You Have Made Me Glad

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." - Hebrews 4:16

I just came home from a Wednesday night church orchestra rehearsal. That's nothing unusual for me. It's been my routine on Wednesday nights for a number of years now. And every now and again, I will come home with a particular song from the upcoming Sunday's worship set that sticks with me. Tonight, it was a song by Darlene Zschech that is popular among our congregation called, "Made Me Glad" that I have been singing all night after returning home:

I will bless the Lord forever

I will trust Him at all times

He has delivered me from all fear

He has set my feet upon a rock

I will not be moved

And I'll say of the Lord

You are my shield, my strength

My portion, deliverer

My shelter, strong tower

My very present help in time of need

Whom have I in heaven but You

There's none I desire beside You

You have made me glad

And I'll say of the Lord

You are my shield, my strength

My portion, deliverer

My shelter, strong tower

My very present help in time of need

Most of this song came straight from the scriptures! David wrote many, many of the Psalms and gave many of these same titles to the Lord as He was running from Saul. The guy was being chased by a madman, running in and out of caves and yet he still managed to call God his strength... his portion and deliverer.... Don't get me wrong here. He also made it clear that he wanted God to get rid of his enemies, but in nearly every single one of the Psalms, David still managed to come back around to God.

He knew that God could and would handle every single situation that He found himself in regarding Saul and his men.... even when Saul was absolutely crazy!

We're no different from David today, are we? Ever been falsely accused? Been in a situation where you've gotten a lot more month left than you do money? What about your marriage? Ever run into some disasters there? David sure did! He actually caused some major issues there! But he also learned the forgiveness of God. (Ps. 51) And he was quick to tell Him thanks. What about your health? David was in the midst of some pretty severe depression in some of those caves.... Yet, he found a way to talk to God about it and gave Him praise.

Think about that a minute! How often has God pulled your feet from the fire?? How often has God made you glad???

Is He your strength?

Your shield?

Your shelter?

Your deliverer????

Like you, I have plenty to praise the Lord for! For example, I know that when my husband was going through his cancer treatments two years ago, things were really very stressful at our house. We had been living in Tennessee and our former home in another state hadn't yet sold, thanks to the current economy. We then had to deal with a misdiagnosis and prognosis for his cancer, and then had to deal with expensive treatments. But during it all, God provided every single penny that we needed! And He answered our prayers with a correct diagnosis and with a what has been a clean bill of health for going on two years.

Our minister of music reminded us tonight that it is easy to forget that we need to say thanks to God for all of the wonderful things He has done for us. He's right! After the new wears off from the miracle, we seem to go back to the status quo.

Remember September 11, 2001? Do you remember how churches were packed full after the planes hit the towers? About a month later, things went right back to normal and the politicians were back to bickering, churches went back to their regular crowd sizes. Six months later, we were no longer enthralled by the giant hole in the middle of New York City now known as Ground Zero. What phrase seemed to be the rallying cry after that? Do you remember? It was, "We Will Never Forget!" And ironically, it almost seems that we have.

Our minister of music had us just say a word of Thanks to God tonight for all of the great things He has done. And I wanted to ask you to take the time to do the same thing. Take the time now to recall those things that God has done, and say thanks.

Has He set your feet upon a rock? Tell Him!

Do you have a Provider in Heaven? Thank Him!

Has He been your Strength when you have been tempted? Give Him praise!

Has He been your Shelter when you have been in the middle of a storm? Exalt His name!

From what has He delivered you? Remember! Give Him Glory!

Has He made you glad??? Ooooooohhhhhhhhhhh!!! Shout it, friend, shout it OUT! HE IS WORTHY... AND HE HAS MADE ME GLAD!

Facing the Not-So-Jolly Green Giant

"A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall." - I Samuel 17:4


We all know the story of David. He's the kid that was in the field tending sheep that was anointed to be king.... In I Samuel 17, we read of a story from David's life, when he was faced with challenges.

At the time that this particular story in David's life took place, Saul, Israel's first king was still on the throne. Saul and the Israelites were at war with the Philistines.

David's dad, Jesse, had eight sons. David was somewhere in the middle of the lineup of the siblings. He had three older brothers and four younger brothers. The three oldest brothers were following Saul and were hanging out with the rest of the Israeli army. David had been spending his time caring for his father's sheep and had been going back and forth between the sheep pen and taking messages and food to his brothers.

