Comparison That Strengthens

👉🏻Comparison that leads to condemnation is unhealthy.
👉🏻Comparison that leads to alignment is healthy.

As I walk this path into a new place, I find myself comparing this to that, me to them. I felt spotlighted in certain thoughts and behaviors. This spotlight made me see my dullness, wishing I had what they had. It’s been a real struggle between flesh and spirit. Feeling the spotlight can either be the act of the Holy Spirit or the act of evil. For one will uplift and the other will tear down.
For me this comparison hasn’t been in a physical sense, but mental and spiritual.
Do you ever catch yourself saying, “I used to be like that...I used to see like that...I used to have that (blank) in my soul...”
I’d like to think comparison in this sense is a sharpening, an alignment of where we want to or need to be. It is the salt of the earth… It is the city on a hill shining in… It is the spark of a consuming fire… It is the iron sharpening iron chisel.

👉🏻I see her strength, I want that again.
👉🏻I see her changed health, I want that again.
👉🏻I see her acting in blind faith, I want to believe deep again.
👉🏻Her fire ignites others to fire, I remember being consumed.
👉🏻She believes in her value, I want to feel my value.
👉🏻She believes in the ability of God to use her to change peoples lives, I want that belief back for me.

In opposition to truth, the the enemy taunts us in comparison, You aren't, You can't, You shouldn't.

God does not create us to be lukewarm, dull, anxious, insecure, weak. He calls us to be more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. He created us to encourage and be encouraged. As iron sharpens iron, we do that in each other’s lives if we will allow ourselves to be His vessels in not only other's lives, but within our own.

We fall into 3 camps I think: We are too sharp for that, we are too full for that or I’m not sure so I won’t be involved.
You can run from yourself but you cannot run from God!

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:11, 13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Lord Jesus, You did not pour out Your precious blood over us for show. It is to be life for us in every way. Your death is our life. Your last breath is the beginning of ours.
Forgive us when we doubt You and Your ability to use us. Forgive us when we wander in avoidance. Revive us. Renew our minds in You and cast off all that hinders. By the Name of Zjesus our Savior, Healer, Father and King, I say amen.🙌🏻

Today, I am grateful and thankful for my Refreshing, Refining and Redeeming Savior! Today, I chose to Believe He has great plans for me and He has placed AMAZING people in my little world to inspire, mentor and love me where I am. I am Blessed! 

Does your "battery" need a charge?

Every time he drives off, I pray that he would be wise and pleading with God to keep him safe. So, when I hear his ringtone playing through phone minutes after he has left the house, my heart skips a beat wondering, "Oh no, what happened." Thankfully, this last call was not a 911, but there was an issue. 
He had left for church and on his way stopped in to get a donut. If you could see how big his truck is, you'd know why he avoids drive thrus! Toooo big to maneuver through them. So anyway, when he made his sugary purchase and returned to the truck, it didn't start. And that's when I got the call. Thank God he was not broken down in the middle of a main road, like a few weeks ago!!! (Yes, that was scary! Drive shaft dropped mid-road! He was okay, thank God!)
The other kiddos and I were loading up already to head to church so we made the detour into Shipleys (which by the way, soooo much better than Dunkin Donuts!!), and you can imagine the delight that erupted in my car! They didn't even notice their brother's huge white truck being there, or remember that he was going to stop by. All they could imagine was DONUT HEAVEN!!! (We hardly ever buy donuts so their delight and shock was genuine! LOL)  
To their disappointment, we pulled into the space by big boy's truck and connected the batteries and gave him a jump. It took a few minutes to figure out which wires were loose before it started up, but it did. We were all good to go yet now late. I hurried up and got back in the car and started driving to church, with no time for a drive through to get a "sugary delight." Yes, you can imagine the disappointment. But, we had gone there for a purpose and it was not for donuts. 
 As we were driving off, my little guy who is 7 years old said, "Mom, why did you have to hook up to his truck?" "He needed me to jump his battery so he could keep going. My battery was full and his was empty. If we didn't stop and help him, he would have just stayed there and missed church."
God uses us in the same way. We need eachother to help "jump start" each other when we are "empty." We all go through days or seasons where we "run out of juice" in our batteries. We are at a stand still and find ourselves unable to "go another mile." Certainly God leads us through periods of rest and waiting but being at a complete stop, or being "broken down" along the road is something completely different. We know it in our spirits when we have reached that place of fumes and eventual emptiness. We push as far as we think we can (even when we are functioning in the Lord's strength of Philippians 4:13....and it's a whole other blog about doing things in our own strength and how quickly we will hit "empty) but even those times we are giving our everything to the Lord and relying on His strength, we can still find ourselves exhausted and running on what feels like "fumes" until that day we finally register "empty." 
It is then, that God sends us someone to "charge" our batteries. While our "battery" is empty, theirs is full and  able to give us a much needed "charge." Sometimes it's a simple smile or a hug that can brighten our day. A lunch/coffee invite, a kind word or deed done for us or on our behalf. Blessings and gratefulness begin to overwhelm us. We didn't think we could go any further. We felt empty and abandoned and then there arrives the Lord's sweet reminder that we certainly are not alone, unusable or truly empty, we just need a "jump start" from someone with a full battery! There may even be days or seasons you have to move around some "wires" and tighten up the "connections" before your "battery" will receive the "full charge." Patient endurance! 
How important to remember that there is a purpose for living in community with each other! We "charge" and "sharpen" (Proverbs 27:17) one another when we pray and fellowship together. We must be careful to avoid getting side tracked by the "sugary delights" all around us in our relationships with each other. It is very easy to just have fun, talk about fun things, discuss the world events, sip coffee, share our latest Pinterest finds...all the while, forgetting the fact we are pulled over in the space next to someone who's "battery" needs a charge.
If you are running on "fumes" or you can feel the "charge" in your "battery" slowly beginning to grow weak, be encouraged that God has not left you alone in that space. He will send rescue but you need to be ready and waiting with eager anticipation looking for it. If your "hood" is not open, I cannot reach your "battery." As a Believer, you already have the power of the Holy Spirit within you but you can quench His power to work in you. How are your "connections?" Are you dwelling in God's Word? Who is the source of your strength? Whose truth are you relying on? God sends "others" to "jump start" us. We are all at different places on our journey and thank God so that when we "break down" we can call for someone else to give us a "jump" so we don't just stay there and miss church!!  

