PRESSING ON

     The Lord knew the days of our lives which He had planned for us, not only before we were ever thought of by our parents, but even before the foundations of the earth.  The psalmist mentions that the Lord knew us and all the days of our lives before we were born. “My frame was not hidden from You. When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book, they were all written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.” (Psalms 139:15-16). Paul also makes mention of the Lord’s foreknowledge of us. “…just as He (the Father) chose us in Him before the foundations of the earth, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” (Ephesians 1:4).

By knowing the days He had ordained for us, the Lord also knew His purposes He had in mind for us to fulfill. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10). We all want to know that we are living and walking in the will of God, day by day. But some Christians would wonder how they can be sure they are doing and fulfilling God’s will and purposes for their lives.

 If we truly believe that the Lord has ordained the days of our lives, and the purpose for us to fulfill during those days, then how would we think or believe that the Lord would allow us to miss His will or let us go astray. In Galatians 5:25, Paul says, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Just keep walking and doing what is before you to do, and as you take one step at a time, you will walk right into the will of God, as you have been doing all along. Continue to be led by the Spirit and when it is time to build on what you have been doing all along, or to turn the corner and go in a whole new direction, the Spirit will lead you.  The Lord has given each one of us talents – things which we have been, and are naturally good at. He has done so according to our ability. Jesus told a parable of the talents where a land owner, before he travels to a far country, calls his servants to him, and gives each servant talents. “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.” (Matthew 25:14-15). The Master did not give them any instructions as to what the servants were to do with their talents. After receiving the talents from their Master, each servant had to decide what he was going to do with his talent(s). The servants were being forced to step out of their comfort zone and go into uncharted territory. The first two servants took the risk and stepped out to put their Master’s money to good use. By doing so, both servants doubled their Master’s money, even though they were given different amounts according to their ability. But the third servant did not step out into uncharted territory. He was not willing to take a risk and try doing something new, something he had never done before, as the first two servants had done. Matthew 25:18 tells us what the third servant did with the portion of money he was given. “But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money.”

Throughout Scripture, the Lord is always challenging His people to leave the comfort zone they have been in, just as the mother eagle stirs her nest when it is time for the eaglets to leave the nest and learn to fly. Yet the mother eagle is there, ready to scoop down and catch them on her wing before they fall to the ground.     

The Lord called Gideon to step out of his comfort zone and save Israel from the Midianites. “The Angel of the Lord appeared to him (Gideon), and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor! Then the Lord turned to him and said, Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have not I sent you?” (Judges 6:12, 14). The Lord found Gideon threshing wheat in the winepress, hiding from the Midianites, the very people to whom the Lord wanted to send him.   But Gideon had doubts and gives the Lord excuses. “So he (Gideon) said to Him, ‘O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.’ And the Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man. Then he (Gideon) said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk to me.” (Judges 6:16-17). The Lord granted Gideon’s request and reassured Gideon that it was His leading. The Lord was not angry with Gideon for asking for a sign, not once, but twice. Then end result was that the Lord saved Israel from the Midianites by Gideon with only three hundred men.    

Have you ever taken a risk and started a new thing? Or have you sensed the Lord leading you to start a new thing, yet you were hesitant to step out in case it wasn’t really the Lord you heard, but yourself. I remember when I experienced this. I was already living in Long Term Care. One night in bed, I had the impression that I should create a Newsletter of my own as a channel to circulate my devotionals. I thought it was the Lord, but wasn’t 100% sure. The next day, I called my life-long friend and told her what came to me the night before. Irene not only encouraged me to go ahead and start my, “Sufficient Grace Newsletter,” but has helped me along the way. From the very first Edition I sent out the response has been overwhelmingly positive. My former church has even posted each devotional on their Facebook page, or has put the link to my blog up. I never expected a response like that, especially as I now live in a different city.

 Take the Lord at His Word. Paul is a person who took the Lord at His Word and kept pressing forward, looking ahead to all that the Lord had for him. “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14). Paul was always willing to go and press on ahead into uncharted territory. Every time he went into a different city to plant a new church, or to preach the gospel at the leading of the Lord, he was entering uncharted territory. Paul was willing to go and press on, even when it meant persecution or being put in prison. At the end of his life, Paul was confident that he had fulfilled the Lord’s purposes in his life that he was able to say, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:6-7).  I pray that when the time comes for the Lord to take me home, I will be able to make a similar statement by God’s sufficient grace.

