Monday, February 25, 2013
Glorify the Right One
Monday, February 18, 2013
Seeking
- "Learn" - To teach, exercise in, trained in
- "Right" - to be well, to be good, be pleasing, glad, joyful, do thoroughly, to make a thing good or right or beautiful.
- "Seek" - to resort to, seek with care, inquire, require, to consult, to frequent (like a place), investigate, to practice, study, follow
- "Willing" - consent, yield to, accept, to desire
- "Obedient" - to hear, listen to, obey, understand, give heed, to be regarded, agree
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Got a Problem?
Two Tuesdays ago (let's see, February 5, 2013), God broke me. Now, I assure you...He is a gentleman. He will not take what we do not give Him. However, a young woman who helped lead the youth in a small-town church in Missouri taught me the very basic notion of brokenness. She constantly was asking the Lord to break her and mold her. I asked her about it several times and I got a variety of answers from John 3:30 which essentially says, "More of Him, less of me," and when I'm broken, I'm drawn close to Him. I've never seen so much reverence in my life except for what she exhibited to me at a young age. But, I was told that we must ask for it. It sounds silly to be asking God to break you, but it does more than just draw you close. It defeats pride, something I think everyone struggles with from time to time. It causes you to recognize who is God and that you are not God. It causes dependence on God. It instills "fear" of God. (I'll talk about that later...but think more of reverence instead of judgmental fear.) It shows you what you're not, aka where you're lacking. It tests and tries your faith. And most of all...it allows you to be molded into what GOD desires you to be for Him. A vessel filled with living water!
So, back to my breaking experience...As I went into prayer meeting, I was sure that it was going to be a night to remember. This was the first night we were starting our intercessory prayer ministry and the team was meeting to pray for salvation and healing to come for specific persons and for the church and its move and even global movement of Christ's kingdom. As soon as God's presence began to infiltrate the church, I had to leave. It was an awful thing really since I love Jesus and His presence. But I had come to the point where I had acknowledged sin in my life and I really didn't want to deal with it. The truth of the Scriptures were coming to light and me, with my sin, could not stand in the presence of God. (See Ps 101:7) So, I went out to the atrium area. About a week earlier, I prayed for God to break me. I was at a point where I wanted to move closer to God but I didn't know how, so I asked Him to show me and break me. Be careful what you pray for, because you may actually get it!
Anyway, in the atrium, I sat on the floor. I wept. I was so distressed that I could not be in the sanctuary. Growing up in church, I was there constantly...So, to be sitting outside while a powerful prayer meeting was going on was not only new but heart-breaking that my sin was so great that I couldn't be in the Presence of God. As I prayed, I began to repent and to confess my wrongdoing. I began to confess not only to God but also to myself the severity of my sin and that I was nothing in comparison to my God! At one point in time, I remember saying over and over "I am nothing" through the tears. This was not an easy operation ladies and gents. The stronger the nut, the more pressure it takes to break it. I was strong-willed and stubborn. And it took a great deal of pressure to break me. My heart felt like it weighed 100lbs! Once it came to climax, I felt the Lord telling me to crawl into His presence. I wept even more at that point in time! There's that breaking of pride. What Lord, I can't walk to the altar?! But, I began. He said He would meet me when I was broken. I didn't get very far. It was like one heavy crawl after another heavy crawl. One of our elders came back with a Word for me. God spoke through her saying, "It doesn't feel like it right now, but I'm giving you the answer you've been praying for. I'm tearing you down so I can build." Ever so vividly, I saw a withered tree being uprooted completely. The soil was tilled and made healthy and a seed was planted. Once that seed was planted, the heaviness left and it was replaced with peace. I've never felt so light in my life. I did make it to the altar after God met me. But all I could do was praise Him. Praise Him. Praise Him.
I'm not saying these last two weeks have been easy. I'm saying I'm in a better place with God because of repentance and brokenness. I can go deeper with Him because of overcoming a prevalent sin in my life. I can go deeper with Him because I know He is God in such a real way. I have a sense of what He sees because I don't have the sin blocking the eyes of my heart.
Brokenness isn't something we like to talk about. It's almost as bad as talking about death. Yet, Jesus calls us to die daily.
Got a problem? Repent...Confess it to an all-loving God! Because God can't come near to us when we're in sin. And when you turn from your way, God will draw near...
God doesn't seem near? Examine your life to see if there be some way in you that doesn't line up with God's Word.
Want to go all out? Die to yourself. Ask for brokenness to come. And relish in the Presence of God.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Yada, Yada, Yada
Friday, February 8, 2013
Rich with Creation
Genesis 1
The beginning. I'm sure you've seen a million devotions about this chapter. But, if you get down to the actual Hebrew, most words aren't even in the Hebrew. I studied this chapter in great detail when I went through my Hebrew classes but when you add in faith, it makes it so rich.
