Surrender to Love

After the resurrection, Jesus showed himself alive to the disciples. He had breakfast with them and then had a conversation with Peter. This conversation has been in my thoughts for days now. Jesus asked Peter: ” Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”  ”Yes Master, you know I love you” Peter responded. Different commentaries have suggested what or to whom Jesus was referring to when He asked Peter if he loved “these” more than Him. But the real question to ponder is what was it that Peter loved more than Jesus. Peter had denied Jesus three times after the crucifixion. Now Jesus was penetrating Peter’s heart with His probing question; He was allowing Peter the opportunity to see what went wrong; perhaps why Peter had denied Him. Somewhere deep in Peter’s heart was a love for something or someone more than His love for Christ. I wonder what it was? It could have been that he chose fear of man over His love for Christ; maybe care for the world over Christ. We dont know for sure. Jesus asks each of us the same question: “Who or what do you love more than me?” It is a question that penetrates the dark places of our lives— a question that stirs in us the ways we deny Christ. Today, ask yourself that question. You may be surprised at what blocks your love for Christ, but you will be equally delighted as you read the rest of the conversation that Peter has with Christ. For in that conversation Jesus reminds Peter that he must love Christ completely and that from that love relationship he must love and care for others. That makes me think that where I am unloving or unkind I must love something more than my Lord. What about you?

Name Above All Names

Recently in my devotional daily reading I read the Scripture: “At that day ye shall ask in My Name.” I have been thinking about that all day. What does it mean to ask in the Name of Jesus? His name is above all names and reflects His character. There are many names for God in the Old Testament Scripture that reflect His character; Elohim, Our Creator,  Jehovah Jireh, Our Provider, Jehovah Rohi, Our Shepherd and many others. Throughout the Scripture, we learn about the character of God through encounters that the men of God had with Him. In their encounter with God, they came to know a side of God, His nature, that they had not known before. Jesus’ name reflects His nature so the more intimate relationship I have with Him through encountering Him daily, the more my prayers will reflect His nature. And next time I pray for something I will remember that His name is not a magic formula, His name is above all names!!!

What a Difference a Preposition Makes

The Scripture I read today in my daily devotional was Galatians 2:20: ” I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith OF the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

 I have read this passage many times and each time I meditate on what it means to be crucified with Christ- to die to self; to live for Christ alone; that Christ lives in me and the flesh needs to move over. The problem has always been that it takes a train wreck sometimes to get my flesh to roll over and play dead. In fact my flesh cries out: ” do it my way– don’t deny me….” 

For years I have prayed: ” I must decrease so that He can increase.” All good stuff. But often for me I end up trying too hard; striving and sometimes hitting my overdrive/perfectionistic button. Sound familiar to any of you? 

This morning the Scripture in Galatians took on a whole new meaning just because of one little preposition  ” …..and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith OF the Son of Man. My translation read “IN the Son of Man; the translation in my devotional read: “OF the Son of Man.” What a difference a preposition makes!!

Faith in the Son of Man is essential to live for Christ; but the faith OF the Son of Man is essential to live a spirit filled life. One focuses on my working to achieve through my faith the crucified life; the other rests in the assurance that the faith of Christ is at work in me producing the fruit of a Godly life. 

May seem like a small thing to you, but for someone like me who wants to get it right, do it right, and achieve my goal of Christlikeness, it can become work. And the truth is that we are saved by grace and we are kept by the grace of God. We need only to love Him and surrender to His love. 

Sound easy? Not for a perfectionist like me. But I plan on reading this Scripture every day and reminding myself that I live by the faith OF Christ who lives in me. And I know that HIS faith was such that He gave His very life for me. That kind of faith can move any mountain. So if you have any mountains that need moving remember the little preposition in Galatians 2:20 and rest in the assurance that Christ’s faith living in you can move all of your mountains!!