 The Lord does not want us to waste time looking back, when He has so much more for us to accomplish in Him and for His glory in the future. Let us all be willing to follow Him along the path He has marked out for each one of our lives. Sore like an eagle into the heights of His presence and allow the Father to bring us into uncharted territory with Him where He will overwhelm us with treasures untold. As we press into Him, He will draw us so close that we will be able to hear His every whisper and feel His every heartbeat. I don’t know about you, but that is how close I want to be with my Abba Father.

 

 

                                        By Cindy Mead

FREEDOM TO FAIL

 

 

                                                     

All Scripture is taken from the New King James Version of the Bible.

We often condemn ourselves whenever we fail or make a mistake. We want so much to be perfect that when we do not measure up to our self-imposed standards, we get angry and frustrated, not only at ourselves, but at those around us as well.

The problem which causes this to ourselves is our own high standards.  Many times, we expect ourselves to do that which has been done by others with more experience and maturity. Or, as in my case, I expect myself to accomplish as much as someone who has no physical disability. We fail to make allowances for our own limitations.

Yet the amazing truth that is so clear from Scripture is that even God - who demands that His people be holy as He is holy - has made allowances for us. He has made allowances not only for our sin and failures, but also for our individual situations and limitations. We find an illustration of this in Leviticus 27.  Here we find the Lord setting certain standards and amounts of money the people had to pay in the temple each year in order to be consecrated. A male between twenty and sixty years old had to pay fifty shekels of silver. (verse 3). But then we read of God’s allowances. “But if he is too poor to pay your valuation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall set a value for him; according to the ability of him who vowed, the priest shall value him.” (Leviticus 27:8). 

We all know that God is holy and has set certain standards for His people to live up to.  Paul expressed his desire to live up to the Lord’s standards and call on his life. “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14).  From this verse it is evident that Paul understood God has a very unique and individual call upon each person’s life. He has created and called each of us to live out the life we are destined to. You or I cannot measure up to or live the life which the Lord has ordained for another person to live. Nor will we accomplish what someone else will. But our problem comes in when we are constantly comparing ourselves with others and expecting to do what the other person can do. We fail to make allowances for our own limitations and situations, and therefore are constantly getting angry and frustrated with ourselves simply because we have imposed unrealistic expectations upon ourselves. Even God, in all of His perfection and holiness, does not demand this of us. Believe me, I know this from personal experience.

All my life I have been comparing and expecting myself to do and accomplish as much as the person without any physical limitations. I can not, and for years, this was so hard for me to accept. But now, years later, by the grace of God, I do not do this as much anymore. Paul warns believers not to do this to themselves. “For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” (2 Corinthians 10:12).

Even the Lord, who is the perfect and holy One, and who commands those who follow Him to be perfect and holy, realizes that we will make mistakes and sin. He remembers that we are just dust and are fallible. “For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” (Psalms 103:14). This is the very reason Jesus Christ came – to pay for our sin on the Cross. Today, Jesus continues to make intercession for us before the Father. We have an Advocate with the Father, and the Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin as John tells us in 1 John 1 & 2. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:7, 2:2).

Let us give ourselves the same freedom that has been given to us by God. Yes, He is a God of justice who has set standards for us to live up to. But He is also a God of love and mercy who is aware of our individual situations, and has made allowances for our limitations. But even more importantly, God has made a way when we do sin and make mistakes – we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous One. So even when we run out of love and patience with ourselves, let us run to our Heavenly Father, and fall into His arms of love as His love is everlasting.

                   

 

 

 

                                                  By Cindy Mead

 

A SWEET AROMA

 It is the desire of every true follower of Jesus Christ to please Him – to be a sweet aroma to Him. But what does it entail to be a sweet (soothing or pleasing) aroma to the Lord? If we take a look back to when the children of Israel were in the wilderness, we see that the Lord gave them specific instructions as to their offerings they were to bring to Him, and how each offering was to be presented. Every offering that was a sweet aroma to the Lord involved burning the offering with fire. “If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord…And the priest shall burn all on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.” (Leviticus 1:3,8).

We see from the example of the Lord’s instructions to the children of Israel that every sacrifice that was a sweet aroma to the Lord involved being burnt on the altar with fire. If you have ever been burnt with fire or any kind of very hot liquid or substance, you know how painful it is. I remember when this happened to me. I was attending a Bible Conference for disabled and able-bodied people. We were in the dining room for our evening snack. My cup of tea had just been poured from the pot. It was steaming hot. When the person next to me moved her arm, it knocked my cup of tea all over my lap. I let out a stream of pain which the entire dining room heard. The Conference nurse and some other people rushed over to me and pulled down my pants right there. As they did, I could see layers of skin peeling off my legs. The nurse rushed me up to the nurse’s station where she dressed the burns and called the Doctor on Call. The Doctor prescribed an ointment and something for pain. My legs were painful for quite some time.