First, we have to consider the word "created." We see creation with such 21st century eyes...Most of us only consider artists to be creators. Or we even think about those that make "apps" for our smart phones. But, we don't see past that. When we think about how God created us, think about this definition stemming from the Hebrew...
Created - to shape, to form, to fashion, (in the way only God can), of new conditions or circumstances, of something new, of MIRACLES, to cut down, to cut out, to be fat.
Yes, that last one is part of the definition. But, I want you to pick out the one that means the most to you. What would your life be like even just to grasp that God created your body just the way it is? But, He also created the life within you...
Life - soul, self, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, activity of the will, activity of the character, activity of desire, emotion, and passion.
The life within you is where your drive is...but if it's not focused on God who created you of something new, then we can get sucked into what the world says our passion and success should be. Not only that, in verse 28, it talks about the Lord blessing His creation, aka US!
Blessed, to bless, to kneel, to be adored.
If you've ever taken such delight in something you've created or worked hard on, think about that time and how you felt. You probably treasured that item or experience. You poured yourself into it and now it's time to enjoy it. God adores us more than you will ever know. He takes such delight in us, not only in the way we look, but also the soul within us...although, we've fallen away. He still wants that relationship with us as our Creator. God has entrusted us with the creation of everything else (all the animals and trees), but He still takes ownership over us. He doesn't force us to love Him, as He is a gentleman. He won't take what we won't give Him...but He desires it. He adores us...He blesses us with His adoration and love.
In verse 28, the word "Fruitful" is used. Fruitful means to bear fruit, branch off. We can't be fruitful unless we make our home in Him. (See John 15.) When we truly see how God sees us, we can't help but to learn more.
I encourage you, plead for you, to make yourself available to God. He wants to give you the experience of a lifetime and such abundance that the world will not understand. God is the God of the impossible. Expect Him to do things you can't even imagine because He isn't of this world...and neither are we, for we belong to Him. He answers your prayers. He has heard your cry. And He will move when you let Him. But know that He is God and we are His. He takes delight in us and wants that relationship with us because He created us in resemblance to Him.
Today, remember to whom you belong! God is a God of light, life, and love. Go on this journey. Don't look back...just keep going, one step at a time. You won't regret it! Let this be your passion and will!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
The Beauty of the Morning
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Storm Screams
“Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.” – Psalm 107: 28-30 (NIV)
One evening, I was driving home from a friend’s house. It had been raining most of the day, but I was not too worried about the drive home. All of a sudden, there was cloud to ground lightening that surrounded my sight. I was beginning to get nervous. I still had 45 minutes to go before I would arrive safely at home. It began to rain hard. Before long, my windshield wipers could hardly keep up. I could barely see the lines on the road. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did. Quarter-sized hail began to fall and nearly scared me to death with the first one hitting my car sounding like a gun-shot. It seemed to never end. Cars began to pull over on the side of the highway. I was scared and I rarely get scared about driving in the rain. Driving in hail was another thing. I was nearly in tears and made up my mind that if it didn’t stop hailing in thirty seconds, that I would pull into a gas station until it calmed now.
About 25 seconds into my count, a cloud off to the side began to let in a shimmer of sunlight and the hailing stopped. I was so relieved. By this time, I was in tears. I was fully finished with dealing with the hail. I had been talking to God along the way, but by the mess with the hail, they were more like screams. I wanted to be done with all of the mess. But just when I thought I had complete relief…
The hail began yet again! The sun didn’t shine. The wipers, once more, could hardly work fast enough. It hailed longer this time. I was annoyed that it was going on again, yet I was a little calmer this time. I knew that God was watching my back and that I would arrive home…just at a little slower of a pace than what I would generally do it in. I wanted it to quick. And painless. And, by golly, I wanted to stop crying! By the time I arrived home, it had stopped raining. Along the horizon, there was a line of blue. It wasn’t big, but it certainly was a break from the gray sky that darkened with the night approaching.
My drive home is much of what our Christian walk is like. There are storms, and sometimes, we have hail. Parents get divorced. School gets stressful beyond compare. Friends betray us. A spouse leaves. Someone we love goes onto another life. Family decides to move. Illnesses are announced. Cancer or chronic illnesses are detected. All of these things rock our boat. They bring hail on our lives. It breaks us down. We strive to get through each moment, trying to rely that God has a plan to get us out of it. But, instead of screaming for God to pull us out, perhaps we should scream for God to bring us closer to Him so that we can feel His embrace in the storm.
God is always with us. And He is that shimmer of light when it seems like everything is going wrong. It may be off to the side, and you may have to look a little for it, but it will be there. It may be that line of blue on the horizon when the skies are gray. But He is there and He will pull you through anything you encounter. God doesn’t want bad things to happen, but He can work through everything. Scream out to Him and He will be there in the midst of the storm with you!
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© Copyright 2011, Samantha Fomera
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