Metamorphosis.

This is a word that conjures up thought of great change. Not sure about you but I think most of us immediately think about a butterfly that has emerged from it’s cocoon.

Romans 12:2 uses the same word. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Notice after transformed it say by the renewal of your mind? Renewal means to have a change of heart and life.

Ever thought that in order to change or metamorphosis your mind you would have to actually have a change of heart? Often we try to use our will and just command the mind to obey. We may succeed for a time, but then what seeps back in are the old patterns and ways. Or maybe we can’t cross that barrier at all because we don’t want to change.  Perhaps we don’t change our mind because we really don’t think there is anything wrong with what we are thinking or doing.

If we back up to Romans 12:1-  I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

Ahhh, what? You want me to sacrifice???? When does He want you to sacrifice? If we put it together first. Present your bodies as a living sacrifice. Do not conform to the world but metamorphosis by the change of heart and life (with your mind), so that you know His will and what is good.

The butterfly is such a good visual for it. How do you not conform to the world? How do you sacrifice? Pull away and go into a cocoon where all the distracting voices reside on the outside. Wrap yourself in His word and love. In a cocoon, you are protected. Sacrifice the busyness of life for one on one time with God. Be still. Let Him work in you. When you emerge, you are not the same as when you went in. I don’t think the caterpillar went into the cocoon knowing how it would transform and emerge. It had to submit to the aloneness, felt isolation, pressures, and change that were occurring within itself. It bound itself so nothing could spoil the process and it couldn’t crawl away. Let your heart and mind take you away for real change.

Lord, I want your way in my life. Your will. I submit to you. I choose to change and transform. I want to be like you.

 

 

 

Currently we are in autumn, almost to snow. There is a chill in the air, the leaves have turned (one thing I truly love about where I live), and this season ushered in what is traditionally harvest season.

In order to get here, you had to have spring, the time of sowing. The soil (of the heart) is prepared by having rocks removed and then being plowed before planting. In my life, this has been a repeat process. It would be really cool if once tilled and adequately prepared, it would last. Fresh, soft, rich in nutrients, moist, and ready to support life.

How’s your heart?

Once planted, hefty doses of sunshine and water ensure growth and a desire for more. Summer is just around the corner. Weeds pop up. More sun. Springs rains have lapsed some and the beat of the heat brings more life and green. Wind of the Spirit blows and refreshes in the midst of the heat. Tend the garden of your heart. Watch over it. Harvest is near.

Autumn arrives and it’s ripe for picking. 

Galatians 5:22-23 The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Which ones did you produce this season?

Winter is near. The time for inner growth. So many, never want this season. But without it, roots wouldn’t grow deep. Strength to endure the storms of life are matured here. It’s when the leaves are gone, your branches bare, and vulnerability shows. Embrace it. Spring is just around the corner.

Then, one day, you will awaken and arise to:

Ezekiel 47:12  And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”

You are one of them.

Ever desired something so much that you couldn’t sleep? It’s all you can think about. It happens when we are kids and we know we are going to a favorite place. As adults it may be the night before you get married or buying your first house.

Ever stayed awake all night because of worry? It’s all you think about.  As kids sometimes it’s nervousness with something like the first day of school.  Ever been concerned so much you wondered what was going to happen? Or you had an argument and you can’t stop thinking about what could have been said or should have been said?

Recently I heard, that fear and faith both have the same root. How is that? Neither one has happened yet.  It’s so true.  Things happen to each of us, but fear in what hasn’t happened, sets up to expect them. Faith helps us to trust in and expect the good to happen. It’s about perspective.

Isaiah 32:17-18 says And the effect of righteousness (honesty, justice) will be peace, and the result of righteousness (honesty, justice), quietness and trust forever.  My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.

