muscle

Did you know that there are 32 muscles in each ear of a cat? There are about 600 muscles, give or take, in the human body. The brain, nerves and skeletal muscles work together to cause movement and boy, do mine ache at times from too much activity from inactivity or just that aging factor that inevitably creeps up on us. Nevertheless, muscles work!

I’ve got my physical muscles to get me around, but what about my faith muscle? Do I ever use it to its full capabity? Do I even use it properly or even get it to work?

If you think about objects that are powered by batteries, you notice that they have an off and on switch. If you are lucky with batteries included, you can use the item right away, but you still have to activate the switch by turning it on. In the same way, we can talk about getting exercise and working out, but until we “get off the couch”, the only muscle getting a workout is our mouth that professes we will do something. That movation is there but needs the action. As Christians, our move or switch is faith. When we turn it on, we can access the power within us. As Pastor Tony Evans states:

“Faith is not about how much you believe in what you believe. Faith is about believing that the One you believe in is believable.”

That’s what happened to Peter when he walked on the water to Jesus. “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” Matthew 14: 29-31

The Lord might not be asking you to get out of the boat or walk on water, but He does want you to act in faith and trust him with your life, your challenges, your relationships, your finances or whatever it might be. You only need to act by trusting in the one who makes the waves obey. That’s exercising faith. Are you putting your muscle to work today? Flex your faith muscle and see what amazing things God can do!

inkling

As we gobble on tidbits of information, we attempt to communicate our ideas. With social media comments and criticisms, it seems that everyone has an opinion and wants to follow different truths. The root systems of our morality, are eroded. We have lost our sense of the Divine.

Our society tells us what to think, but we need to recognize the wonders and grow in wisdom and get pulled out of the rhythms of our culture and reconnect with an encounter with God. I have an inkling that in the flatland geography of our modern world; there is so much more to explore in the spiritual realm.

People want to run the line. Right is right and wrong is wrong and there are no greys. Jesus is the only Way. He is the truth and the light and no one comes to the Father but through Him.

When people walk away from truth; when people deny Jesus; when people run from God they find themselves trapped in a prison, desperate for freedom with people throwing them keys in the cells of their life thinking that they will escape. The reality is that life is a process to unlocking identity. My identity is in Christ. Sometimes we have to move away from God to realize how desperately we need Him.

“It is the prodigals… that the memory of their Father’s house comes back. If the son had lived economically, he would never have thought of returning.” Simone Weil.

And so I implore and plead with others to get in touch with the Divine - the Creator of the universe, the Almighty, the God of wonders and let Him reveal himself and speak His truth in love. He is listening.

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4: 1-6

solomon

There are many paradoxes evident in our world today. A paradox is a statement that appears to produce two entirely contradictory outcomes or goes against what we intuitively expect. Paradoxes have been part of philosophical thinking for centuries. King Solomon was a paragon of wisdom and sage judgment and yet his personal life was a bit of a mess.

When I was a little girl, my grandmother gave me a pictoral bible. My favorite story was from 1 Kings 3:16–28 which recounts two mothers living in the same house with their newborns. One day the mothers came to Solomon distressed because one of the babies had been smothered and died. Each woman claimed that the remaining baby was hers. King Solomon called for a sword and then asked that the baby be cut in two, each woman to receive half a child.

One mother was content with Solomon's proposal, indicating that if she couldn't have the baby, then neither of them should. However, the other woman looked to Solomon, and 1 Kings 3: 26-28 tells the story.

The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved out of love for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!”

But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!”

Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.”

When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.

Once the mothers revealed their true feelings, Solomon could discern the true mother from the fraud; however, what does that have to do with Paradox?

According to the Journal of Psychological Science, this is an actual phenomenon. Solomon’s Paradox is the state of mind where you can understand, reason and solve other people’s problems more wisely than you can your own. Solomon was the wisest man of all time, but he couldn’t manage his own personal life all that well. His hundreds of wives led him to follow customs and worship practices of other cultures. We may advise well, but don’t follow our own advice or counsel.

Maybe it’s time to start following our own advice and see the results. We might gain much wisdom.

lessons

In the womb of the dawn, I perceive how the yellow sun devours the pink clouds and I think about how to slay the dragons in my life. A machaira was a short dagger and saber used in close combat during a war. These aren’t physical battles we fight, but I know that my “tongue is a sharpened sword that can slay the devil.” ( Ephesians 6: 17) If I really want to stop the attacks of the enemy, I need to commit scripture to memory. If I do, I will see results.

If you have never seen the sun, then you will be impressed with a simple candle. If you’ve never heard the sound of thunder and seen bolts of lightning, you will be impressed with a firecracker. If you don’t read God’s Word, praise Him for His majesty and all He has done and turn your back on the Creator of the Universe, you will fall in love and into the trap that the world sets before you with it’s short-lived pleasures and shadows of doubt. As A.W. Tozer says, “The most dangerous trap is just living and forgetting that God exists.”

