Wheaties

I’ve been reading the book of Matthew online as part of my devotional reading. This morning, I actually picked up my Bible and backtracked a little bit, to Matthew chapter 3. John the Baptist was talking to the Pharisees. He basically told them they weren’t going to skate by because they were descendants of Abraham, or because they were Pharisees or Sadducees. He warned them that they would be judged by the fruit of their lives, not on their title, or their ancestry. On Sunday, Pastor Kevin had talked about descendants of Abraham; that is wasn’t just physical descendants that the promise applied to, but all those who would believe, even the Gentiles. That’s us. Then this verse jumped out at me…

“His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matt. 3:12

At one point, I had done a study on wheat in the Bible so this really spoke to me. If memory serves me right, (I would check this online but the internet is uncooperative at the moment) when you thresh the wheat, you get the kernels of wheat, plus the stalks and the chaff. The chaff is the little husks that encase the wheat kernel, so they have the shape of wheat and look like wheat, but they are empty inside. Totally useless, yet they look like the real thing, until you make a closer inspection.

John the Baptist was talking to the religious leaders, telling them they may look good on the outside, but if their lives weren’t producing “ fruit worthy of repentance” that all the baptisms and law-keeping in the world weren’t going to save them if their hearts weren’t right. But I don’t think the application stops there.

We all have things in our lives that, like chaff, look alright on the outside, but when examined in closer light, are empty and useless. They may be harmless things, and not necessarily sin, but they don’t produce any fruit or build any character in our lives. Maybe it’s what you are reading or watching on TV, maybe it’s the time you spend shopping or playing computer solitaire. Ouch. Not that any of those things in small doses are wrong, I’m not saying you should give up TV or facebook or Farmville. We all need some down time to relax. But to be honest, we all have things in our lives that take up too much space with their “nothingness”. I guess the challenge for us, as Americans, is what to do with that down time, to make it more fruitful. Next time you have a block of time, and your first thought is a time waster, stop and ask God “What would you like me to do with this time?” Maybe it’s read a book, have some devotions with your spouse, play a game with your kids, write a letter, bake someone a cake, walk the dog, spend time in prayer, take a nap or call a friend. I’m sure if you ask Him, He’ll be glad to drop a suggestion into your spirit.

Life in our house has entered another season, as Scott heads off to his new job, I’m home alone. I am asking God to teach me how to order my house and my schedule, and lead me in the way HE would have me to go. I don’t want to be busy, with life looking good on the outside, I want to be fruitful, I want my life to have substance and value to those around me. Sometimes that just means extra time sitting at His feet, and sometimes it will mean putting wheels on my prayers. When I remember to ask Him, He will be faithful to guide me in the right direction…

On the journey, Cheryl 3/19/2012

Bread and Whine

Did you ever read the Bible, and wonder “How could they do that?” Over the years I have wondered how the children of Israel could see the Red Sea parted, and the mighty miracles of Exodus, and still want to go back to Egypt. They complained about manna, wanting leeks, onions and meat. Then I started thinking... are we much different? Here is the passage from Exodus...

4Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not.5 And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”

When the people were stuck between the Red Sea, and Pharoah's army, they started complaining that it would have been better for them to die in Egypt. When they were traveling through the desert, they longed for the food of Egypt. When God provided manna, they wanted meat. It seems they were ungrateful, unbelieving children. But are we any different?

When we get between a rock and a hard place, do we place our trust in God, or do we whine and complain? Do we remember the miracles God has done in our lives, how He has protected us and provided for us, or do we want to run back to our old way of doing things? Do we stand in peace and wait for God to show His salvation in our distress, or do we speak out doubt and unbelief? When God gives us manna, do we miss the leeks and onions?

Recently, I was guilty of this attitude in my own life. Scott has been out of work almost 6 months, so we are living on about half of his paycheck. I am really thankful for unemployment benefits, and God has met all our needs. There is food on the table, the bills are paid, and I really don't have anything to complain about, we have had our MANNA every day. But I found myself missing the carefree days of a good paycheck and not having to measure out my daily manna, missing the OLD DAYS. I vented a bit to Scott, as he was made a job offer several months ago, but STILL has no hiring date. Sometimes my emotions forget that God is in control, and the job will start in HIS timing, not mine. I don't need to look to the job for my finances, the security of health insurance, or meeting our needs. God is the one providing for us, enough manna for the day, and we trust Him with it one day at a time. I like to have the future planned, and know what's going on, and He's wanting us to take it step by step, journeying through this phase by following His cloud of smoke by day and pillar of fire by night.

