometimes and resign ourselves to remaining unchanged.

Thank God for sending the Counselor, the Spirit of Truth, who “convict[s] the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8).

We’re very familiar with the Spirit’s role in convicting us of our guilt over sin. At least I am; it was He who whispered into my heart that day in the furniture store, “What would people think of Me watching you right now, beloved?” His words pierced my heart, resulting in confession to both God and my husband.

But what about His role in convicting—or convincing—us of our guilt in regard to righteousness and judgment? Verses 10-11 reveal some powerful truths that can help us to walk in victory and live as overcomers. Let’s begin with John 16:10:

“in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer.”

Do you know what Jesus is doing right now before the Father, dear one? He’s interceding for us (Romans 8:34). Remember, Jesus bore our sin so we could bear His righteousness. Now when the Father looks at us, He no longer sees our sin ravaged flesh. He sees His Son.

I wish I could say the same about us. We still tend to see ourselves as we were— unrighteous sinners— rather than the pure and holy vessels we have become in Christ. So we still act like sinners.

“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” Proverbs 23:7, NKJV

But Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to change our view. We are already righteous! Our thoughts just need to catch up with our reality. So the Spirit of Truth works within our hearts to convince us of our righteousness in Christ. Let’s start listening to Him!

Verse 11 gets me even more excited.

and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.”

Look at the target of the judgment described. It isn’t you, dear one. This judgment is against the prince of this world. And notice something else. Jesus isn’t describing a judgment to come; this judgment has already taken place: the prince of this world now stands condemned.

Rejoice over Colossians 2:13, 15:

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins . . . And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

The enemy of your soul has been judged. He has been disarmed, beloved, and any power he exercises over you is nothing but a lie. Your sin isn’t stronger than Jesus; Jesus has already conquered your sin. What remains now is for you to believe it.

And that’s where the Spirit becomes strength in your weakness. He convinces you of your righteous standing before God and of the victory you’ve already been given. Then He provides you with the power to live like the righteousness you are.

No wonder Jesus told us He was sending the Counselor for our good. Perhaps it’s time we believed Him.

The Still, Small Voice

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”  John 10:27, NIV

Last Friday morning, my eyelids fluttered open to discover that it was still dark. Ordinarily I wouldn’t be thrilled by that observation, but I felt the Lord whispering to my heart, “Meet me for the sunrise.”

Anticipation stirred my soul, and I carefully slid from the bed to avoid waking my husband. This was the moment I’d been waiting for.

It was the last day of our family vacation in Hatteras, NC, and I had been seeking an answer for an important decision looming ahead of me in ministry. I felt fairly confident I had heard from the Lord, but I had asked Him for confirmation. I eagerly dressed to head to the beach, expecting He was about to give it.

My husband’s voice interrupted my thoughts, “Are you going out to watch the sunrise?”

“I’m going to meet with the Lord,” I answered.

“Do you mind if I join you?”

I hesitated. Truth be told, I did mind.

Don’t get me wrong. I love my husband. Most of the time I’d rather be with him than any other person on the face of the earth. But I wasn’t heading out to enjoy the romantic notion of the sunrise. I had an altogether different plan in mind. I needed to hear from God. And quite frankly, my husband’s presence there didn’t fit my view of what that moment was supposed to look like. I thought he’d be—well, a distraction.

So I wanted to tell him to go back to sleep. But that familiar stirring reminded me that I should put his desires ahead of my own. Instead I answered, “sure.”

He dressed quickly and we slipped together out the sliding door. Grabbing two beach chairs, we headed through the sand to the shore.

For several minutes we sat in companionable silence staring out at the sea. Both of us had brought headphones, and I decided that listening to worship might help me open my heart and clear my mind. I tried not to notice that my husband had placed his chair in a way that blocked my view of the beach. I closed my eyes so I wouldn’t see him fidgeting with his iPad.

Then he turned his head to smile at me and reached out his hand for mine.

Again, I hesitated, and the Lord spoke. “You are stronger together.”

I took my husband’s outstretched hand, offering silent prayer to the Lord. I confessed my selfishness and asked His forgiveness, thanking Him for the many gifts I had in my husband. Peace began to flood my soul as I realized that Jesus wanted me to share our intimate fellowship with my husband. Christ had something to reveal to us together that wouldn’t be realized apart.

Hand in hand, listening to the sounds of the sea, we prayed together. I can’t recall all that was said. I simply remember the sweet encounter with Jesus we shared, and the feel of warm tears slowly descending down my cheeks.

Afterward we sat in silence again, watching the waves crash the beach. Without even looking at me, my husband spoke. “We’re supposed to go with Larry.”

It was the answer to the question I had asked my Shepherd to clarify. I had prayed specifically that His Spirit would reveal the path to each of us, that we both would hear the same divine message and our agreement would reveal Him in the midst of it. My husband’s words were the confirmation I had sought.

God did give me the answer I longed for that morning, not in spite of my husband’s presence there, but through it. How thankful I am that I listened to the stirring of His gentle Spirit instead of the loud roar of my flesh. Now I didn’t just have a Word from the Lord. I had a witness. Oh how I love His faithfulness!

You might be interested to know what initiated my divine appointment with God on the beach that day. My husband shared with me that he had trouble getting to sleep the night before. As he finally drifted off, he made a last request of the Lord. He asked God to wake him for the sunrise.

Kind of gives a new perspective on the term “helpmate,” doesn’t it? My husband asked to see the sunrise so the Lord woke his wife. I asked for direction, and the Lord gave it through my husband.

“So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”  Matthew 19:6

God’s ways are always higher, always better. Imagine if we learned to walk in tune with the still, small voice, surrendering selfishness moment by moment in exchange for His gentle instruction. I think we’d discover an abundance of sweet blessings.

I’m game. Are you?