Love Covers a Multitude of Sins

I just returned from a trip to Mexico and had a delightful time.  I had time to read and to be refreshed again. I met a variety of people and realized how diversity is such a gift. As Christians, it is easy to be with our Christian friends, and yet Jesus always hung out with a variety of people, many of whom were outcasts. As I reflect on my trip, I realize that we are called to love people even if we have nothing in common, even if they are do not believe the same things that we believe. Jesus taught us that kingdom living is worked out in our attitudes, our thoughts and actions; in how we love others. As Christians we hold a standard; in a sense we are torchbearers holding up God’s Word as truth. But if we do not do so in love, we become clanging cymbals and no one will listen to our message of hope. People are struggling in many ways. They first need to know they are loved before they ever will here our message of hope. We live in critical times of financial, moral, ethical, and spiritual struggles. We have an opportunity to love people with Christ’s love and offer hope. You have heard it said that your life may be the only Bible that someone reads. We must always remember that love covers a multitude of sins- ours and others. Above all love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. (I Peter 4:8)

Mary Did you Know?

Have you ever wondered if Mary really understood the consequences of her “yes” to God in response to the angel’s message to her? She was told that she would be with child and that her son would be the Savior of the world; a young maiden, engaged to Joseph saying “yes” to God’s word to her. She was troubled at first and fearful when she saw the angel and heard what would transpire. She risked being rejected by Joseph, being shunned by her friends and family; but she chose to trust God. What is the “yes” that God is waiting for in your life? 

I watched my grandchildren as they played with their new Christmas puppy. They marveled at her, all wanting a chance to hold her and care for her. I could not help but think about how similar it is with Jesus who delights in caring for us. Mary probably did not comprehend everything that the angel told her but she chose to trust God with her life. She knew that He would take care of her. And He will take care of you too even if your “yes” requires risk and uncertainty. 

Have a blessed Christmas! Joanne

A Bigger Vision

I want to give you a vision of something bigger; that we are part of God’s bigger picture. Being in ministry, I hear people’s concerns over the economy, social issues, moral issues, political issues. As we consider these issues we must remember one thing. God has a plan and it is His plan that is being fulfilled. God had a plan of redemption through His Son and that plan was fulfilled on the cross. God’s plan is for Jesus to return and we wait for the fulfillment of His plan.

We cannot put our faith in a political party. We cannot put our faith in our oil suppliers to keep our tanks full. We cannot put our faith in people, though well meaning. We put our faith in God to help resolve these issues. God is sovereign over the affairs of nations and He ordains those who are placed in authority over us (Romans 13:1-5). God’s Word makes it clear that no authority is given to anyone except that which He established.

When Jesus was questioned by Pilate: ” Dont you realize that I have the power either to free you or to crucify you? ” Jesus responded: “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.

We must always remember that God works from an eternal perspective and we work with finite understanding. So how do we respond to the issues of our day? We pray for our leaders; we get involved with the issues, and we trust God.

The first century church appeared to be a church on the run. As persecution exploded, church growth exploded. What seemed to be one way, turned out to be another. As the church triumphant we must recognize that God has a plan and we are part of His plan. The church is still relevant, the Lord is still on the throne and He is still looking for people to participate in His plan. The real question is are we willing to trust Him?

On the Way

This week we are studying the third and fourth chapters of Acts. Peter and John on their way to the temple to say their prayers found a crippled man sitting at the gate called Beautiful. The crippled man was begging for money and Peter told him that he didnt have money but he would give him what he did have—- healing in Jesus’ name. Isnt it interesting that the crippled man didnt ask for healing? Surely he had heard about all of the people who were healed by Jesus and through His disciples. He asked for what he thought he needed; money to make it through one more day. Is is possible that we often ask for a temporary solution; relief, just enough to get by and yet the Lord has so much more for us?

What really catches my attention is that Peter and John  were on their way doing something very important. After all they were going to the temple to pray. They could have ignored the man on the side of the road asking for help. They could have done the good thing and bypassed the best thing- to bring someone to Jesus.

We too are busy people; on the way to somewhere every day. And every day there is potential for God encounters. Every day in the rush of lives God is at work. Just yesterday I was on the way to teach Bible study and a homeless man came up to me and asked for help. I was running late and could easily have told him I was too busy, running late. After all I was on the way to do something good- of value, right? Yet God interrupted my plans.  I was on the way to doGod’s work (or so I thought) and He showed me the intention of His Word; not just to study and teach His Word, but to live His Word. What good is it to study His Word and not obey? It was a lesson for me and I hope it gives you reason to think next time God interrupts your day…. on the way to doing something good, He will ask you to do something even better.