The two parties at war were on opposite hills from one another, with a valley in between them.

One particular day, Jesse sent David to his brothers, to take them some food.... When David made it to the hillside, he found Goliath, a giant of a man taunting the Israelites. This obnoxious bully was yelling across to the Israelites day and night... He was challenging the Israelites to a battle. This would be a winner takes all battle. The loser would have to bow to their enemy. And this had been going on for forty days! No one would dare step up to face the giant.

Imagine what our hero, the teenager David thought when he heard the giant taunting the Israelites.... If he was like a lot of teenagers that I have known over the years, he could have had a little bit of cockiness about him. Or maybe he was a little naiive. Whatever his emotional state, he couldn't believe his ears! He was going to stand up for the God of Israel. And he was not going to stand for this smart-mouthed bully.

Can you imagine what the crowd around him thought when he said, "I can take him"? His brothers pretty much thought he was crazy! They tried to talk him out of it. Saul even tried to give him his armor and his sword. But it was too big. I can imagine that it probably looked like a little kid playing dress up or something. So David just used what he knew best.

Here was this kid who was going to take on this beast.... Now, granted, David was accustomed to fighting lions and bears off from the sheep pen, but this guy was over nine feet tall! The tip alone of his spear weighed 5000 shekels. I am sure that David probably looked like (and felt like) the little green sprout in comparison! Goliath was HUGE!

Can you say "overwhelmed" ??? This was a GOD-sized problem David had here. And it required a GOD-sized faith. If he failed, the Israelites would have had to submit to the Philistines. I am betting that the entire crowd could hear David's knees knocking!

But David knew God was with him, and told the big bully as much. And that in no uncertain terms, he was going down... pretty much because God was gonna take him down.

We know the rest of the story.... David picked up five smooth stones, grabbed a slingshot and planted one right between Goliath's eyes! In one shot, the gargantuan beast fell to the ground. The crowds roared and little David became an instant hero!

We all face giants of one kind or another in our lives. I know that I have faced plenty of them in my lifetime. And I have a few on my plate right now. Chances are that you do, too.

Make a mental list of the giants that are in your way right now. You make yours. I'll make mine. Got your list? Good!

Now. How do you and I act when we are faced with something much bigger than us??? Or do we react??? What happens when there is a GOD-sized challenge before us??? Do we remember to Whom we belong and trust Him to face the challenge/fell the giant? Or do we automatically cower in defeat?

It's easier to let the circumstances of our lives and our own self-sufficiency to dictate whether we can follow God, isn't it? (Case in point: Ever let the things you have in your hand dictate whether you can obey God? What about the clock? Or your calendar? Your checkbook?) It's easier to bow to the idea that something God has put in front of us that may be bigger than us is better left undone than calling on the One to help you Who called you in the first place.

The sad truth is, most of the time, we'd rather back down from the fight with the giant than to consider that God may actually have something far greater than we ever asked or even imagined in store for us, if we'd just obey Him. We respond to His challenges with, "This just isn't doable, God. I can't."

And God simply answers with, "You're right. You can't. But I can."


Our God is a God Who majors in the impossible! He is a God Who is bigger than any circumstance that you or I may have. He is fully capable of equipping those whom He has called to the purposes for which they were called. He felled David's giant. And He can certainly knock down yours and mine, too.

Remember this old chorus by Don Moen?

God will make a way
When there seems to be no way
He works in ways
We cannot see
He will make a way for me.

He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength
For each new day
He will make a way.

God will make a way.

Ministry Update

I wanted to pass along an update to my blog readers on how things are going in the Mourning into Dancing ministry group. God has brought some amazing people to us in the group and I am thrilled at how He has worked thus far.

Since the group has primarily only been advertised through word of mouth and through connections via facebook, I am thrilled at the response we've had thus far! We've been fortunate to be mentioned in a couple of prominent blogs by some wonderful friends as well. My college roommate, Renae Brumbaugh, mentioned us on her blog, "Morning Coffee with Renae" (http://www.morningcoffeewithrenae.com) Also, Vonda Skelton, a new friend that I met a few months ago (funny story there), mentioned us in the kudos section of her blog, "The Christian Writer's Den" ( http://www.vondaskelton.com) I am thankful for both of these ladies and their terrific support in getting started!

