Promises Beyond Inadequacies

But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness,  and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 

Hebrews 8:6, 12

On the way home one day, I began thinking about the season that I've been in. It's not always been easy and has had me asking God to clearly reveal His purpose in these life tests so that I can pass and not have to revisit them. Unlike those who are more righteous than me, my desire to move out of the season is not always altruistically motivated. I am not always focused on Christ the way I would like to be in theory. And that was the center of my thinking on the way home. I began to berate myself about not doing better, thinking better, and just plain being better. I began to feel inadequately human and selfish in my thinking. That familiar motto "W.W.J.D.?" (What Would Jesus Do) played in my mind as I wondered how Christ would have handled being in my shoes. My brain began to overload as I thought of all of the "shoulds"...you know the things that you feel you "should" do like pray more, eat less, exercise more, love more, and so forth... I knew as I stepped into the house that my condemning thoughts were not of God (Romans 8:1) and that I needed to turn to The Word for answers. As I re-read Hebrews 8, I was struck by the 8th and 12th verses that reminded me that God is merciful and not as concerned with my works (a.k.a. deeds). While He does want me to pray more and love more, etc., He also knows doesn't condemn me when I don't. At the end of the day, His promises go beyond my inadequacies. His covenant is one of forgiveness and grace...not to the end of sinning more but to the end of living more. Truly it's God's desire for us to lead lives that are focused on Him. However, as God, He also fully understands that we are simply unrighteous humans. And sometimes that is all the reminder that we need to take one more step in His direction.

Be encouraged to stay focused on living for God without trying to be Him.

Blessings,
MinD

Striving for Perfection

For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.

~Hebrews 7:28

I recently had the opportunity to visit a Mayan ruin in Belize--Lamanai. Like many ruins, it was once used in Mayan society as a place of sacrifice, worship, government and trade. A tall structure, it is used by tourists now to climb to the top and see over the treeline God’s great Creation. To say the least, it is a feat to be conquered and not for the slight of heart or fearful of heights. I, in my haste, decided to take on the challenge. As I began to climb, the stupidity of the exercise began to enter my brain. With nothing to secure a climber (holster, rigs, etc.), I was beginning to second guess my decision to climb as my fear of falling kicked in not far into my adventure. I made a decision twice (around step #10 of the incline steps), in fact, to stop the whole charade of bravery and adventure and abandon ship for safer, solid ground. Each time, a fellow-climber would skip by me (seemingly effortless climbers) with words of encouragement. And so I pressed on—speaking the words of Phil 4:13 to myself as I went…muttering “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” as I purposefully made my way up the narrow stairway. And as the end of the rope you can hold going up came to an end and the “real climbers” could take the last 10 steps up to the very top, I had hit my limit.

Looking up at the folks on top.

I stood on the plateau, shaking like a leaf feeling completely victorious even though I had fallen short of the ultimate plateau. I looked up at those above me who had achieved their ultimate goal of making it to the top and smiled to myself as I had achieved my ultimate goal of pressing passed my fears to the place where God would allow me to go (somewhere around step #50ish). I knew that I could go no further. Safety would not allow that—shaking uncontrollably while trying to climb with nothing to hold on to is not advisable for anyone.

You see, I had strived to accomplish the best that I could be. I had strived for perfecting this adventure. And what I learned when I got to my top was that my point of perfection is not the same as another person’s point, my accomplishment is not the same as another person’s accomplishment, my goal was not the same as other people’s goal. And, while my fellow climbers seemed to want to console me in my inability to make it all the way to the top, I could only smile the biggest smile ever because I was celebrating my ability to do even more than I thought I could do. And the same thing goes for the other areas of our life. Our ultimate goal is common—we all want to reach the perfection of being like Christ. But along the way, what we will come to learn is that we are human. And, as Hebrews 7:28 says, we are a priesthood full of weaknesses. We have been chosen indeed. 1 Peter 2:9 says we are a “chosen generation, a royal priesthood” but that does not ever make us all the same. What’s more it does not equate us with Christ. There is always One (Christ) who sets the bar higher than we will be able to reach but a bar we should strive to meet nonetheless. And as we climb towards that bar, push through our comfort zone (step #10) and hurdle over our fears, we will feel assurance and excitement in making it to our own levels of accomplishment.