It is so easy to let the circumstances of life creep in and shift our eyes off the Lord. It's easy to miss those subtle attitude changes in our heart, that if brought to light, are so similar to the complaints we condemn the Israelites for making in the desert. It's easy to point out unbelief or ungratefulness or fear or sin in someone else. But when we let the Lord examine OUR hearts, we find out what is really there, and we can let him root it out and replace it with HIS thoughts. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.... If our hearts are open to His word, His correction, His truth, we will be transformed daily by our daily Bread. God wants us to have Bread without the WHINE.... Journeying on with Jesus, Cheryl 3/14/12

Give us this day our daily bread

Daily Bread

Today's musings come from an unlikely event, running errands. I had a wonderful morning with my daughter Rosharon. We went to Norwich to get some highway driving practice (great job Ro!) and get her several costumes for the upcoming play at GHS. We headed to Goodwill, found her 2 outfits, 2 hats, a belt, a blouse for me, and the AMAZING find of the year.... a new breadmaker. As many of you know, I use my breadmaker a LOT. The buttons are getting worn out and you need a knife and a lot of pressure to change the settings. Also, the mechanism at the bottom of the pan is getting rickety. I happened to find the same EXACT model I have, almost brand new, with the original recipe book but missing the little dough paddle (which I already have) for only $9.99. I was SO VERY EXCITED because breadmakers run $100-$200 for a good one and this one has my "loaf of bread on the table in 58 minute" setting. With Scott out of work, I've been wanting to replace ours but not willing to spend the $100 right now. It was one of those things I wanted, and would have used, but the other still works and I was trying to be a good steward of our finances in this season of unemployment... This reminded me of the Scripture in Deuteronomy 28 (New King James Version) Blessings on Obedience

28:1 “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:

3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.

4 “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

I would say, to make it a modern translation, BLESSED shall be my BREADMAKER!

Thank you Lord for Your blessings finding us every which way we turn (verse 6).

6 “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

7 “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.

8 “The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

9 “The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. 10 Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. 11 And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. 14 So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

Then this got me thinking of another Scripture...

Psalm 37:25

I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,

Nor his descendants begging bread.

How good is our God? He knows how much I love making things with my breadmaker, and how much my descendants enjoy eating it! We have been going through this season, for 5 months Scott has been out of work. He has an offer for a job, but no start date or shift assignment. Basically, they've left him waiting for several months, with no communication about WHEN he might start. Being a planner, this really annoys me, and I do admit to venting about it to Scott. But then God reminds me He has everything planned, in His timing, the job will come. He's got my “Daily Bread” covered, just like He always has. He's our provider, and He's been so faithful.

As I read over these verses, I appreciate God's sense of humor to remind me in a very real way that He is watching out for me in the city and in the country, and His blessing will find me around every corner, as long as I continue to seek Him and obey His word. We don't have to live in this world's economy, God has His own kingdom economy, and He is not limited. We just have to remember to look to Him for our provision, and not keep looking back at Egypt, expecting to find our answers there... Our God, who provided Manna (bread) in the wilderness, is still providing for us today! May our hearts always look thankfully and expectantly to him, trusting in His goodness and lovingkindness....

Read those verses again. That blessing is what He wants His people to walk in today.

Those promises are for ME and YOU!!!!

Be blessed!

Cheryl

3/3/12

Are you a builder or a burner?

This morning as I wondered where to start my next Bible reading, it popped into my mind that I should read Esther and Ruth. Ruth, being my favorite, was my starting point this morning…

I must admit, a random comment someone made had been troubling me. My first instinct was to rush in, send a message back, and get in the middle of things. But God wouldn’t let me do it…

When I began reading Ruth, I didn’t get any further than the first 5 verses. I started thinking about Naomi. She’d left her country because of the famine in the land, with her husband and 2 sons. They settle down in Moab, and her husband dies. They must have been quite settled in, since they didn’t pack up and head back to Jerusalem, where she probably had family. So her two sons marry Moabite women, which in the Jewish culture was taboo. I wonder what Naomi’s reaction was to that? Can you just hear her in the stereotypical mother’s voice ranting on about it?