One factor is knowing your place in Him, Jesus. If you live in right standing with Him, trust in him, you can and will live in a peaceful habitation -within your spirit. The world always has it’s ups and downs. Bad things do happen to good people. It, which means anything in life, it, not matter what it is, can happen to anyone. The difference is knowing your place in God and His ability to take care of you, His goodness that abounds, even when you aren’t sure why something is happening.

I choose life. I choose to know my God sees. I know He cares. His love is eternal, even when I don’t understand. I choose peace.

Daniel, a man who said he would serve God, no matter what, had great faith and peacefulness no matter the circumstance.

Daniel 3:16-17 “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to answer you on this point. ¹⁷ If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up!”

Essentially, Daniel says, God knows best. He is Truth. He will not leave me. It is God’s choice to rescue me. If not, it doesn’t matter. I refuse to serve other gods or idols and sway my opinion based on what God does or doesn’t do for me. It’s about God. He loves me and knows me and will care for me. I have all my trust in Him.

Father God, you are God and you do see. Today I choose to put my trust in You. My times are in Your loving hands. I choose to live in faith and peace. Help me, specifically when I don’t understand, to rely on, trust in, and adhere, stick like glue, to you. Amen.

Confession

No matter the season, the circumstance, or phase of life we are in, there is always room for more hope. In our common ground we tend to use hope as a desire or wish thrown out into the atmosphere desiring that it will find it’s way back to us, fulfilled. Hope is a word we find on plaques to hang on walls. It’s a word used before big games as the underdog or the last ticking seconds need a desperate shot or pass. We use hope almost as a last ditch effort.

Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

Or you could say it this way: Expectation that drags out makes the heart sick, but a delight, desire or favorite fulfilled, is a tree of life.

Yes, hope is actually a word that equates expectation. So, when you really desire something and it drags out….there is great disappointment. But then, yes, when it is fulfilled, it brings life and sinks your roots of belief in a little deeper.

No matter where you are on this spectrum of need, want, healing, change of circumstance for you or another-

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope (expectation) without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

He has promised that He would never leave you or forsake you, even in the middle of the mess. He promised to work all things for good in Christ Jesus to those who love Him and are called according to His purposes (that’s you). He has promised He would be faithful even when we happen to stumble. He says He will give you peace, the kind that passes our normal brain, when nothing around us seems to change. He said he has promised that if He cares for the sparrow and knows every bird, He can see and watches over you. He said that if you seek Him you will find Him. He is God. He is not a man. For God it is impossible to lie. He loves you with an everlasting love. His mercies are new every morning.

My prayer this morning for you my friends is let us confess with expectation and steadiness to know our God is willing and able, that what he has promised, what you need, He is handling, taking care of for you. He loves you. Give it to Him. His hope is eternal. He is right here with you. He is the answer. May your trust be in Him. He has overcome the world. He is here for you. He is your tree of life.

Good morning, how was your chat with God this am? Did you sip your coffee as you discussed the events for the day? Did you pour out your heart for what concerns you? What did he say when you asked him what was on his heart about your situation? Who did you bring up that needs some extra love today? How did he respond? What did he ask you to do today? Did you sound like a broken record repeating yourself? Does he know what brings you joy? Did he recognize your thankfulness for his provision?

Romans 12:12b  Be constant in prayer.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.

Luke 18:1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

Ephesians 6:18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.

Colossians 4:2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

Prayer, it’s an all the time, keep at it, thankful, for you and for others. It’s for needs and wants and desires and thoughts and pain and the good and the bad and the ugly and the vision and the detail and….you fill in the blank.

As a very dear friend of mine recently put it, prayer is talking to God. It’s just talking to God. Talking to God. Talk to God.

God you are awesome. The sunrise this morning was bright and clear and almost blinding. Thank you for this new day. I want to thank you that you want to talk to me. You are a good listener. You ask in your Word that I always maintain that heart connection with you, even as I go about my day. You know me better than I know myself. Even in the places I don’t understand, I will continue to bring them before you.  Lord, thank you for the family and friends within my life. Bless them today. Give them peace and joy. Would you reveal yourself in a new way today as they reach out to you? Show them you. Let me be your hands and feet as I go about my day. I can love because you love me. May I be an expression of you. In Jesus name, Amen

Keep on, keeping on. Talk to God. He is right here.