Today, your challenge is to make sure that you don’t sell yourself short and stop on step #10 when your place of accomplishment is at step #40 or #50. Be encouraged as you press on towards that mark in Christ Jesus. God and a host of angels will be cheering with you when you do (even if man does not). Push on. You can do it!

Blessings,

MinD

P.S. Don’t forget to share this prayer point with someone today. You never know who could use an encouraging word to make it past their step #10.

Hear The Call. Don't Turn Back.

“For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

Hebrews 5:13-14

“I have decided to follow Jesus…No turning back. No turning back.” For some reason, this old hymn is floating through my mind. There was a point in my life when Jesus wasn’t even a thought for me. Then, even after salvation, I was not fully committed to giving myself completely to Him. I did the best I knew how to do. I drank the mild of my Christian faith just like it describes in Hebrews 5:13. However, there was a certain point when I realized that God was calling me to a new level in Him—one where mild would not suffice and where the solid food of faith (Heb 5:14) was required. At that point, I made a conscious decision to follow Him…no turning back.

So on days and in seasons when that path is more challenging than I’d like, I am reminded that I have truly made a commitment to go where He’s gone in some way, shape, or form. My suffering (if you can even call it that) only scratches the surface of what Christ suffered. And, as I walk through the valleys of this Christian journey, I can be reassured that even suffering has a purpose. Hebrews 5:8 says that Jesus “learned obedience by things which he suffered.” He was called by The Father and remained committed without turning back despite His tremendous suffering.

You may be struggling with the call that The Father has given you. Drinking the milk of faith has worked just fine for you. But there is more to this walk for you. Today, hear the call that God is placing over your life to eat the “solid food” of your faith and walk with assurance that in your decision you will not turn back.

Be encouraged to keep moving forward.

MinD

God's Whisper Through The Shift

This week, my life is changing. After ten years of love, joy, peace, sanctuary, friendship, triumph and trials, I am moving out of my home. It is my first home. It has seen me through 6 roommates, 2 pets, 3 degrees, 3 vehicles, and countless other blessings of jobs, relationships, and more. The corners of the room have heard me weep when there was no one else around and they have heard me whoop and holler when the room was filled. The walls have watched as I've gone through so much transition in my life and so the parting of ways has been like leaving an old friend. There are positive sides to this transition and challenging sides as well. With that in mind, making the decision to move has not been an easy one and has challenged my ability to be obedient as God shifts things around in my life. So it seemed only fitting that as I opened up my devotional on my big move date, it "just so happened" that my readings coincided with just what I needed to hear. The first words I read were those in Ecclesiastes 3 and then in Hebrews 4:

"To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven."  ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1

"For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." ~Hebrews 4:15-16

God, in His infinite wisdom started my day whispering comfort in my ear. Letting go of one season to walk into the next is never easy, but the great thing is that God is right there with us through it all. He walks with us and knows the turn of our hearts as we are pushed and pulled through the shifting seasons. Our emotions may be all over the place but, if we stop for a moment in the midst of all the hubbub, get quiet and listen, He whispers to us and brings a great peace that helps us to move one more step through the seasonal shift. In the midst of our trial and in the midst of our shift, we can go boldly to "the throne of grace" and He's waiting with the help that we need. 

Today, there is something that God is trying to move you from and/or move you TO. You've been resisting the shift, feeling alone in the movement. But I want you to be encouraged today. I pull the instructions from Hebrews that are repeated often..."harden not your heart" and hear what God is trying to whisper to you. Be obedient to the move of God and He will be right there at every step. He is trying to move you to that next place in your purpose and will honor your obedience. Do not hesitate and press through the obstacles before you. He wants to make your shift seamless. He wants to be there for you. Stop, take a deep breath, and listen to what thus said the Lord.

Be encouraged,
MinD