Since our beginning in late April, we've had eleven girls to be a part of the group. They hail from literally all over the US. In the past three weeks alone, God added five new girls to the group.
We hail from Coast to Coast... which is really amazing to me. Thank You, Lord, for the world wide web!

Some of our girls are really new to widowhood. Please pray for them as they experience some of the many things that come with that first year -- holidays and birthdays without their spouses, the first time they pass their wedding anniversaries, even the first anniversaries of their spouse's death and all that goes with that. The first year is often the worst because of those reminders that someone is missing.

I am impressed with the walks that so many of these girls have with God! It is really encouraging to know that so many of them are relying heavily on God and His grace to get them through these tough days.

We've already had opportunities to encourage the young women in our group, which is what we are entirely about. Please pray that God will continue to provide opportunities for the group members to encourage one another as well. It is my hope that they will befriend one another and begin to lean on one another as they learn more about all of the things that they have in common. Beth Moore says that we girls love comraderie... I believe she's right. I am hoping that the things that link this particular group together will allow us to be an encouragement, praying for one another, sharing together and so forth.

The blog has had just over 930 hits or so, since its beginning in late April. Since there have only been nineteen posts since the start, that means we're averaging about 200 hits per post. We also have fifteen people total who are publicly following the blog (for those who are wondering, Network blogs count the administrator as a follower - that's why the total I give is different from the one they do.) Our goal is to share Jesus constantly and consistently in a real faith way, so that all can understand and believe... So every time we get a hit on the blog, we know that it is one more time that we know we have told folks about a real Savior, Who saves in the real world...

So I guess what I am saying is, Thank You, Lord! Reminds me of this old hymn, "To God Be the Glory".... Sing it with me, will you?

To God Be the Glory
Great Things He Has Done
So loved He the World
That He gave us His Son!

Who yielded His life
An Atonement for Sin
And opened the Lifegate
That all may go in!

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Let the Earth hear His voice!

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Let the people rejoice!

Oh, come to the Father
Through Jesus the Son
And give Him the Glory
Great things He hath done!

Freeing God from the "God Box"

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty,but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." - Isaiah 55:8-11


Ever watched people try to figure out God???? They try to peg Him into their notions of whatever it is that they think God should be and they put Him into this "God box" of sorts. You've seen it happen. These are folks who get bent out of shape when the offering is taken at a different place in the order of worship, or the pastor leaves out a poem from his sermon points. Or they only expect God to work or act in certain ways... according to their will -- not His. These are the same people who don't spend time building their relationship with God... They sit and expect God to do all that they ask of Him, but rarely spend any time getting to know Him. They create these boundaries for God, and whenever God decides to do something different -- perhaps outside the box, they get depressed and wonder if God truly loves them, doubt His existence, blame Him for self-imposed ills, and really become a mess.

The thought of some people opening up their imaginary "God boxes" makes me giggle. Seriously. It's like that old Warner Brothers cartoon, "The Singing Frog." You remember: the guy runs across a singing frog in a box. And whenever he opened the box, he heard, "Hello, my honey... hello my baby... hello, my ragtime gal!" As soon as the box is slammed shut the frog is silenced. The guy takes the frog to agencies, expecting to make a quick buck off of the frog, but the frog instead just sits there.... all frog-like... and does nothing.

The man desperately tries to make the frog sing in front of the agent. But to no avail. He dances, pulls out his hair, and pokes the box... All to make the frog dance and sing, but the frog will not cooperate. Then the minute he walks out the door and opens that box, the frog is singing at the top of his little froggy lungs. This goes on for a while and finally, the guy gives up. He puts the frog back in the box, slams the lid shut and leaves the frog for the next guy to come along.

We want God to show up when we need Him, but we don't want to take the time to know Him to build a real relationship with Him. (We don't build them with other people. Why should we build a relationship with the God of the Universe?) We have this notion that as long as God can fit into a small box the size of a Big Mac burger box, it's all good. We say grace, give God a "tip" on Sunday, show up for the Sunday morning services, shake hands with a couple of people, pat ourselves on the back, and feel we've done our duty for the day.... or for the week.