"And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle,encourage the fainthearted,help the weak, 

be patient with them all." 1 Thessalonians 5:14

"And so, from the day we heard,we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 

May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patiencewith joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.  He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

Colossians 1:9-14

Love is in the Dirt too!

"I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD."  Psalm 40: 1-3

Have you ever felt like you were in a pit? The ground in which you found yourself standing became dusty, crawling with critters and it was gonna be a doozy to get out of? Maybe you are in one right now. How big is your pit? Enough to twist your ankle and limp on a little or is it over your head and you stand in darkness? No matter your pit, God can rescue you!
There is no such thing as "A perfect person." (Otherthan Christ Jesus, of course!) No one has it all together even if it seems to you they do. Everyone gets hurt sometimes. Everyone makes a mistake sometimes. Everyone looses their cool sometimes. Everyone responds in ways they wish they hadn't sometimes. Some times, we find ourselves in a pit. A pit of betrayal. A pit of anger. A pit of loss. A pit of addiction. A pit of loneliness. A pit of depression. A pit of lies. A pit of rejections. A pit of laziness. A pit of rebellion. A pit of debt. There are a lot of pits which anyone can fall into, sometimes.
I think we tend to look at other people and think they've got it easy or that they never fall. I believe this is a clever lie Satan plants in our hearts, not so much in way of comparison...but by exalting another person above us, we then lower our own adequacy and it heightens our awareness of our imperfections. We tell ourselves things like I am a failure...I can't win this battle...I'm not good enough...Things will never get better...Someone else can do it better...I'm a looser...I will never conquor this thing...It's no use...I am nothing. 
And if we have any sense of hope in our heart, we will turn towards God and then pitifully sit in shame, fear, lacking anything to present as "good" before our Gracious and Holy God. And yet, God is the Perfecter of our Faith, Strength in our weakness and a rescue in times of need. Just as He drew Peter up out of the pit of disbelief in the water, just as He brought Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego out of the pit of fire of injustice, just as God gave provision and protection to Daniel in the lion's den and Jonah from the pit of disobedience in the belly of the whale...God will rescue us too. God is a God who gathers together His people in His ark and delivers them from death. Over and over in the scriptures, we find God in the depths and dirt with us.
I am soooo thankful that God meets me where I am along my journey and even if I find myself stepping in a pit, He has "heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God." He is not a God who sits on the throne judging and shaking His head. He is compassionate and empowering, as He sent His Son to the dirt of the earth to place His feet on the road marked with suffering, in order that we can see Him, feel Him, touch Him, and by His infinite Grace and Mercy, be saved by Him from the pit of darkness. 
Lord, thank You for being a God and Savior that knows when I fall into a filthy pit and graciously draws me out of it. I know my tears are heard and seen. Help me Lord God to be a demonstrator of your Amazing Grace and Compassion as You "set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.." May others see You and fear You. May my life be a testimony to Your healing from less paths with pits to more paths of righteousness. May others trust You for their rescue as I testify how You alone rescued me!! Thank You for Your sweet, sweet Love, that can even be found amongst the dirt. 
PS. See the glass heart in the dirt? Love and Hugs right when you need one! We KNOW He loves us but there are times when you just need to know-know. Sweet Lord!!!