Naomi had 2 choices. She could be a builder or a burner. She could choose to build bridges to these 2 young women, and make them a part of her family, and love them and support them in their marriages. Or she could be a burner, burning the bridges between her, her sons, and their wives, being critical and harsh. Naomi chose to accept these young women, even though they came from a pagan culture, and love them right where they were, without being judgmental. Naomi chose to be a builder.

What was the result of her actions? When her sons died, Ruth, one of her daughters-in-law, chose to leave her culture, her family, and her home to follow Naomi and her God. Ruth turned out to be the key for Naomi’s future happiness. Ruth, with her loyalty, her servant’s heart, and her faith in God, would marry Boaz. Naomi would have a home, financial security, and a grandchild to bounce on her knee. She went from “Bitter” to “Blessed”, as the result of a relationship she built with a very unlikely young woman.

When relationship choices come our way, may we be open to building instead of reacting in the flesh and burning bridges. Sometimes the answer to our prayers comes in unlikely ways. Who knows when God is going to send us a Ruth? Or maybe He is calling us to be a Ruth in someone else’s life….

What If?

What If?

I woke up this morning thinking about Abraham and Sarah, and all the life altering changes God called them to make. Here they were, living this comfortable life, surrounded by family, with servants and riches and a respected place in their community, later on in years, and God speaks to Abraham. “Get up and go, leave everything you know, and go somewhere. I’m not telling you where, just pack and go, and I’ll lead you.”

What if Abraham said no? Where would we be today? And Sarah, can you imagine how hard it would be if your husband came home and said, “Get packing honey, God told me…” Would it be hard to trust your husband, to trust God to make that move? To leave all you have ever known? What if Sarah said no? How hard was it, to believe God’s promise, and launch out into the unknown?

What if, when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, the son of promise, the child he had longed for, worked for, loved and cared for, what if Abraham had said no? Where would we be? Would God have been able to send Jesus? Would we even be here, the church in our day?

What if Mary had said no? Think of her shame, in the eyes of man, at bearing a child while she was unmarried. What if Jesus had said no, to coming to earth, to dying on the cross, to giving His all for us?

Throughout the years, God has asked the question, “Do you love me more than these?” These things, these people, these places, these plans you have for your life, yes, even your own reputation, your own life, your own family? Are we willing to follow Him, even in the hard things, even in the things we don’t understand, because He is asking us to, because we trust Him?

When Abraham and Sarah said yes, God birthed a nation. He gave them lands, a family, a future, a place of destiny, and an impact on millions of people yet unborn. By their obedience, God would populate heaven. By Mary’s obedience, by Jesus, by the disciples, by the words, “Yes Father”, the course of world history was changed.

Can we be like Abraham and leave our comfort zone? Can we be like Peter, and risk stepping out of the boat? Can we be willing to give up our Isaac, trusting God and loving Him more than our plans, our hopes, our dreams, our programs, and our creations? Is it possible to follow Him when He is pushing us out of the nest and teaching us to fly, when everything in us is screaming “No, I’m falling, it’s too dangerous, I don’t understand, ahhhhhhhhh!” and He is saying “I’ll bear you up on eagles’ wings and teach you to soar on the high places.” Can we trust Him even when we don’t understand the WHY and know it’s all part of His plan to bring us to an expected end?

What if we said yes?

Are you expecting?

What do you typically think of on a Monday morning? “Oh, no, back to the rat race.” Does life seem a lot like you are a hamster running on a wheel and getting nowhere? Does life seem like a big to do list for you? Or are you enjoying your life and living each day with purpose?

Today, being June 1, is a good day to start fresh and do some attitude checks. This morning, as I read Psalm 5, verse 3 jumped out at me.

“Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.”

Several things spoke to me here. “Each morning”. I can’t say I consistently come to Him at the beginning of my day. Sometimes I am just not feeling very awake at 5:30 AM. But it is something I want to do. Where do I get the idea that I am too busy to linger a little in the morning with my Bible and a cup of coffee? The dishes or the office paperwork aren’t that urgent that I have to start them at the crack of dawn. Sometimes it is easy to let doing FOR God get in the way of spending time WITH God.