It’s a new morning. Look in the mirror. What do you see? First thought. Well if I were there, looking back at you in that mirror, I would see goodness, a heart that longs for peace in the midst of life, grace that beckons come closer, beauty in the uniqueness of you, love that longs to give and receive. I see you, only you. You are imprinted in my heart and always on my mind.

1 Corinthians 13:4  Love is patient and kind.

Ephesians 4:32  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

What is kindness? Benevolence, full of service to another, gentle

In case you were wondering what patience really means: to suffer long, am forbearing, perseverance, refusal to retaliate, extending a long time.

Today, give yourself, in what you see in that mirror, some patience. Go ahead be kind to yourself. You know the love that gives yourself grace that you are what I see. Be tenderhearted to you. Handle with care. You are my special treasure.  My peace is the covering as you walk out this love towards  that is patient and kind to yourself. 

Truly your beauty is beyond compare.

God

Togetherness.

Some of us are people who enjoy a crowd, flit from person to person, thrive on the buzz of activity. Some of us are those who enjoy one or two people, intimate conversation. Some of us even borderline savoring as much time alone as we can to think and process. It’s in the diversity, the difference, the uniqueness of each one. For some we draw people out and others we draw them in.

Personality of who we are can be likened to style. You may like modern, cutting edge, up to date clothing. You could be comfy and cozy sweats and sweaters. You could be jeans and hiking boots. You can be formal, casual, sporty. You could be a mix of all of them!

But on the inside, we are the same. We are people who want to be accepted, cherished, liked, and loved. We are people who want to be known and to know others. We want to be heard. We desire to be cared about and affirmed, to have real value.

You do and you are.

Today, this is my prayer for you, taken from Paul in the scriptures:

Ephesians 3:14-21

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Leaves are falling and all around people have already begun to prepare for the next season. Often, in our days, we think and plan ahead (which is good). Sometimes, we plan so far ahead, we forget to enjoy the current season. Like Christmas in July or skipping directly from Halloween to Santa’s toys and Thanksgiving got lost in the shuffle.

Proverbs 15:23 To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!

Proverbs 25:11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

In our current season, it’s still officially autumn. Fall brings about harvest in these parts. Wheat and hay, soybean and corn. Fields full of plenty have given their goodness to the farmer who takes some for his family, makes a living selling to others that we too might be fed, and he also puts some back for investment in the seed for the upcoming year.

The ground has given up and released her goodness. What remains, has been tilled under to return to the soil and decompose to create life giving nutrients to the next crop. Even the leaves of most trees, have given up green for reds, yellows, and golds. Then the release. You can see what was hidden behind or even out in front. View is no longer impeded. Beauty has her own seasons.

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting, and autumn a mosaic of them all. Stanley Horowitz said that. It’s one of my favorite quotes.

So as we head into winter, autumn in her mosaic state, has begun to lose her leaves. She has let go. Time has come. Where do you need to let go? What are you holding onto that the new season cannot have the beauty of her own? What has passed it’s prime? Who do you need to forgive? What should you till under that can turn into nourishment for this next season?

Trust. Open your hands to receive.

Let it go.

You will be glad you did.

What’s at work in you? What do you believe? What are you willing to stake your life on, in an all in decision?

This morning, as I read my bible, I imagined myself in the times just after Jesus had died and arose again. These men and women, were so convinced of the truth set before them, that they wrote letters about Jesus and what occurred for all to see. They were willing to be put in prison. Families left them, thinking they were crazy. Romans (others too) tortured them at every turn they made. Things like beating them up, imprisoning them, even death by stoning or in the same manner as our Savior Jesus, crucified on a cross.