The Power of Prayer

Being a grandmother is the greatest gift on earth! I don’t have the stress of raising the little angels and it makes enjoying them so much easier. As a mother I was so busy going through the motions of motherhood; planning meals, helping with homework, making sure their rooms were clean, reminding them to brush their teeth. In some ways life was centered around the general (me) and the recruits (my kids)!! Now I can relax and enjoy them. Did I say relax? That is a relative word. With 8 grandchildren there is no relaxing! What I mean is that I now have opportunities that I did not when I was raising my own children.  I have more time to talk with them, guide them, pray with them.

Just this week I picked up my two grandaughters (11 and 12 years old) from school. We had ice cream together (they had ice cream; downside of being a grandmother is that the ice cream goes to my hips).  First thing in the car, they began to squeal as only girls can do and share with me their adventures into the world of boys. Mary Catherine was asked to a dance. Can you believe that? And Morgan was asked to “go out”. Oh my… used to be that meant go on a date. Now it means that the boy likes you. They laughed they way through ice cream, they talked their way through the ride home; they squeeled. Sooo much fun!

Later on that day each grandaughter came to me as I was busy working in my office. Morgan declared that she was sure that it was because of my prayers that she loved her new school so much. Mary Catherine came to ask me for advice. She had decided that it would be more fun to go to the dance with her girlfriends. What is to decide? Of course it would be more fun at 11 years old!! I remained calm (didn’t want to jump up and down or anything) and told her that she had made a wise choice. What fun to be on this side of motherhood!

The Wisdom of God

God is awesome! Never doubt that He is here; never doubt that He answers prayers! Today, Sharon the office manager for Drawing Near to God ministry called me. She was struggling with using a computer program that we need in order to register people for our upcoming courses. We prayed together on the phone and she sensed the Lord telling her that everything that she needed was at hand. We prayed for her to have the wisdom of God and then I called a few people to pray.  Sharon called me back a few hours later to tell me that she had figured  it out (now remember this has been something she has been struggling with for weeks). She said that after we prayed things started making sense and she knew that God had given her the wisdom we prayed for.

God doesnt always answer prayers as we expect. After we prayed and before Sharon called me back, I decided to start working on the solution to Sharon’s problem. I had  gotten the number of a computer solutions expert to come and help her. I had also suggested we get a new program. I was full of “seeming” solutions. But God had a different plan; He had a better plan. His plan was to use what was at hand and seek His wisdom. Once again, my nervous card was played and God trumped it with “do not lean on the wisdom of men… in all my ways trust me and I will make your path straight.” (proverbs 3:5). Guess God doesnt really play the “gotch ya” game, but sometimes it sure feels that way. Guess I need to remember that He is God and HE has all the answers.

Do you ever struggle with trying to find solutions to your current crisis? Take a moment to pray. God has the answer!

Edisto Island revival

My daughter, who is my official consultant on blogsites, has told me that people might like to hear more personal things from me like I share in my teachings.  I love the idea because I love to hear about what other people are doing. People fascinate me!

Yesterday I was the speaker at a community gathering of folks on Edisto Island. It is my favorite place to go and speak! The last several years I have spoken at the Edisto revival. I have been blown away by the strong Presence of the Lord as a variety of denominations gather together to worship and praise Him. Yesterday was no exception! The churches on the island are determined to come together as one and we had so much fun. I think God smiles on churches when they recognize that we are all one body. During my teaching, the most amazing thing happened. Each time I would make a point that I felt led to share, a band of pouring (and I mean pouring down so hard you could hardly hear) rain came down. It happened three times and we all sensed that God was pouring out His glory on the gathering.  We all had “holy goose bumps” each time it happened. The rain poured down as I would begin to make my point and after I finished, the rain would immediately cease. Now some of you are thinking…. “did God really do that”? I have heard countless testimonies of God speaking to His people through His Creation. After all He is the Creator of heavens and earth, and rain!! I think God was pleased. I think God longs for us to gather together as one praising and worshipping Him. Some people were crying, others in awe, some speechless as the gospel choirs led us in worship.  Edisto Island has found what pleases the Lord and I welcome every opportunity to join with my brothers and sisters in Christ on that magnificent island!