And God just sits in the heavens and laughs.

He knows we're going to call on Him, and when we do, He may or may not fix the problem. And when He doesn't answer at our beck and call or we try to figure Him out because He didn't do what we expected of Him (like some genie in the sky),we become whiney and grumpy. We blame Him for being the cause of the mess that we actually created. And sometimes we become downright mad at Him.... when we know all along that we are the one who has acted like the spoiled child.

Last Sunday, I heard a pastor say, "A god you can figure out is not a God who can save." Mull over that for a little bit... "A god you can figure out is not a God Who can save."

We spend a lot of our time as believers often trying to peg God and to put Him into this "God box"... and we open the box to let out a little bit of God whenever we desire a little bit of God. But when we're done with that little taste of God, we put Him right back in the box and
close the lid.

And Heaven forbid, if we let too much of God out of the box! The Holy Spirit might take control of us and we might just turn into some sort of fanatical crazies!!! So, we quickly slam the lid shut!

The really weird part is that we often hang onto the "God box." And that's about as ludicrous as hanging onto the box that once held your Big Mac last week... We don't like change. We don't want to get out of our settled patterns because we are afraid that God might actually do something in our lives. Or, worse -- He might expect something from us!!!!

So, how do we break out of this mentality of the "God box"? How do we release God from our ideas of what He should be and just let Him be God?

We spend time with God in His word:

"I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways."- Psalm 119:15

We hang out with Him... talk to Him:

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray
standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell
you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you
pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.
Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." - Matthew 6:5

We hang out and get to know the rest of His kids on the planet:

"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had." - Acts
4:32

We actively participate in genuine worship:


Corporately:

"What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church." - I Corinthians 14:26

Individually:

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." - Romans 12:1-2

We listen to our hearts and when we're hungry for God, we fill them with Truth:

"As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after You. You alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship You." - Ps. 42:1

We throw away the junk -- "God box" and all -- and imitate God instead:

"Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children
and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up
for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." - Ephesians 5:1-2

We have a Servant's heart:

"Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men." - Ephesians 6:7

We let the Holy Spirit have complete control:

"The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is
life and peace." - Romans 8:6

Loose Him from that God Box!!! Let Him have the freedom to work in you and in your circumstances... Allow Him to move in your church the way that He wants to move, not from your own pre-conceived notions of what church is supposed to be. Expect God to do something that you could never accomplish on your own... and then let Him be God.

The Rabbi's Example: How Beautiful

"So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him." John 13:4-5

I have some ugly feet. Seriously. I hide these toes of mine from the world because I don't want folks to see how ugly my feet are. I never wear open toed shoes. I cannot wear sandals or flip flops in the summer for fear that people would run screaming after seeing my sad piggies. I bathe them -- sometimes two or three times in a day! I use deodorant on them. Put medication on them. Wear socks nearly year-round. And still, I have these horribly ugly feet!

The journey for the Christ follower in the days of Jesus required travel by foot dirty, mud-caked roads on ordinary days. Most of the disciples were likely barefoot as they traveled, because only the wealthy owned sandals in those days. Even so, it was not uncommon to have feet coated in mud or animal droppings by day's end. So it was customary to have a servant to wash the feet of a guest in a home prior to a meal. On the night that Jesus washed the disciples feet, there was no servant offered. So, Jesus took a towel, wrapped it around His waist and began to wash the dirty encrusted feet of the twelve.

You remember the story. Peter even argued with Jesus (so what else is new?) about whether He would wash his (Peter's) feet. Jesus told him that if He couldn't wash his feet that he could have no part with Him. Then Peter told Jesus that He should wash his head and the rest of his body, too! (Isn't it funny that when God does some little something for us, we will respond much like Peter? Don't we either feel as if we are either a) too insignificant for Jesus to do something for us or to notice us, or b) we want Him to treat us as if we are all that and a bag of chips?)

Jesus promptly told Peter that he'd already had a bath. He didn't need to have his head washed again, and that his feet were what was dirty. So, Jesus washed Peter's feet. Stinky, nasty, dirty crusty feet....