Even when you can’t completely understand, you just know that you know, that you know, in your knower. Paul states below that he was thanking God constantly, all the time, that when this city heard the word, they received it as complete truth, as the Word of God.

1 Thessalonians 2:13  And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

When we do this, believe this, and know it is Truth, the Word is now at work in us, molding, changing, developing us.   If we align ourselves with truth, seeking it out, it will have it’s power made effective in us.

Then,

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

It’s work is getting to the bottom of who we are, where we are. It determines our thoughts and our intentions and brings to light what we do well, where we need to grow, what we need to face, and how we see God, ourselves and others.

I’m willing Lord. I believe your Word is truth. I believe it is a light to my path and a lamp to my feet. I believe and am willing to open myself to what You have to say. I want to be like you. I want a clean heart. My desire is to love others the way you love me. I believe. Help me in my places of unbelief. I need you as much as the next breath I take. Amen

Good and doing good.

Simple right?

2Thessalonians 3:13 But as for you, brethren, do not weary in doing good (what is right).

Galatians 6:9 And let us not grow weary while doing good (noble and honorable), for in due season we will reap if we do not lose heart.

God has a due season. The word due in this instance is different than what we think. It is not what we are owed. It  means your own, private, belonging to you.

It means then if we do not grow weary in doing what is honorable, in our own, private season, we will reap if we do not lose heart.

There is a timetable for every act of goodness, doing what is right or honorable, that you will reap. Some take a few moments.  Some times years to see the season of goodness returned. But be encouraged, what you are sowing in love and peace and doing good, serving others, taking care of family, little acts of kindness, they are seeds that will reap a harvest.

In the meantime, as you wait for your harvest- Rom 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

and…

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Titus 3:8 …those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.

The harvest is a new soul coming to the saving grace of our Lord Jesus. Reaping is a child’s belly full. Justice for injustice. Harvest is another knowing the fullness of a friend who stands by in faith.  The harvest is someone caught in the traps and deceits of wrongdoing or stuck in the mud of life, escape and become free. Reaping is that another person reaches out to give their story to help free another from their entanglements.

Don’t give up! Keep on keeping on!

God is faithful. Your kindness and goodness count. Every act is seen and causes our God to work on their behalf because of you.

Thankful for those who do that for me. I get to pay it forward.

Gladitude, gratitude, canitude, patitude. With great joy, thankfulness, and patience I will continue to do good and can’t wait to give all that I have been given.

It’s due season!

Counsel

Isaiah 28:29 This also comes from the Lord of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom.

Proverbs 20:5 The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.

Proverbs 27:9  Ointment and perfume delight the heart, and the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by hearty counsel of the soul.

Our soul….we call it different things, but it is really anything that makes up your mind, your will, and your emotions. You know all the things you think and feel, and the choices made.

So when we need some assistance to see, to do, to understand, to find, to be, to love, our God already knows and sees. He is wonderful in counsel and advice. He is excellent in wisdom- good judgment and experience.

Then, those around us, who know us (if we let them in), who see us, who understand, can draw it out. It’s like using the right lure for fishing. It’s like pumping the well that needs to be primed.

The verse says the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight in his hearty counsel. This sweetness, well meaning, get to the heart of a matter, person in front of me has something that  would be of great value. They are willing to be ointment of life and healing. They are the hug of comfort. The open ended, sometimes repeated question. They are willing to be perfume, one who prays for me and sends those prayers of incense to the heart of my God on my behalf.

Key in counsel- To know and be known. Judgment in experience. Understanding. Friend.

Let Him in to the inner depths. Let that friend in to understand. You are deep waters. You are full of purpose. You have value. What’s in your heart and soul? The counsel is available, even Jesus with skin, in the heart of a sweet friend.