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'") And from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." John 1:14-17

Because God Said So

Our church is a Praying Church! In recent months, our Pastor has placed a renewed emphasis on prayer and we have begun a Prayer Gathering on Sunday evenings at 4:50pm. Last Sunday I walked in a few minutes after it had officially started and I slipped in to one of the open pews in the back. I really wanted to kneel at the alter up front but I felt as if God was holding me back in the back. And He was, for a lesson.
When I first entered the large Worship Center, there was a still quiet except for a few small voices praying aloud from within their small groups. Much different than when I had entered just a few hours before for Corporate Worship! Although I had planned to pray up front at the alter, I had to fight the internal battle going on within me to sit in the back rather than move to the alter which is what I had planned to do. (Just that decision alone was a big deal for me as I am typically a "stay in the back" type of person, so I was excited to conquer going to the front that evening. I know, it's the little victories!! heehee) But....I felt the command to sit in the back. Yes, I huffed for a moment not understanding exactly why I had to sit there, in the back! Well, "Because God said so" was the only reason and that is one I have learned to accept without explanation or understanding! He is The Great I Am and I am the Little I Will.
It was towards the end of the prayer time that I sat up and "lifted me eyes up" as I had read so many times through the scriptures in recent study times (great things always followed that statement) and I finished my personal prayer time looking forward towards the Heavens. Then, my eyes dropped down and I began to notice the number of persons that were praying,...maybe only 10 persons. My thought went to, What a bummer that not very many were here. My heart was not judging, rather it was an observation the Lord was giving me. I knew there would be a few kneeling like me which I could not see, and yet it still seemed vacant. That large of a space easily swallows up a dozen persons.
Our prayer time finished and upon the final benediction and "amen" my spirit gasped at the amount of people that rose up from below what I could not see earlier. So many others had obviously been down praying on their knees or possibly their faces, praying before the Lord.
My heart rejoiced and was glad at the sight of all those who rose up! It's good to be wrong in cases like this!! LOL!!! God used this lesson to remind me:
God is working in ways we cannot know or see and it may not be as we had planned, for God's ways are not our ways! Like an anthill, at first glance, you may come to believe it's vacant...until you step into it and an eruption of ants coming flooding out! God is always moving and working despite what we "see." Our finite minds cannot even begin to comprehend the hands of God moving among the Universe, holding everything together in the Spiritual World and the Physical World (Colossians 1:17).
What a blessing to know there are those battling it out on their knees before the Lord, not before men, for the sake of Christ, that His will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven. To think how many things were being prayed for, by so many people. What a comforting thought. What an encouraging reminder that we as the Body of Christ are not alone even when it sometimes feels like it. There are infact, armies busy working "underground", waiting and ready to come flooding out from the seemingly quiet coverings and at moment's notice/interruption!
Do you recognize Christ as the Great I Am and your place as The Little I Will? Can you hear His calls to pray for others, not just yourself? Do you remember that you are not alone and that He will send you rescue? Do you trust that He is working on your behalf and nothing can separate you from Him as His child? Romans 8 is a great encouragement if you need some reminding of these truths and promises!!!

Thank You Lord God of Creation, Maker of heaven and Earth, Lord of lords and King of Kings, Our Great I Am, thank You for Your faithfulness to work on our behalf. Forgive us when we believe the lie that You have left us to battle alone. Forgive us when we believe we can do life on our own. When we feel alone and outnumbered, God please remind us that You are there and that You have surrounded us with Your protection and provisions even if we are blinded to them, may we trust Your Mighty hand and outstretched arms. Give us the eyes to see and ears to hear the things of this world and in Your spiritual world, that You want us to see and hear. May we then be quick to act and trust in those moments of Truth, the plan You have for us. Thank You for those who You place in our lives to stand with us in the battles, praying, helping, encouraging, teaching, interceding on their knees. Help us be sensitive to the promptings of Your Holy Spirit to be obedient in these things for others too. Bowed before Your throne and not the throne of man, to You be all glory and praise. Amen.