And then, one by one, He washed the feet of all those in the room.... every last one of the feet of the twelve... 120 toes.... 24 heels.... all coated in who-knows-what. Can you imagine the Son of God digging mud out of the nail beds of His best loved friends? Can you imagine how humbled the disciples might have felt to know that their Teacher, their beloved Rabbi (the Son of God!) was seeing their bare feet (up close and personal), let alone taking the form of a servant, wearing a towel, and washing feet... their feet?

And let's face facts here. Those boys didn't smell like a bed of roses, either, just before dinner. No doubt, Jesus was coated in all of that stuff that they had stepped in by the time it was all said and done.

I often wonder when I've read this story as to how I would have felt had Jesus tried to wash my feet? How would I feel about revealing every ugly toe to the Master? How would I respond as He took a washcloth and attempted to wash away the scars from the burns I received on my feet as a small child (I stepped on both a floor radiator and hot coals as a two year old)? What would I do when He saw the fungus on my toes or the dry cracked skin on my heels? And oh my goodness, did I remember to shave that day???? Please tell me that I did!

How would He respond to my ugly feet??? I wonder whether this revealing would change things for us in some way... He's seeing the side of me that I keep hidden to the rest of the world. And while I know that He is omniscient, there is a part of me that thinks that maybe I can hide this from Him as well. And then when there is the thought of it being revealed to Him, it makes me cower in shame. I want to put my best foot forward, so to speak... especially for Him and with Him.... I don't want to coat Him with my stench!

And what would He think afterward about me? What would be His impression of me after He had cleaned my stinky nasty feet? Better yet, what would be my thought toward Him after He had washed my feet? Would the shame still be there? Would I make excuses as to why my feet look like they do? Would I try to place blame?

And that's not all! Jesus said we're to wash one another's feet! So, then I wonder what would happen if some of you got a towel, a washcloth and some Safeguard, and had to wash my ugly feet! I know some of you! You would definitely run away!!! Or you'd get sick with the smell. And what would you think of me then? Would you also try to cover the smell with something from Bath and Body Works? Would you then try to recommend a podiatrist for me? Would you try to ignore the smell and hope it went away and that you didn't get any on you? So much for impressions, huh?

I am being a little facetious here. But aren't we also that way when it comes to the rest of our lives? Don't we try to work so hard toward impressing others with our lives that we, too, really become what my pastor friend calls the "Plastic People"?

Plastic people. You've seen them. They lurk in every congregation. They are the ones with the painted smile, perfect hair, perfect clothes, and expensive perfume... and afraid to get someone else's odor on them. You never hear about any kind of awful crisis that they might be going through. And they don't ever get dirty. Life is just a joy to them. And there's a part of you that wants to slap them into some kind of reality if they say, "Blessings" to you just one more time!

Some of us are good at wearing the "church mask" that we put on when we walk through the doors of our respective congregations, aren't we? Or at least we think we are. But we're not fooling God. God sees our nail beds. He knows what's there. And what's lacking.

Why is there this innate need to impress? Or the need to "stay clean"? Why is there this feeling that we should not be real or that we shouldn't reveal the truth about ourselves to Him or to those around us??? And if we are truly following Christ's example, shouldn't there be a little dirt under our own nails from cleaning someone else's feet?

If He knows us, even as we are fully known, then why the pretending or hiding or the desire to only show the good parts of us? And why the lack of involvement in the lives of others?

I think I need a pedicure. And maybe a physician. Probably not in that order. Especially before any of you guys ever have to wash my feet. Or not. I may just buy me some sandals.

And then I may grab a towel.

Another Giveaway!

Hey, Readers....

My friend, Vonda Skelton is giving away a $300 gift basket and a book from Cecil Murphy on her site, The Christian Writer's Den. The book is called, "When Someone You Love Has Cancer." It is designed for caregivers of those who are fighting Cancer (which is appropriate for some of us who are either walking that road, have walked that road or want something to put in our library to help minister to someone else.)

If you are interested, here is the link:

http://vondaskelton.com/Blog.htm?blog_id=210#addComment

All you have to do is leave a comment on her site and be entered into the drawing.

Best wishes to you!

By Your Side - Tenth Avenue North

A friend shared this with me today. I thought this was appropriate for a lot of folks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHgNCj4DU_M