The second part of the verse says “I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.” I think somewhere along the line the busy pace of life has squeezed out waiting expectantly. How wonderful that sounds, sitting at the Lord’s feet and waiting expectantly! That is the way to start any day, expecting Him to meet you there and expecting Him to walk with you through your day. Isn’t that what Mary was doing when Martha was bustling about? Why is it so easy for the Martha side of us to take over?

There is something that feels good about our Martha side. Can you picture her saying, “All of a sudden, 13 extra people showed up for dinner, with no notice, and I pulled it off! I got them all fed and saved the day!” There is a sense of accomplishment in being needed and coming through and filling apparent physical needs. It’s nice to have other people recognize you as reliable and helpful and someone they can count on. Sometimes this need for recognition or wanting to feel useful may cause us to take on things we shouldn’t. Just because we are capable of doing them, doesn’t mean we are the ones that should be doing them. God does not love us any more because we do more. He loves us because we are His. In our busy life, God is calling the Martha in us to sit down at His feet and get what she needs from Him!

That got me thinking. I wear a lot of hats. At the office, it seems that every time someone steps down from something, it has quite logically got handed over to me. The finances, the newsletter, the website, the secretarial tasks. And while I am quite capable of doing those, and have enjoyed them, some days it seems that repetitive busy work is sapping the joy out of my job. It seems I spend a lot of time with paperwork, and not enough time with people. I know that realizing this, God is preparing me for change. Not today, not next month, probably not in 2009, but I think He will have me laying down some hats in the year 2010, keeping the ones that suit me best, or maybe picking up some new ones. My heart cry is less paperwork and more people, less filing and more filling with His spirit.

As I have just finished my Associates Degree, people keep asking me “What now?” Let’s just say I am waiting expectantly….

The cry of those left behind..

This morning, as I checked my Facebook newsfeed, I was struck by an overwhelming sadness. What a sinking feeling it is to have confirmed that you have lost another church family to “somewhere else”. Over the years, we have seen it many times. People you loved, prayed for, cried with, worshipped with, attended their weddings or family funerals, rocked their babies, played volleyball with, and shared your heart with have slowly evaporated. They show up less and less, until members that have convenanted to be church members disappear without a goodbye. That leaves the rest of us in mourning. Was there something we could have done, some need we could have met, if you had but shared it? Was it something we did? Why have you left us, your church family, without so much as a goodbye, no explanation? Yes, I know that God sometimes calls us to make a church move for the growth of our family, but wouldn’t that same God want you to go to your old church family for their blessing and a release from membership? Wouldn’t He want you to say goodbye? Oh, it’s easier this way, you say as you just slowly slip away. Easier for who? For you. What about the rest of us, left feeling hurt, betrayed, confused and abandoned? Have we not invested enough of our hearts in your life to deserve a decent goodbye?

We see you at Walmart, and in politeness make pleasant conversation. Yet, inside, our heart cries out, “What have we done, why have you abandoned us?” Leaving a church is not like leaving a social club, it is leaving your family that has loved and cared for you. It’s like serving divorce papers without a chance for reconciliation, while one party has no clue there is a problem or an unmet need. Oh, dear Lord, how it hurts those left behind, like an unhealed wound that is poked again when we remember you are no longer sitting in your usual spot, or sharing your warm smile with us.

In a society rampant with divorce, people are divorcing their churches and skipping off to greener pastures. If God is really calling you to change churches, He will lead you to do it the RIGHT way, with due respect to those who have pastured you, and the people who have loved you all these years. How it must grieve God’s heart to see His children wounding their own family members by their actions. If you have ever left a church without going through the proper goodbyes, search your heart and ask God if there is a way to make that right with those you left behind. Please give us closure, a letter, a visit, a phone call, an explanation, an apology, or even a return? Leave your gift at the altar and make things right with your brothers and sisters.

Most days, I don’t even think about all those who have left, but today the overwhelming sense of loss came crashing down. To those of us left behind, may God bring healing to the wounds buried deep in our hearts. May He continue to enable us to love without fear of losing, and trust in His faithfulness to bring our church to fulfill its purposes in Him.

In His love,
Cheryl
3/16/2009