If we are going to be a sweet aroma to the Lord, it is going to involve going through some painful experiences in our lives. “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” (Isaiah 48:10). Notice, it is the Lord Who says, “I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” Some Christians do not believe that the Lord tests His people, but He does. The Lord’s testing can be anything that we are going through. When the Lord says He will test us in the furnace of affliction, that speaks to me of pain and a lot of it. Believe me, I know what its like to be in pain.   

 The Lord always seems to test the people who are already a sweet, or pleasing aroma to Him. For example, take Abraham. He was the first patriate of Israel. The Lord tested him. “Now the Lord had said to Abram: Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1).  If there ever was a test for a Jewish family, this was it as Jewish families are very tightly knit together. When the Lord gave Abram this command, it must have torn his heart out, as well as his family’s heart. This is a clear test of who Abram loved more; his family or the Lord. “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matthew 10:37). Abram did leave his country and his father’s house and followed the Lord’s leading to the land the Lord had promised him and his descendants after him. But the Lord could not show Abram the land until Lot parted from him. That was Abram’s mistake – taking Lot with him as the Lord did not tell Abram to take anyone with him. After Lot separated from Abram, then the Lord showed him all the land he and his descendants were to inherit. “And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are – northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.” (Genesis 13:14).  

Some Christians have no choose in the matter as to whether or not they are going to pay the price to be a sweet aroma to the Lord as suffering and pain just seems to be forced upon them. May I use myself as an example here? I was born with Cerebral Palsy and am confined to a wheelchair. The only choice I had was how I was going to react to the situation. I could react positively and be thankful for all that I am able to do, such as being able to type with one finger, and therefore I’m able to serve the Lord and His people with my writing. Or I could have reacted negatively because I couldn’t do as much as others and just waste my days away. There was a time when I used to feel sorry for myself because I could not do what others could. But as time progressed, I choose to react positively and spend my days writing. I pray every morning that I would please my Heavenly Father that day.

There are many Biblical examples of people having negative situations forced upon them and they reacted positively. Remember when Joseph’s brothers sold him into Egypt? He could have complained and became bitter. But instead, Joseph remained positive and was a slave to Potiphar. When Potiphar saw that the Lord was with Joseph, Potiphar trusted Joseph with all his affairs. That tells us that Joseph was a sweet aroma to the Lord. 

 Daniel and his three friends were brought from Judea to serve King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. While they were there, King Nebuchadnezzar made a decree saying that whoever did not fall down and worship the gold image at the sound of all the musical instruments, which the King had made, would be cast into the fiery furnace. (see Daniel 3:4-6). The Chaldeans accused Daniel and his friends for not bowing down to the image before the King. When King Nebuchadnezzar heard this, he brought the Jewish men before him and asked if this report was true. When Daniel’s friends told the King it was true, the King commanded certain mighty men to heat the furnace seven times hotter, then to bind the three Jewish men and throw them in the furnace. When the King looked into the furnace, he saw four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire. The fourth man looked like the Son of God. The King then called the men out of the fire. When they came forth from the fire, the three men did not even smell like smoke and their hair wasn’t even singed. (see Daniel 3:24-27). These three men remained positive even though they were thrown into the furnace. I am sure they were a sweet aroma to the Lord.

We have all read of how much Paul suffered as he served the Lord with a positive attitude. He did not let his tribulations deter him from serving the Lord, or change his positive outlook on life. When Paul had his thorn in the flesh, he did ask the Lord to remove it three times, but when the Lord responded by saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul responded positively, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Not only did Paul have a thorn in the flesh, but he was being put in prison numerous times for preaching the gospel. He did not waste his prison times. He used these times to write epistles to the churches he had founded. These same epistles are still teaching and exhorting Churches and Christians 2000 years later. Paul faced many tribulations, of which he could have become bitter. But instead, Paul remained positive in each situation. I am sure his responses to his situations must have been a sweet aroma to the Lord.

Even Peter says in his First epistle, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trials which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you.” (1 Peter 4:12). Trials are not a choice, they are a given in the Christian life. Whenever we are placed in negative situations, whether temporary or permanent, we can choose to either react negatively or positively. By reacting positively, we will be a sweet aroma to the Lord.