I pray I will never be afraid of the Fridays in my faith. Christ died on the cross, but there was a day of mourning; a time to question; a time to weep and feel the loss. But it took that sad Saturday in between before we saw the dawn of the resurrection and the Sunday of our soul. I know there are days of doubt and it’s okay to cry and wonder why. That’s when I look to verses in the bible to read, sing, memorize and meditate on. Refresh your mind and soul. There are lessons to learn.

Psalm 119: 25-40 - Daleth

 I am laid low in the dust;
    preserve my life according to your word.
 I gave an account of my ways and you answered me;
    teach me your decrees.
 Cause me to understand the way of your precepts,
    that I may meditate on your wonderful deeds.
 My soul is weary with sorrow;
    strengthen me according to your word.
 Keep me from deceitful ways;
    be gracious to me and teach me your law.
 I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
    I have set my heart on your laws.
 I hold fast to your statutes, Lord;
    do not let me be put to shame.
 I run in the path of your commands,
    for you have broadened my understanding.

 Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees,
    that I may follow it to the end.
 Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law
    and obey it with all my heart.
 Direct me in the path of your commands,
    for there I find delight.
 Turn my heart toward your statutes
    and not toward selfish gain.
 Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
    preserve my life according to your word.
 Fulfill your promise to your servant,
    so that you may be feared.
 Take away the disgrace I dread,
    for your laws are good.
 How I long for your precepts!
    In your righteousness preserve my life.

perspective

Sometimes we just need to see the world from a different angle. As I venture out to a daytrip to the mountains, I feel as if I could reach my hand and touch the tips so many miles away. Even though I know I can’t because of my rational thought, I am often very affected by forces I cannot see.

The aroma of fresh baked cookies stirs my senses in memories of after school treats; that conversation and laughter with friends drinking coffee and sharing stories and eating blueberry muffins and all the ways we interact with our world are real. But our puzzling personalities lead us to ask questions. Why are we suspicious when we could have the joy of curiosity? Why all the snap opinions when our mindset could be nonjudgmental? Why do we dissect details and camparingly catalogue experiences when we could have a new positive paradigm free of negative thoughts? Why do we sometimes slam the door of opportunity or let it quietly close when we could be moving in a whole new direction and experiencing new adventures?

There is the story about an older woman who cried all day. It wasn’t because of her livelihood, her family or her circumstances. She was just upset and worried about her two sons and how they were faring in the world. One of them sold umbrellas and so when it was sunny, she cried because she didn’t think he would do well with the business. Her other son sold vegetables and needed the sun, but when it rained, the plants were too sodden and the woman cried because she worried about him and his business too. One day, she met a wise man who told her to look at each scenario with a different lens. When it rained, think about the son selling umbrellas. He will do well. And when it’s sunny, remember the vegetable farmer son and know that his crops will thrive. We all have sunshine and rain in our lives. Nothing really changed in the sad woman’s life except her perspective. Perhaps we would do well to do the same.

“Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Colossians 3:2

rain

When I stand in the puddles in my yard and watch the drops sprinkle themselves on the ground, I am reminded of the blessings that have been showered on each of us. But oh, raindrops can be like tears falling from heaven as God must look down and sadly shake his head and ask “what on earth has man done?”

For all the acid rain, there are clear pools of clear, fresh water pouring down the mountainside. For the rainfall of tears that pour from broken hearts, there are tears of laughter rolling down cheeks past smiling mouths. For the rain of bullets, missiles and shells exploding in the magnitude of wars now and in the past, there are spring rains with thunder, lighning and wind that roll across the prairies nourishing the fields of crops.

Psalm 147:8 tells us that, “He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills.”

This liquid precipitation that falls from the sky are really millions of water droplets gathering in a cloud, combining, condensing and falling to earth bringing life to all. Just watch a young child in rubber boots dancing splashing in the rain. Watch the people hold their colored umbrellas over their heads. Listen to the sound on the roof of a tent early on a rainy morning. Watch the storm clouds gather and unlease their flurry of pelting drops across the sky and shower the earth with moisture. We long for rain when the land is dry and parched. Like many who are used up, fed up and ready to give up, they long for relief.

And then there is God’s love that rains down on us from on high. Just turn your face to the heavens and feel it. When your soul is dry and parched and your faith isn’t growing - it has shriveled up, dried up and you’ve given up. Pray for the rain. Hope in the Lord.

Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain?
Do the skies themselves send down showers?
No, it is you, Lord our God.
Therefore our hope is in you,
for you are the one who does all this. Jeremiah 14:22