Peace

John 14:27  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Jesus left His peace as He departed this world for us to have. It’s here. We just need to utilize it. It’s for the taking. It’s now. Whatever we are going through that needs peace, it’s available. The healing may take time. The process may take time. Recovery takes time. Peace is for the now.

Luke 1:79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Do you let Him guide you into the way of peace? Do you know how?

Col 3:15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.

There it is again, a heart issue. It must rule (umpire like in baseball) my heart.

But how you ask?

Phil 4:6-9 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

1. Everything must be taken to God in prayer…..first. Not second. Not third. Not after we went to 5 friends and the refrigerator.
2. Thanksgiving (if you haven’t heard of Ann Voskamp and her book One Thousand Gifts you might want to check it out) is vital in everything we do, say, and just importantly how we think. This is a lifestyle. Bad things happen to good people. You aren’t thanking God for the hurt you are experiencing or asking for more bad things to happen, you are thanking God that He has the answer to what you are going through. Thanking Him that He is faithful.
3. Request- tell him about it and then request what you need.
4. His peace (which passes what we can understand- how it will work out) is the guard for your heart and mind.
5. How can you actively do this? Choose to think on truth, what is honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable….
6. Find an accountability partners, a mentor, or those around you who practice and live this out. What we focus on is the very thing we empower.

Peace out!

John, Son of Thunder. John, The Revelator. John, Beloved Disciple.

This man is one of my favorites in Scripture, if not the favorite. Something about him draws me to him- every time I read the words he penned about our Lord, how to live, love, and even the future. John beckons us to know Christ as Savior and Lord. Why because….1 John 4:8 God is love.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

1 John 4:11-Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

John 15:9  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.

John 15: 12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

All you need is love….all you need is love, love. All you need is love. Yes, the Beatles song is playing it’s familiar tune in my head.

This is to say….and our focus for today is John who called himself loved, beloved. Yep, that’s what I said, he CALLED HIMSELF beloved.

John 13:23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side

John 21:20 Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper…

Notice the verses,  all the verses….one of the disciples whom Jesus loved and the disciple whom Jesus loved….. John is writing about himself!

God purposed for us to know how John saw himself, his true identity. What a very good place to start! This is you. Do you know what it is to be called loved? You, Sally, Jane, Meredith, Janice, Mary….. you are loved. Let that wash over you. Let that sink it. Let it permeate your being. Can you say that about yourself? I am loved. I am loved by the God of the universe the way He loves Jesus!

Do you believe it?

Go ahead try it out.  I am loved! I____AM____LOVED!  Me, like Jesus is loved. Jesus you chose me. I am yours. You love me as your own Son. You know me. You love me. I am loved. I am! You are! Loved!

Created by hand, that’s you, a living breathing human being.

Genesis 1:1-3

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth….And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

And God said….and it was so.

The difference is YOU.

Gen 1:27-28  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

Again, man was different! How did he make you?  The verse above says so God created man in his own image….in the image of God he created him.  But how?

Gen 2:7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

We were formed or fashioned from His very hands. With everything else he spoke it and it was. He took time to breathe into man, from His own breath, His life.

So, from the very beginning, you, yep you (and me) were created especially for God, by God, from Him, to be with Him, to know Him and in His likeness.

So what is God like? Here are two things directly for us it says He is from Ephesians 4:24 says… and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Righteous means approved or proper justice. That means as you walk with Him, putting on your new self (the one He really intended you to be), you are approved and will get proper justice in your life.

Holiness means set apart, working heaven’s will on earth, godliness and beloved by God. Woah.

Yes, I looked them up so that the words we hear wouldn’t be the only ones we think of with those words. I was  curious about the encompassing of the words, their fullness.

In summation, God’s character is who He is. We can trust in it. Two of those qualities that are Him and we are created in that same likeness could sound like this:

You_____________(insert your own name)  are approved and will get proper justice for the things that have come against you. He is working out heaven’s will for you in process and you are set apart for that will because you are beloved by God!

Thank you Lord God!